For years, many of us who advocate for fresh, minimally processed food for our cats have faced pushback. Especially from our conventional veterinarians who consider processed kibble the gold standard of nutrition. But something unexpected is happening. Something that might just make them think twice about this long-held belief: Big Pet Food is moving into the fresh food space.
Royal Canin and Blue Buffalo Embrace Fresh Food
That’s right. Some of the giants in the Pet Food Industry (PFI), like Royal Canin and Blue Buffalo (owned by Mars and General Mills, respectively) – are now launching fresh food options for pets. Royal Canin recently released a gently cooked, frozen diet. Blue Buffalo just announced Love Made Fresh, set to launch later this year.
As Dr. Karen Becker put it:
“Big Pet Food just made a move the kibble-for-life vet community can’t ignore… their argument just lost its teeth.”
For years, fresh feeders have been dismissed as fringe for choosing real food over ultra-processed cat food. We’ve even been called negligent. If you feed fresh, you’ve likely also been told that feeding real food is “dangerous,” “unbalanced,” or simply “not science-backed.” Meanwhile, conventional vets continue to recommend ultra-processed, feed-grade foods as “complete and balanced”. This despite the overwhelming evidence that no species – humans, cats, or otherwise – was meant to thrive on synthetic, highly engineered ‘food’.
So… now that these big brands are stepping into the fresh food arena, will we see the conventional veterinarian community change their tune? Or perhaps better tolerate those of us on the frontlines of the fresh-food movement? And with this sudden shift in market reach, we also can’t help but also ask:
Is It Progress or Just Profit for Big Pet Food?
According to market research firm Technavio, the U.S. fresh pet food market getting a big growth spurt. To the tune of $3.2 billion between 2025 and 2029. That’s a huge incentive for Big Pet Food to follow the money. Even if it means abandoning the very arguments they’ve used to promote kibble for decades.
But – let’s be very clear: Not all fresh food is created equal.
As Susan Thixton of Truth About Pet Food points out, these new “fresh” offerings may still be made with feed-grade ingredients – not fit for human consumption, despite the farm-fresh imagery on the packaging.
“Pet owners will have no guarantee their products are manufactured with quality human grade ingredients… We can safely assume these products – like many of the highly processed pet foods – will contain misleading images of grilled or roasted meats when the actual product contains nothing similar.”
So while Big Pet Food may appear to be embracing real food, it’s still critical for us to ask questions:
🟢 Are the ingredients human-grade or feed-grade?
🟢 Is the company transparent about sourcing?
🟢 Is the nutritional analysis readily available?
What This Means for Pet Parents and Vets
The entry of Big Pet Food into the fresh food market could finally start to shift the long-standing stigma against feeding cats species appropriate food. Conventional vets who’ve sold and defended kibble their entire careers may now be faced with a new reality. One that looks a lot like the common sense many cat parents have always known: Real food supports real health.
“None of us were meant to thrive on highly engineered, processed pellets,” Dr. Becker reminds us.
“It’s kind of counterintuitive for good health, yet still argued in veterinary medicine.”
Let’s hope this move by the pet food industry brings more awareness to the importance of biologically appropriate diets – but let’s also stay vigilant.
Support the small, independently owned pet food companies that have been doing this right from the start:
✔ Using human-grade ingredients
✔ Providing full transparency
✔ Offering raw and gently cooked diets that actually nourish our cats
Final thoughts on these PFI developments? These are exciting times. We are truly hopeful this new direction begins better conversations in the cat nutrition space. Especially between cat parents and veterinarians. Normalizing fresh food diets is a good start. Let’s bring on the common sense and compassion moving forward within our own conversations. Let’s – together – continue moving the needle towards happier and healthier cats.
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