Both Merrick and Blue Buffalo are good pet food brands with an emphasis on the quality and wellness of your pets. Right from their origins, the two have a lot in common, but that does not make them equal. So, which is better between Blue Buffalo vs. Merrick in the showdown?
Table of Contents
Blue Buffalo vs. Merrick
Merrick rose from humble beginnings in 1988 as an independent operation founded by Garth Merrick. Garth began with homemade meals for Gracie, his dog, and his neighbors started ordering some as well which is when he started mass production. The company was acquired by Nestle Purina PetCare Corp. in 2015.
On the other hand, Blue Buffalo was founded more than a decade after Merrick in 2003 by Bill Bishop and in 2018, it was sold to General Mills. It is headquartered in Connecticut, USA but has operations in more than 5 countries.
Blue Buffalo vs. Merrick Infredients
Blue Buffalo and Merrick use natural healthy ingredients which make their pet foods nutritious and tasty. There are no cheap fillers in the two brands thus improving their nutritional value. Yet, Merrick has higher protein content in their diets. Their dry dog, wet cat, dry cat, and wet cat foods have 6.5%, 3.9%, 3.5%, and 0.9% more protein than Blue Buffalo. However, we noted controversial ingredients in both with 3 unique in each and one with adverse health effects.
Blue Buffalo vs. Merrick Recalls
In terms of recalls, Merrick only has 6 against Blue Buffalo’s 9.
Blue Buffalo vs. Merrick Pricing
And while the prices are almost similar, Blue Buffalo is less costly.
Blue Buffalo vs. Merrick Comparison Table
| Factor | Blue Buffalo | Merrick |
| Taste | Uses meat, has tasty meals, but that differs based on recipes | Use more meat with more protein content making tasty meals |
| Nutritional Value | High-quality ingredients with zero fillers & include omegas | More nutritious with healthy ingredients, omegas & no fillers |
| Product Line | Six product lines: Freedom, Basics, Veterinary Diet, Wilderness, Carnivora & TrueSolutions | Ten product lines in total for both dog and cat foods |
| Price | Fairly costly | Very Expensive |
| Safety | Very many food recalls, 9 to be exact (2007 – 2017 ) | Six recalls from 2010 to 2018 |
Verdict: Blue Buffalo vs. Merrick
Overall, both brands are good choices but we pick Merrick due to safety concerns and high protein content, and high nutritional value.
Amazon and the Amazon logo are trademarks of Amazon.com, Inc, or its affiliates.
Hi there! My name is Alex Landy, one of the co-founders here at Our Pets HQ and a parent to a small-breed Yorkie. I am a published author of two books on dog breeding and currently write on various pet-related blogs about caring for dogs. I am a parent of two daughters and live outside Boston where I spend a lot of time with family and serve in different breeding clubs. You can reach me at alex@ourpetshq.com
