Works as a dog food expert and is a lifelong dog lover
If you’re searching for premium dog food that genuinely makes a difference to your dog’s health, you’ll inevitably come across two brands that keep popping up: Butternut Box and Pure Pet Food. Both promise natural ingredients, better health outcomes, and the convenience of home delivery. But which one actually suits your lifestyle?
I’ve tried both brands extensively, and in this comparison, I’ll share what really matters. If your dog has a sensitive stomach, for instance, it makes a world of difference whether you choose fresh, frozen meals or dehydrated recipes you prepare yourself. And if freezer space is at a premium? Well, that decision practically makes itself.
Before diving into the comparison, it’s worth understanding why so many dog owners are switching from traditional kibble to alternatives like Butternut Box and Pure Pet Food.
Traditional dog food from the supermarket often contains just 4% of the meat advertised on the packaging. The rest? Fillers, artificial flavourings, and preservatives with names you can barely pronounce. Many dogs develop health issues over time — think digestive problems, dull coats, or allergic reactions.
Butternut Box and Pure Pet Food take a completely different approach. Both brands use human-grade ingredients without unnecessary additives. The key difference lies in how they prepare and deliver that food to your door.
Butternut Box is essentially the premium option in dog food. Think of it as the Waitrose of pet nutrition — technologically advanced, premium-priced, and laser-focused on freshness. They cook complete meals at low temperatures (90 degrees) and deliver them frozen to your home.
The concept is simple yet clever. You fill in a comprehensive questionnaire about your dog — breed, weight, age, activity level, any allergies — and receive a personalised nutrition plan. Each month, a box arrives with various meals, neatly portioned to match your dog’s exact needs.
The meals contain a ratio of 60% meat to 40% vegetables, with ingredients like turkey, salmon, sweet potato, and lentils. Everything is slow-cooked to retain nutrients, and there are no preservatives whatsoever. Freezing is the natural way to keep everything fresh.
After two months of Butternut Box, I’ve seen genuinely impressive results! My dog was always terribly windy — that’s completely disappeared now. He also used to have diarrhoea a few times a month, but his stools are now consistently healthy.
What really surprised me was his coat — that dry, flaky skin has vanished completely, and his fur has a proper shine to it now. I honestly didn’t expect food to make such a dramatic difference.
The feedback I’ve encountered is overwhelmingly positive. Many dog owners report that digestive issues disappear within weeks of switching. Wind, diarrhoea, and irregular bowel movements — all common complaints often caused by poorly digestible food — become much less frequent.
Dogs’ coats also improve noticeably according to owners. Thanks to the omega-3 fatty acids from fish like salmon, coats become shinier and skin problems like dandruff disappear. One owner told me: “My dog always had dry, flaky skin. After two months on Butternut, it was completely resolved.”
The biggest advantage, besides quality, is convenience. No more trips to the pet shop, and every meal is perfectly portioned. Simply grab a portion from the freezer, defrost, and serve.
The downside? You need considerable freezer space. For a medium-sized dog, we’re talking about an entire freezer drawer. And you need to plan ahead — forget to take a portion out in the morning, and your dog won’t have dinner that evening.
Pure Pet Food takes an entirely different approach. Instead of pre-cooked meals, they deliver dehydrated dog food that you prepare by adding warm water. It might sound less fancy than Butternut Box, but the results are comparable and the practical advantages are hard to ignore.
Pure uses 100% natural ingredients that are slowly dried at low temperatures. This preserves all the nutrients whilst removing all the moisture. The result is a concentrated form of nutrition that keeps for months in your cupboard.
The recipes contain up to 53% real meat, supplemented with vegetables like broccoli, spinach, and chicory root. Just like Butternut Box, there are no artificial additives, preservatives, or cheap fillers.
You also fill in a questionnaire here to get a personalised feeding plan. The big difference is that you prepare the food yourself with warm water. Within minutes, you have a steaming, fresh-smelling meal — not that typical kibble smell, but more like a proper home-cooked stew.
This approach has several important advantages. Firstly, you don’t need any freezer space — everything keeps perfectly in the cupboard. Secondly, you can adjust the consistency by adding more or less water, which is brilliant for dogs who struggle with chewing.
The stories I hear about Pure Pet Food are remarkably similar to those about Butternut Box. Digestive problems often vanish within a week, and dogs have more energy. One owner shared: “My dog had a sensitive stomach and regularly vomited after eating. Since using Pure, that’s completely stopped.”
Owners also see improvements in coats with Pure. The omega-3 fatty acids from fish and algae oil create more shine and reduce skin problems. The advantage is you can actually see what you’re giving — real pieces of meat and vegetables, not some vague powder.
Pure’s biggest advantage is flexibility. No freezer needed, no planning required, just add water and you’re done. Perfect if you travel frequently or simply don’t want to think ahead about your dog’s dinner.
Another major advantage is the price — Pure Pet Food is significantly cheaper, more on that later.
The only thing some people need to adjust to is the texture. After preparation, you get a soft, wet meal that’s quite different from kibble. Most dogs absolutely love it, but it is different from what they’re used to.
Looking at what’s actually in both brands, you’ll see many similarities but also some important differences.
Butternut Box uses fresh meat and vegetables straight from the human food chain. Their recipes contain, for example:
Everything is cooked at 90 degrees to kill harmful bacteria whilst preserving nutrients. No preservatives are used — freezing ensures shelf life.
Pure uses similar natural ingredients, but dehydrated:
The low-temperature dehydration process ensures vitamins and minerals are preserved, whilst the food stays fresh for months without artificial preservatives.
