Blue Buffalo vs Purina Pro Plan

Blue Buffalo vs Purina Pro Plan Foundation & Companies

Established in 2002, Blue Buffalo Co., Ltd is a top-ranking pet food company headquartered in Wilton, CT, United States. Bill Bishop, the founder, started with advertising for big names where he rose to being COO of SoBe, a beverage company he helped co-found. Later, the enterprise was acquired by Pepsi and Bishop dived into the pet food market. The aim was to make the finest natural dog food inspired by Blue, a family’s Airedale terrier that was diagnosed with lymphoma.

We know about Blue Buffalo so let’s talk briefly about Purina. The enterprise was founded in 2001 and came to be after merging Ralston Purina with Nestles Friskies Petcare Company. Purina has 5 pet food brands including Purina Pro Plan, Purina Dog Chow, Purina One, Purina Friskies, and Purina Beneful. Like Blue Buffalo, they have dog and cat foods and treats as well.

Blue Buffalo vs. Purina Pro Plan Range of Products

Blue Buffalo manufacturers both dog and cat foods which are available in a range of formulas and proteins. They offer you a choice between grain and grain-free as well as dry and canned pet foods and also make treats. In fact, it is America’s leading pet food company.

As we all know, feeding your pet the best food is not just about the cost, you need to do in-depth research before spending a dollar. Today, we shall compare Blue Buffalo against other pet food brands to see which is best in terms of nutritional value, price, ingredients, and more.

Blue Buffalo vs. Purina Pro Plan Nutrition & Ingredients

Both Blue Buffalo and Purina Pro Plan are higher-end pet foods that are nutritious and use better ingredients than most cheap kibbles you will find in the pet food market. In terms of quality, these two foods are very close. That, however, does not make the brands equal. So, which one is better and why?

When it comes to taste, both foods have real meat as their primary ingredient in their formulas, but Blue Buffalo has lots of plant-based ingredients while Purina Pro Plan has meat chunks. In terms of digestibility, however, Blue Buffalo stands out as they do not use fillers or cheap ingredients. Purina Pro Plan has 2.6%, 5.5%, 6.7%, and 4.5% more protein content in dry dog, wet dog, dry cat and wet cat foods than Blue Buffalo, respectively. Blue Buffalo includes superfoods in their recipe which adds nutritional value and few controversial ingredients. And while price depends on your range, Purina Pro Plan has the upper hand and also has one of the widest choices with more than 80 recipes to pick from. 

Blue Buffalo vs. Purina Pro Plan Comparison Table

Factor	Blue Buffalo	Purina Pro Plan
Taste	Uses real meat as the primary ingredient	Uses real meat as the primary ingredient. Some recipes have meat chunks.
Nutritional Value	High-quality ingredients with no fillers, corn, wheat, or soy	Ingredients quality vary greatly
Product Line	Six product lines: Freedom, Basics, Veterinary Diet, Wilderness, Carnivora & TrueSolutions	Wide range of products (over 80) with focus on life stages
Price	Can be costly	Pocket-friendly costs
Safety	Very many food recalls (2007 – 2017 )	Several wet food recalls in 2016

Verdict: Overall, these two brands are very close. However, we would recommend Purina Pro Plan for fewer recalls and ingredients.

Is Blue Buffalo good or bad?

In our opinion, whether the brand’s products are good or bad depends on a number of factors, but most importantly nutritional value. If your cat thrives when you feed him or her Blue Buffalo, it means the food meets their specific dietary needs. And while the brand uses healthy ingredients, most of them are plant-based which is unfit for carnivores such as your cat. Good cat food should have animal-based ingredients, especially protein.

Yes, Blue Buffalo is neither the worst nor the best pet food brand in the market. So, how does it compare to others in the industry? This review will help us understand it more.