Lady & the Scamps

Trying the Pooch and Mutt wet food variety pack that’s under £20

Good mood food. That’s how Pooch and Mutt describe their grain-free, junk-free wet food recipes – and Phoebe and Frank would agree!

Back in September 2021, Pooch and Mutt altered their wet food recipes, and while some customers preferred the old jelly-heavy formula, others preferred the new one. So, we decided to try it for ourselves.

The Pooch and Mutt variety pack of wet food comes with 12 cartons of wet meat – three cartons of four different flavour combinations – for £19.99. However, I managed to bag 45% off when I added it to my basket and left it there for a couple of days, as Pooch and Mutt sent the code out in a bid to encourage hitting that ‘checkout’ button.

Read more: Pooch and Mutt: rebranded training treat range

Delivery was quick, and for £15 (including postage) we worked out the variety pack would last the Scamps 24 days – so over three weeks! We only add wet meat to Phoebe and Franks evening meal, and we would add a quarter of the carton to each meal for them, so found it to be quite good value for cash, as well as being easy to store at home in the pantry.

Each carton is 375g, and described by Pooch and Mutt as ‘bursting with fresh ingredients that do good and taste good’.

The variety pack features the flavours, Chicken, Pumpkin & Pea, Turkey & Chicken, Chicken & Beef, and Turkey & Duck. The colours of each carton are in very cute pastels, and are labelled not only on the front, but on top too, which makes picking the evening’s recipe quick and easy.

Suitable for puppies and dogs ‘of any age’, each recipe contains between 50-65% meat for protein, amino acids and energy, alongside natural, fibrous, fresh vegetables, vitamins and minerals for a complete and balanced diet. While we feed this in addition to kibble, there’s nothing stopping you feeding just wet food, so long as it’s a complete recipe.

Something we always look out for in both food and treats is prebiotics, as Phoebe suffered a rather nasty stomach bacterial infection when we first rescued her. We’re always keen to encourage the good bacteria in the gut to thrive and aid healthy digestion, so we were thrilled to see that Pooch and Mutt’s recipe includes prebiotics.

Read more: Inside the Pooch and Mutt Christmas Gift Box that’s under a tenner

Pooch and Mutt also state their recipes contain no added artificial flavours, colours, preservatives, with no grain, cereal, gluten, soy, diary or any genetically modified produce.

We found that each recipe had a different consistency – for example, the beef and chicken variety was firmer than the chicken, pumpkin and pea recipe, which wasn’t an issue, just an observation. Similarly, some contained more jelly than others, but this is comes after Pooch and Mutt reduced the amount of jelly in their recipes in September.

Founder Guy Blaskey explained: “Reducing the jelly has meant that there is more moisture in the meat and vegetables, which has made that part of the product less firm. We added fibre to the foods, which is generally a good thing, however the fibre is absorbing the moisture and making the texture of the food softer. We have done trials without the fibre and the product is firmer. We will be developing this further on the next batch.”

The ones with more jelly in were less whiffy than the others, and there’s science behind this. Materials in a liquid state evaporate more quickly than those in a more solid state (like jelly) meaning that those lacking jelly would smell stronger. And because of this, Pooch and Mutt are looking to bring some jelly back into those recipes.

The changes to the recipe came after the Pooch and Mutt factory suffered a fire during the pandemic, meaning that their manufacturing had to move to a new supplier quickly to ensure no customers would be without their dogs’ dinners.

Guy added: “We had started work with a new manufacturer on improving the wet food range. There was nothing wrong with the range, but we are always looking to improve all of our products and this change was primarily looking at food miles, locally sourcing ingredients, and mitigating the effects of Brexit.

“Then in May our existing manufacturing facility suffered a horrendous fire. The fire meant that our existing manufacturer would not be able to produce our food for nearly a year. At this point, we had to speed up the process of moving to the new supplier that we had started working with.

“The team was “all hands on deck” and did an incredible job. I am very proud that the team managed to get the new production up and running in just 11 weeks, to ensure that our customers didn’t go without food for their dogs.”

Generally customers have been pleased with the new recipes, with the production team taking feedback on board as they continue to perfect their product.

Personally, we really liked it, with Phoebe and Frank hovering around in the kitchen well before dinner time in the hopes of bagging an early tea. Chicken & Beef and Turkey & Duck were probably our favourite from the variety pack, but it’s great that you get four different flavours to rotate the menu and keep mealtimes interesting.

In addition to the cartons being easy to use and store, they’re also easy to dispose of. They’re 100% recyclable, with 93% of local authorities offering carton collection. They’re made from ‘sustainable forests which absorb CO2 out of the atmosphere’, and offer an 80% lower global warming potential compared to regular cans. 

On my point about storage, it also means that they’re easier to transport, and on average, take eight fewer lorry journeys to transport in comparison to cans.

Overall, we’re really excited to see Pooch and Mutt develop their range of wet food. We love the variety, the branding and the colourful, recyclable packaging – and Phoebe and Frank definitely love the taste.

You can even bag £5 off your first purchase over £15 with my referral link here.

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