Both brands provide complete and balanced nutrition that meets FEDIAF standards for dogs. The difference is mainly in concentration — Pure Pet Food is more concentrated due to the absence of moisture, meaning you need smaller portions.
For dogs with digestive issues, both brands have advantages. Butternut Box uses soft, pre-cooked ingredients that are easy to digest. Pure Pet Food adds prebiotics that support gut flora, which particularly helps sensitive stomachs.
When it comes to price, there’s a clear difference between the brands. Pure Pet Food is significantly cheaper than Butternut Box, especially for larger dogs.
Butternut Box costs on average between £1.50 and £3 per day, depending on your dog’s size. For a medium-sized 20kg dog, you’re looking at approximately £80-£90 per month. That’s comparable to premium raw food from the freezer section.
Pure Pet Food is considerably more affordable, especially when you consider it’s dehydrated and you need less volume. For the same medium-sized dog, you’re looking at about £40-55 per month — nearly half what Butternut Box costs.
Butternut Box is pricier, but you’re paying for the convenience of ready-made meals and premium quality. Pure Pet Food offers slightly lower ingredient quality, but it’s still far above average and definitely good value!
For many dog owners, Pure Pet Food hits the sweet spot between quality and affordability. You get the benefits of natural, concentrated nutrition without the premium price tag of fresh meals.
Both brands claim health benefits, but what can you realistically expect when switching from traditional kibble?
This is where both brands truly excel. Butternut Box uses pre-cooked, soft ingredients that are easily digestible. Pure Pet Food adds prebiotics that support natural gut flora.
If your dog regularly suffers from wind, diarrhoea, or irregular bowel movements, there’s a good chance both brands will bring improvement. The high-quality ingredients and absence of fillers simply make a world of difference.
Thanks to the omega-3 fatty acids in both brands, you’ll often see coat improvement within a month. Dull, dry fur becomes shinier, and skin problems like dandruff usually reduce significantly.
Butternut Box gets these omega-3s primarily from fish like salmon. Pure Pet Food uses both fish oil and algae oil, which is particularly interesting for dogs with fish allergies.
Better digestion means better nutrient absorption, and you’ll see this reflected in your dog’s energy levels. Many owners report their dogs become more lively and show increased interest in playing and walking.
With older dogs, this difference can be even more striking — they sometimes seem years younger after switching to high-quality food.
Not every dog has the same needs, and that applies to choosing between Butternut Box and Pure Pet Food too.
Fussy eaters who struggle transitioning to new food. The varied, pre-cooked meals are often easier to accept than dehydrated food that looks completely different from regular kibble.
Dogs with serious digestive problems can benefit from the soft, pre-cooked texture. If your dog struggles with chewing or digestion, Butternut Box meals are often easier to process.
Owners who value variety — Butternut Box offers different flavours and recipes, which is brilliant for dogs who quickly get bored with the same food.
Dogs with sensitive stomachs who benefit from prebiotics and the ability to adjust consistency by adding more or less water.
Active dogs who need lots of energy — Pure Pet Food’s concentrated form means they get more nutrients per gram.
Owners with busy lives who value flexibility over variety. With Pure, you can always improvise without having to plan ahead.
Both brands understand that dog nutrition is a personal choice and therefore offer flexible subscriptions without long contracts.
Their customer service has a 4.8/5 score on Trustpilot, which is impressive. You can always contact them to adjust your subscription, and they’re happy to help with transition questions.
The subscription is monthly cancellable, and you can easily pause if you’re going on holiday, for instance. They also send a transition guide to help your dog gradually adjust to the new food.
Pure also offers excellent customer service and helps you create the right feeding plan for your dog. Their system is slightly more flexible — you can make adjustments to frequency and quantity at any time.
The 30% discount offer for new customers makes it particularly easy to try without risk.
More dog owners are considering the environmental impact of their choices, including dog food.
Butternut Box uses recyclable packaging and delivers in refrigerated boxes you can return. The meat comes from British farms where possible, which limits CO2 emissions from transport.
The downside is the freezer logistics — refrigerated transport and the energy your freezer uses do have an environmental impact.
Pure Pet Food scores better here because dehydration requires much less energy than freezing and refrigerated transport. The compact packaging also means fewer transport movements and less packaging material.
Moreover, the food lasts for months without consuming energy in your kitchen — no freezer that needs to run constantly.
After studying both brands and the experiences of dozens of dog owners, I can help you make the right choice.
You want the absolute best quality dog food and have the budget for it.
You want maximum convenience. If planning isn’t an issue, you have sufficient freezer space, and your dog is fussy about food, then Butternut Box is probably the best choice.
Also, if you have a dog with serious digestive problems who needs soft, pre-prepared food, then Butternut Box’s cooked meals could be the solution.
You’re on a tighter budget but still want to benefit from high-quality dog food. If flexibility matters to you, you have limited freezer space, or you travel frequently, then Pure Pet Food is ideal.
For dogs with a sensitive stomach who could benefit from prebiotics and adjustable consistency, Pure is also an excellent choice.
What I’m hearing more often lately is that people combine both brands! So the dog eats Pure during the week and gets Butternut Box a few times at the weekend. This way, you don’t blow your monthly budget on Butternut whilst still enjoying their benefits.
I personally use Butternut Box for my dog because I want to give him the absolute best, and I’m happy to pay for it. The high ingredient quality combined with the convenience makes it the perfect choice for me.
But as I mentioned, for owners on a tighter budget or perhaps still a bit sceptical about this new approach to dog food, Pure Pet Food is an excellent starting point! It costs significantly less and delivers super high-quality dog food.
The most important thing is that you make the switch from traditional kibble to one of these natural alternatives. The difference you’ll see in your dog’s health and wellbeing makes every penny worth it twice over.
