The science behind our Fresh take on dog food
At Butternut Box, we’re guided by a simple principle: that when it comes to diet and nutrition, dogs deserve better. The best, in fact.
So we’ve channelled our passion into developing an evolved diet that’s delicious, complete, varied, highly digestible and Fresh. With solid science to back up the benefits.
Research Hub
A bit about us
Our in-house experts
Butternut Box is the first and largest Fresh dog food brand in Europe.
David Nolan
Co-founder, Butternut Box
Charlotte McCormack
Director of Product Development
Dr Ciara Clarke
In-house Vet and Researcher
Our research principles
We use observations and non-invasive clinical studies to show the benefits of feeding Fresh, following animal welfare guidelines and the 3Rs.
Refine methods
Improve procedures and make sure they always put dogs’ welfare first
Reduce animal numbers
Conduct our research on as few dogs as possible without compromising the quality of our results
Replace with lab-based methods
We always opt for alternatives, such as cell cultures or computer models when possible
Doing right by dogs
We have an internal animal ethics review panel who make sure we always stay true to our core value: #FortheLoveofDogs.
In line with this, we make sure all of our feeding-trials involve in-home testing on family-owned dogs, rather than those in kennels. This allows us to monitor more breeds and their behaviours that are representative of those we share our lives with.
Study 1: University of Surrey's School of Veterinary Medicine
Our active studies
We’ve partnered with the University of Surrey’s School of Veterinary Medicine to carry out groundbreaking research aimed at proving that feeding Fresh leads to healthier, happier dogs. We hope to show that:
- Fresh diets result in better health outcomes than ultra-processed alternatives
- Dogs eating a Fresh diet are healthier than those eating premium veterinary kibble
Why do we believe this?
Unlike ultra-processed alternatives, Fresh diets are made using premium, human-quality ingredients that are much easier to digest. They’re rich in prebiotic fibres and polyphenols from fruits and vegetables, which support gut health and are prepared using gentle, low-temperature cooking methods.
This means they avoid the Maillard reaction, leading to a reduction in the formation of dietary advanced glycation end products (AGEs) commonly found in processed foods, so the nutritional benefits are maximised.
Study 2: Hacettepe University
We've also teamed up with the leading food chemistry department at Hacettepe University to analyse the presence of Maillard Reaction Products and Advanced Glycation End Products (AGEs).
It’s understood that these highly oxidant compounds affect health negatively. And because commercial pet diets are frequently fed to domestic cats and dogs throughout their lifetimes, it is crucial to understand their concentrations.
We'll be studying the levels present in canned, kibble, cold-pressed, freeze-dried and Fresh diets. And we're expecting to find fewer AGEs present in Fresh than ultra-processed alternatives.
Our latest studies show that Fresh food...
Butternut diets are more digestible than others on the market, meaning fewer nutrients are wasted and passed as poo. This makes our meals ideal for dogs with sensitive stomachs.
As you’ll know, digestibility is largely determined by ingredient quality, quantity fed, and food processing methods, and the impact can be seen in the characteristics of each dog’s poo. Diets with low digestibility can lead to larger quantities of poo with loose consistency, while high digestibility results in smaller amounts of drier poo.
We’ve analysed how the digestion of Fresh Butternut meals compares to our competitors and here’s what we found.
Show me the science
In-home dog studies (2018-2022)
World-first in-vitro study (2022)
Click below to read all about our deliciously high scores:
- Crude protein digestibility - 90-96%
- Crude fat digestibility - 95-98%
Click below to find out how we achieved high Crude Protein digestibility results of 91-96% in a lab setting
Our food is ideal for dogs with sensitive skin concerns thanks to its excellent digestibility and bioavailability of protein, essential fatty acids, and minerals such as zinc and selenium.
In fact, many of our customers report visible improvements in their dog’s coat and reduced incidences of itchy skin, sore ears and irritated paws after eating our meals for as little as two to three and a half months.
Show me the science
We examined the link between our Fresh diet and skin health with an in-depth analysis of 21 healthy dogs, who’d been eating Butternut Box meals for at least three months, measuring skin hydration and skin barrier function over three consecutive days.
We also conducted the same analysis on nine dogs eating alternative premium diets. The results showed…
Dogs eating our meals have a greater level of skin hydration
(24.78μs) compared with dogs eating alternative diets (19.79μs)
Butternut dogs have a healthier and more intact skin barrier
(15.06g/m2/h) compared with dogs eating alternative diets (17.03g/m2/h) or those reported in scientific literature (12.3g/m2/h)
As a pet health professional, you’ll be well aware that obesity is the most common nutritional disorder in companion animals.
