Fromm vs Instinct

[Abby142]

We are looking at switching Jade's food and I have it narrowed down to the grain-free line of Fromm's or Nature's Variety Instinct. The price is pretty close for both of them, so that isn't really a factor. I have heard lots of good things about Fromm, but nothing on the grain-free line. And the first time I heard about the Instinct was at the store but I looked it up online and it also looks pretty good.

Anyone have any ideas or opinions of these two foods?

[Bear GSD]

I tried feeding my dog Fromm and he didn't like it. I now feed Nature's Variety Instinct (Duck,Turkey,Salmon) and he loves it. Both kibbles are really good and they are both the same in terms of they are small sized kibble.

Look at the ingredients and see which you might like to try first or if you can get samples of both from your store then you can do a taste test of sorts.
I think either way you can't go wrong, they are both good kibble.

[Shade]

I feed Fromm and switch between the grain free four star line. I'm happy with it and my dogs are too and I like that Fromm does a buy 12 bags get 1 free program. It's also beneficial that the four star formulas are made so you can switch flavours with no issues. My poodle is a very picky eater so I swap flavours every bag and don't have to worry about a period of mixing

[Abby142]

Originally Posted by Shade

I feed Fromm and switch between the grain free four star line. I'm happy with it and my dogs are too and I like that Fromm does a buy 12 bags get 1 free program. It's also beneficial that the four star formulas are made so you can switch flavours with no issues. My poodle is a very picky eater so I swap flavours every bag and don't have to worry about a period of mixing

Oh I didn't know that you didn't have to mix between flavours! I really like that.

[Marnie]

Fromm is a very reputable company. The kibble, I believe, is still made just north of me in Wisconsin. I understand it is an excellent plant altho I've never visited. I cannot use their formulas because all contain chicken in some form, but I like their ingredients. I don't remember ever seeing Fromm kibble recalled for anything.

I wouldn't touch their canned foods because they were and probably still are made in China.

[Shade]

Originally Posted by Marnie

Fromm is a very reputable company. The kibble, I believe, is still made just north of me in Wisconsin. I understand it is an excellent plant altho I've never visited. I cannot use their formulas because all contain chicken in some form, but I like their ingredients. I don't remember ever seeing Fromm kibble recalled for anything.

I wouldn't touch their canned foods because they were and probably still are made in China.

Actually they do have products that are completely chicken free and it's grain free to boot

Kibble:

Grain-Free Beef Frittata Veg dog food - Fromm Family Foods


Canned:

Shredded Beef dog food - Fromm Family Foods

Shredded Pork dog food - Fromm Family Foods


As for your comment regarding it being made in China, Fromm advertises their entire product line including kibble, canned, and treats are made in the USA. I would like to see sources backing up your comments

Quoted from their website:

Where is Fromm pet food made? All of our dry pet food and treats are made in the USA at our own USDA-inspected plant in Wisconsin. Our can foods are made in the USA at a USDA-inspected plant in South Dakota.

Dog & Cat Food Made in the USA - Fromm Family Foods

Also quoted from their website

Does Fromm use any ingredients from China?
No. All of our ingredients are sourced in the USA and all of our products are made in the USA.

No Ingredients from China - Fromm Family Foods

And just to top it all off, read their food safety standards:

Food Safety - Fromm Family Foods

No Ethoxyquin in Fromm Dog & Cat Food - Fromm Family Foods

[Marnie]

Originally Posted by Shade

Actually they do have products that are completely chicken free and it's grain free to boot

Kibble:

Grain-Free Beef Frittata Veg dog food - Fromm Family Foods


Canned:

Shredded Beef dog food - Fromm Family Foods

Shredded Pork dog food - Fromm Family Foods


As for your comment regarding it being made in China, Fromm advertises their entire product line including kibble, canned, and treats are made in the USA. I would like to see sources backing up your comments

Quoted from their website:

Where is Fromm pet food made? All of our dry pet food and treats are made in the USA at our own USDA-inspected plant in Wisconsin. Our can foods are made in the USA at a USDA-inspected plant in South Dakota.

