I adopted Cloud, a former stray, three years ago—and my wife and I are obsessed. But we’ve never thought much about his food. That’s because he’s been a generally happy, healthy, and active guy. As he’s aged though, he’s become more picky about his kibble, even losing a couple pounds in the process. And according to vets, as dogs age, their senses of taste and smell decline, decreasing their interest in food. After hearing about the benefits of feeding fresh, especially for picky eaters, we took a deeper look into the options.

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The Players

When it came to trying fresh, I started with the 3 leading brands: The Farmer’s Dog, Nom Nom, and Ollie, and we—well, Cloud mostly—put them to the test. 

Over the course of 3 weeks, we compared each brand on the following dimensions: taste, customization, convenience, and quality to identify an overall winner. As recommended by our vet, we transitioned Cloud to fresh food over the course of a week. After 3 weeks, it was clear that one was not only the best-tasting, but also the best for Cloud’s gut health and energy. Keep reading to learn which brand came out on top. 

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1. Taste and Variety: Nom Nom Wins

Nom Nom, The Farmer’s Dog, and Ollie each have several recipe options depending on your pet’s profile. First, we compared the brands on key ingredients. Let’s take a look at each brand’s turkey recipe.

Turkey Recipe Breakdown by Brand:

All three are are within the AAFCO recommended ranges for nutritional breakdowns. Nom Nom stands out as being both low fat and high protein, but all three are close. Each brand also only uses real ingredients, supplemented with essential vitamins and nutrients. 

Our fresh dog food journey started with Ollie. We tried Beef with Sweet Potatoes, Chicken with Carrots, and Pork with Apples. Ollie’s recipes are heavy in fruit, which have never been Cloud’s favorite. Plus, according to vets, fruit should only be fed in moderation, due to high sugar content. Unfortunately, Cloud didn’t finish his first bowl of Ollie, and the beef recipe did result in stomach issues. We reverted back to kibble for the rest of the week.

We moved on to The Farmer’s Dog. We tried the Chicken, Turkey, and Beef recipes. The meals didn’t result in any stomach issues, but he wasn’t the biggest fan. We started with Beef, and again, he didn’t finish his bowl. He warmed up to the food over the course of a week (he liked the chicken best) but it still wasn’t the mealtime enthusiasm we had hoped for. 

Finally, we put Nom Nom to the test. We tried all four recipes – Beef Mash, Pork Potluck, Chicken Cuisine, and Turkey Fare. When Cloud saw me open the first pack of Beef Mash, I knew it would be his favorite. He started jumping, and even barked at me to hurry up and feed him. That's NOT ok, but it was cute to see that return to the puppy days! Chicken Cuisine is his other favorite, and and he trips over my feet every time I set his bowl down. Nom Nom also stands out because I can actually see the whole ingredients – both Ollie and The Farmer’s Dog look like less-than-appetizing mush.

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2. Customization: Nom Nom Wins

When it came to finding a plan tailored to Cloud, all three companies offer different types of plans, and allowed me to mix and match recipes. Each also asks about your dog’s weight, allergies, and breed to calculate the right volume of food. I put in the same information for Cloud on all three – he’s a 15 pound Shih-Tzu who is extremely active, a picky eater, and has an ideal weight of 17lbs. Here's what came next.

Nom Nom provided clear and personalized recommendations for Cloud based on his picky eating and high activity level, and actually supplied reasons for the choices: Chicken Cuisine recipe to “please even the pickiest pups,” along with Pork Potluck. The plan was made to help “maintain healthy bones, strong muscles, and a full coat.” Sounds good to me. 

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The Farmer’s Dog just recommended the three most popular recipes “for dogs with similar profiles to Cloud,” with no mention of how these would help meet his weight goals or address his picky needs. 

Ollie didn’t make any personalized recommendations, but featured what each recipe was best for – such as weight management or sensitive stomachs – in order to help me make my own selections. 

Ultimately, I felt like I had to do the work for both Ollie and The Farmer’s Dog to make sure I was getting the best food for Cloud, which wasn’t the case with Nom Nom.

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3. Convenience: Nom Nom Wins

All three companies send two weeks of meals at a time, right to your door, delivered in a box with ice to keep them cool.

The Farmer’s Dog ships all food in the same size pack – which means it’s up to you to portion out the meals. The instructions recommended cutting the package of gooey dog food across the middle, and then to serve Cloud ¼ pack per meal. That meant every mealtime I was left with a mess on the counter and those scissors – not the most convenient. I’m sure it was mentioned on the website somewhere, but I was actually super surprised that this was required! Combined with the off-putting, uniform appearance of the food, the experience did not feel particularly customized or high quality to me. 

Ollie pre-portions food into individual packages with peel-off lids. These were easy to open, but because of the mushy consistency of Ollie’s food, it stuck to the packaging, required some scooping to get into the bowl, and made a real mess on the counter.

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Nom Nom provided meals that were pre-portioned, easy to open, AND simple to serve. I was able to pour each pack directly into Cloud’s bowl without any sticking, since the ingredients are whole.

Nom Nom and The Farmer’s Dog provided clear instructions on storage (fridge for up to 5 days, freeze the rest). Ollie did not, so it wasn’t clear exactly how much time I had to serve these meals to Cloud before they went bad. Don’t forget about storage either, especially if you have bigger dogs! Nom Nom and Ollie are stackable in the freezer, which is important for large shipments. The Farmer’s Dog packs are too large and uneven to store efficiently.

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4. Quality Standards: It’s a Three-Way Tie

In order to do the best by Cloud, I’ve always kept up to date on AAFCO standards. The Association of American Feed Control Officials, or AAFCO, is an independent body which establishes model regulations for pet foods. I wanted to make sure that the brands meet these regulations. And after researching each company’s ingredients, nutrition, and sourcing closely, I’m happy to say that they do! 

Moreover, each brand features recipes formulated by veterinary nutritionists, and source and process ingredients that are up to USDA standards. 

Nom Nom rose just above the rest with a Board Certified Veterinary Nutritionist actually on-staff and several PhD nutritionists responsible for developing the recipes. But ultimately, all three meet very high standards of quality. 

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Overall Winner: Nom Nom

After just three weeks trying Nom Nom, The Farmer’s Dog, and Ollie, it was clear that Nom Nom was not only Cloud’s favorite food, but also the most convenient option, and the best for his health.

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We ultimately made the switch to Nom Nom, and I could not be happier with the results over the past month. Cloud continues to be really excited every time he hears a Nom Nom pack opening. Instead of begging for table scraps before finally begrudgingly nibbling his kibble, he devours his Nom Nom in seconds. He’s even reached his goal weight of 17 pounds. 

His energy levels and mood have improved noticeably after just a few days of eating Nom Nom. Less napping, and more fetch, and that’s fine by me. We’re excited to continue receiving shipments well into Cloud’s old age!