Our Ingredients

NOT ALL INGREDIENTS ARE CREATED EQUAL

At Best Breed, every ingredient is selected with purpose – and held to uncompromising quality standards.

BUILT ON <em>COMMON SENSE NUTRITION</em>

BUILT ON COMMON SENSE NUTRITION

We believe pet nutrition should be practical, balanced, and grounded in real results – not trends or “ingredient theater.” Every Best Breed recipe is built to support metabolic balance and long-term health using time-proven nutritional principles.

100% NUTRITION – NOTHING EXTRA, NOTHING MISSING

A complete diet isn’t defined by a single ingredient – it’s the balance of everything working together.

Quality Proteins

Proteins like our Chicken, Salmon, and Beef provide complete amino acid profiles that support muscle maintenance and repair.

Slow-Cooked Carbs

Healthy whole grains and vegetables – low and slow cooked for easy digestion and sustained energy.

Functional Fibers

Soft sources of fiber, like beet pulp, support healthy gut function without drawing moisture away from the GI tract.

Purposeful Fats

Fats like fish oil and chicken fat provide direct energy and essential omega-3s for heart, brain, skin, and coat health.

Vitamins & Minerals

Essential vitamins and minerals help ensure each bite delivers key nutrients needed for optimal body maintenance.

Hydration Support

The right balance of moisture and fiber keeps the GI tract hydrated, for healthy digestion and overall body function.

THE MOST OVERLOOKED NUTRIENTS IN PET HEALTH

FATS

Used in virtually every system in the body — cells, nerves, muscles, and tissues. It provides twice the energy of protein or carbohydrates. Dr. Gary found that a significant portion of the skin and coat issues he was seeing in his clinic were directly related to a lack of quality fat in the diet. In Best Breed formulas, fat isn't an afterthought — it's a cornerstone.

To help preserve nutritional integrity, we protect our fats in high-oxygen barrier packaging to maintain their effectiveness.

FIBER

Often dismissed as a filler — but fiber creates the environment for a healthy gut. A healthy gut promotes better nutrient absorption, a stronger immune system, regulated digestion, and firm, consistent stools. Fiber also plays a critical role in stabilizing blood sugar levels.

Specific fiber combinations in our formulas are designed to feed the right microbes and support optimal gut function.

"FAT AND FIBER ARE TWO INGREDIENTS ALL TOO OFTEN OVERLOOKED WHEN ADDRESSING HOLISTIC PET HEALTH."

— Dr. Gary Cotton, DVM

EVERY INGREDIENT HAS A PURPOSE

We don’t include ingredients for label appeal – every component is selected for its functional role in supporting health.

Green-Lipped Sea Mussel

A nutrient-dense ingredient rich in minerals, amino acids, vitamins, and antioxidants.

Beet Pulp

A well-researched super-ingredient supporting prebiotic and probiotic gut health.

Fish Oil

Rich in Omega-3 essential nutrients for healthful growth and development.

Chicken Fat

USA-sourced, providing concentrated energy and supporting overall health.

UNCOMPROMISING INGREDIENT QUALITY

We pay a premium for ingredients that meet a higher standard — EU-approved, non-genetically engineered,
and traceable back to their source. Here's what that looks like in practice:

EU-Approved Ingredient Standards

Every ingredient is sourced to meet one of the strictest standards in the world.

Low-Ash Proteins

Less bone content, more usable nutrition; our meats run approximately 70% protein.

Contains No By-Product Meals

Our food contains no feathers, beaks, or rejected animal parts.

No Gluten Meals or Cheap Fillers

We avoid gluten meals and low-value fillers, focusing on highly digestible, functional nutrition.

No Artificial Preservatives, Flavors, or Colors

Our recipes contain nothing artificial - just real ingredients.

WHAT LABELS DON’T SHOW YOU

Pet food labels list ingredients – but they don't tell you the quality, concentration, or source of those ingredients. For example, “chicken meal” can vary significantly depending on how it's processed and where it comes from.  Best Breed pays a premium for low-ash meat meals (meaning less bone content) because they provide a concentrated source of animal protein with a complete amino acid profile – typically delivering around 70% protein.  This approach helps ensure that the majority of protein in our recipes comes from high-quality animal meat, rather than relying on plant proteins such as pea protein or corn gluten meal to meet overall protein levels.

WHAT LABELS DON’T SHOW YOU

Pet food labels list ingredients – but they don't tell you the quality, concentration, or source of those ingredients. For example, “chicken meal” can vary significantly depending on how it's processed and where it comes from.  Best Breed pays a premium for low-ash meat meals (meaning less bone content) because they provide a concentrated source of animal protein with a complete amino acid profile – typically delivering around 70% protein.  This approach helps ensure that the majority of protein in our recipes comes from high-quality animal meat, rather than relying on plant proteins such as pea protein or corn gluten meal to meet overall protein levels.

Protein Sources

<em>EU-APPROVED</em> INGREDIENT STANDARDS

EU-APPROVED INGREDIENT STANDARDS

Because our formulas are exported to the European Union, we use EU-approved ingredients – one of the strictest sourcing standards in the world. In practice, this means that if the source of an ingredient is rejected for human consumption, it cannot be used in an ingredient going into our food.

For example, if a salmon fillet has a spot on it that causes it to be rejected for human consumption, that fillet – and the rest of that fish – cannot be used in Best Breed's EU-approved salmon meal. It goes into the animal-grade bin instead, often used for other pet foods.

This doesn't mean our kibble is human grade. But it does mean the salmon used in our salmon meal comes from the human-consumption supply chain.

EU-Approved Ingredients

USDA-Inspected Facilities

Non-Genetically Engineered Ingredients

FSMA Compliant

No 4D Ingredients

The Ingredient We’ve Used Since 1994

NEW ZEALAND GREEN-LIPPED SEA MUSSEL

Nearly every Best Breed formula includes New Zealand Green-Lipped Mussels – a nutrient-dense super-ingredient that most brands overlook entirely.

We make our recipes with great tasting New Zealand Green-Lipped Mussels and natural sources of glucosamine and chondroitin to help support joint and mobility health. It also delivers a unique combination of Omega-3 fatty acids not found in other sources, along with minerals, amino acids, vitamins, and antioxidants.

This isn’t an ingredient trend for us – it's been in our formulas since the beginning.