So to help our customers adopt healthy feeding habits, our nutrition team has developed proprietary algorithms that calculate a dog’s daily requirements to the nearest 50 calories.
This means our Fresh pouches are perfectly portioned for each dog. Making feeding simpler for our customers and healthier, more varied and delicious for their dogs.
Real world application
Dog: Kaiden
Breed: Chesapeake Retriever
BCS: 9/9 to 6/9
Total weight loss: 5.3kg at 20 weeks
“I was hopeful although slightly dubious as Kaiden hadn't been losing on raw. Would never feed weight loss kibble so very happy with Butternut Box low fat meals. Everything, prepared meals ready portioned out made it very easy.”
- Carly, dog guardian
Show me the science
In 2022, we ran a 12-week intervention observation study and followed 12 dogs with an overweight body condition score (BCS) of 7/9 or above.
The dogs were fed a range of low-fat Butternut meals, with portions carefully calculated using our algorithm. Usual treat-giving behaviours and exercise routines remained the same. Here’s a little taster of what we found:
- 92% of the dogs we studied lost weight
- All the dogs had improved energy levels
- Overall, our owners all felt less guilty when feeding Fresh and felt motivated to stick to the diet plan
Our delicious Fresh food is a tasty prospect even for the fussiest dogs. Which is a good job, as 45% of customers who turn to Butternut consider their dogs ‘fussy’ or ‘very fussy’. But the palatability and variety we offer, combined with our 10-point plan for ‘fussy’ dogs means it always goes down a storm.
Show me the science
Daily TrustPilot reviews suggest Butternut diets are being devoured by dogs who reject other foods. So we teamed up with the Clinical Animal Behaviour department at Edinburgh University to learn more.
Together, we set out to see whether there’s significant correlation between breed and fussiness. Here are a few standout discoveries:
- Labradors are less fussy than non-Labradors (surprise, surprise) - 15.3% less fussy, in fact
- Poodles and Poodle-mix breed dogs (Cockapoos, Cavapoos, Yorkipoos etc) are 12.7% fussier breeds than non Poodle breeds
- Poodles are fussy no matter which country they come from. But Poodles from Belgium are the fussiest of all, and Poodles from The Netherlands are the least fussy
We had more than a ‘hunch’ that our delicious Fresh food with its diverse range of unprocessed prebiotic fibre sources would lead to a healthier gut profile for dogs when compared to those on a Kibble diet. But rather than banking on our own gut instinct, we knew the final word belonged to theirs.
Show me the science
We conducted Europe’s largest pet-owned, multi-breed, cross-sectional microbiome and diet research study with Treat Therapeutics. The aim was to explore bacterial populations, diversity, and metabolites in pet dogs fed either a Butternut Box or Kibble diet for a minimum of 4 months.
The study involved 102 healthy dogs aged between 1-8 years old from 44 different breeds (i.e. pure, crossbreed combinations, and mixed breeds). These were some of our key findings:
- Dogs eating Butternut had significantly higher levels of bacteria or the metabolites of bacteria that are associated with multiple health benefits
- Dogs eating Kibble had higher levels of an opportunistic bacteria that is linked to inflammatory disease such as IBD, and obesity
- Dogs eating Butternut had higher levels of normal or "healthy" metabolic pathways, supporting skin health and less sensitive stomachs
Dietary management for dogs
We make at least four suitable meals for nearly 90% of dietetic and health conditions and all are rigorously analysed and measured against PARNUT regulatory parameters to make sure they’re fit for each condition. You can delve deeper into all of the information around this in our super handy Vet Handbook.
It’s also very easy to adapt our meal plans to support weight management. Customers can do this by logging into their account on our website or app.
Vet handbook
Our expert team of in-house vets, vet nurses, canine nutritionists and recipe formulators has created this handy go-to guide for all Butternut Fresh meals, as well as our health and wellness products.
Inside, you’ll find a breakdown of the benefits of feeding Fresh, clinical applications for our meals, and our stance on health conditions such as pancreatitis. All backed up by the latest scientific research.
Work with us
We’re always eager to collaborate to help advance canine nutrition, health and wellbeing.
So if you have any questions, want to learn more about our research, or are interested in joining us on our journey, email vets@butternutbox.com.
