Exposing Butternut Box Dog Food

Who started Butternut Box and why?

Butternut Box fresh dog food was started in 2014 in London by 2 entrepreneurs and friends Kev and Dave working in banking at the time, who began to make fresh dog food in their kitchen. Their vision was inspired by an improvement in health in Dave’s family dog Rudie when fed home cooked meals.

From humble beginnings where they would make and deliver the food themselves, their company grew to such a point where in 2023, Butternut Box received an investment of £280 million pounds to expand their range of fresh foods into Europe!

How sustainable is the production of fresh dog food?

When you consider that the meat-based dog food industry runs off the fact that it is sustainable as the ‘byproducts’ of the livestock animals are used in pet food ie liver, kidneys, spleen, heart, tongue, fat, blood – ie the parts of the animal that we do not eat which ensures there is no waste….but this still amounts to the meat-based dog food industry having an enormous environmental impact compared to plant-based dog food.

Now consider using ‘human grade’ fresh ingredients in a dog food where you compete with the food that we eat, including fish, lamb, pork, beef and chicken…it gives a small dog fed on this food with each meal, a greater carbon footprint than an adult person as people do not eat meat with each meal.

Knowing that their food was environmentally extremely damaging with the very high meat content that they pride themselves on for pet owners; they introduced a plant-based option in 2022 made from pea protein, lentils and sweet potato but still packaged in environmentally damaging plastic as all their products are.

The images below are taken from their Sustainability Report 2022 showing that they are committed to reducing their environmental impact with their plant-based dog food

In this article from June 2022, they quote – ‘The decision to create a plant-based meal arose from 71% of customers saying they want a vegetable-based meal once a week so their dogs can enjoy different textures and flavours.

Dr Ciara Clarke, In-House Vet and Research Specialist at Butternut Box, said: “Incorporating a more varied diet into your dog’s meal routine is ideal for picky eaters as you learn to understand their likes and dislikes. Dogs are omnivores and a well-balanced diet is essential for their health and wellbeing.”
Read full article here

Butternut Box were able to gain B-Corp certification in September 2022 months after the launch of their plant-based fresh food. Their B-Corp Certification states –

They claim to have “Its range includes low carbon recipes, Europe’s first nutritionally complete vegetarian and plant-based fresh meals”.

In September 2023, a year after receiving their B-Corp Certification, they were able to get £280 million pound investment to expand into Europe.

Their investors state – ‘The planned facility will be the second of its kind for Butternut Box after Rudie’s Kitchen, a fully integrated manufacturing and fulfilment facility that opened in March 2021, giving the Company complete visibility and control over its emissions production. This further underlines the Company’s commitment to creating a positive impact across all areas of its business, as evidenced by receiving B Corp accreditation in September 2022.’

In September 2024, Butternut Box have DISCOUNTINUED THEIR PLANT-BASED DOG FOOD OPTION now that they have their B-Corp certification and their investment to expand into Europe and keep growing while at the same time producing one of the least sustainable of all the dog foods available using human grade meat and fish in plastic packaging.

A great irony is that one of their directors Kevin is actually vegetarian!