Dog & Cat Food Made in the USA - Fromm Family Foods

Also quoted from their website

Does Fromm use any ingredients from China?
No. All of our ingredients are sourced in the USA and all of our products are made in the USA.

No Ingredients from China - Fromm Family Foods

And just to top it all off, read their food safety standards:

Food Safety - Fromm Family Foods

No Ethoxyquin in Fromm Dog & Cat Food - Fromm Family Foods

Looks like I'm wrong and they have stopped manufacturing in China. Thank you for catching that. After I took my cats off Fromm, I never went back and looked. Their products were good and I may go back to the canned cat food. It caused quite a stir when it was announced their canned products were made in a very advanced human grade facility in China. I'm very happy to see they have brought their products home to America. This statement from Fromm regarding their productions in China. Of course this statement was issued before the discovery that infant formula made there contained melamine and killed an unknown number of children.

We are having our canned food produced for us in China, however, we
selected the facility because it is a human food facility that is
reputable and produces food for people throughout the world.

We do not have a human food canning facility here at our location and
we tried to have it done here in the United States for almost two
years. It became clear that we were not going to be able to have our
recipes made for us here so we had two choices. One was to go to Menu
Foods and be the same as all the rest or to, go global. We were not
going to compromise on the safety, wholesomeness, and human edible
quality so we went global.

Why does that matter? Well to begin with, the regulations and
inspections are in place for human food manufacturing and everything
is required to be tested, even the water they use. The inspections and
regulations are some of the strictest in the world for human food, so
nothing in the pet food world comes close to the safety and
precautions as our canned food. Because the facility is used by
different countries it must pass inspection from the government
authorities of Canada, Europe,China, USDA, FDA, and is also Kosher
certified.

It's true that there are a great deal of negative headlines involving
China right now, but no manufacturing is completely immune from ever
having a problem. This is why we spent the time researching and
reviewing a strong, long standing, reputable company. Like I said
earlier, we tried for almost two years to have the food produced in a
human food cannery here in the U.S., but hope was lost when they
weren't willing to meet our demand for innovation. The fact that the
cannery we chose happened to be in China was secondary to the quality
and safety they offered.

Each can is individually hand packed. The meat is hand deboned and
shredded. The quality of the meats are the same you or I would eat
from the butcher shop. There is nothing fake in our product. Its all
whole foods. It literally is human edible. Each ingredient has
record of origin, is inspected, the process is inspected, and the
final product is inspected. There is no other pet food in the world
that can say that. We pay market value for every ingredient and
having our food hand prepared one can at a time is not a cost saving
value either.

The difference is obvious from the moment you open the can. You get
what you pay for and what you get is an incredible feast for your pet.
Expertly balanced with the proper U.S. Pharmaceutical minerals and
vitamins needed for a wholesome pet diet, there is not a better canned
product available today, no matter where it is made.

We appreciate and understand clearly that everyone has a choice to
make when it comes to feeding their pet. For some, the choice will
not be Fromm Four Star Bistro because it is made in China and for many
others it still will be in high demand.

We are currently working on finding an alternative to China so
everyone can make a decision based on what is inside the can not on
the label, but it may take up to one more year in order for everything
to be in place.

[vickip9]

I use Instinct and rotate between flavors. They have soooo many choices! The thing that stands out to me the most about NV Instinct is the ingredients they include that most companies don't. Here's a list of the unique ingredients they include: Pumpkinseeds, alfalfa, kelp, freeze dried raw, ground bones, all sorts of unique fruits/veggies, Montmorillonite Clay (natural source rich in minerals), a variety of fowl eggs, etc. My dog is doing EXCELLENT on Instinct. His coat is shiny, he doesn't itch, and his poops are small little nuggets.