Essential Foods THE BEGINNING

Dry Extruded · completeHigh meatClear label

72out of 100

Good

our rating

Our verdict

Is Essential Foods THE BEGINNING a good dog food?

We score it 72/100 (Good). This reflects the ingredient quality, composition and label transparency of the recipe as declared on the label.

Complete extruded dry food for puppies, with chicken, sweet potatoes and chicken oil and fat as the main ingredients.

How we score

Why you might choose it

Scores 72, in the top quarter of dry foods we track.
Meat makes up an estimated 75% of the dry matter (81% as fed).
Prints ingredient percentages on the label.

Why you might not

High in fat: 23% fat on a dry-matter basis.

Who is this food for?

Suits

Labelled by the manufacturer for puppies
Grain-free: no grain ingredients listed
Doesn't list beef, turkey, lamb, venison, pork as ingredients

Consider something else if:

Your dog avoids chicken: the label lists chicken
Your dog avoids fish: the label lists salmon
Your dog avoids duck: it is listed as an ingredient
You want a single-protein recipe: this one lists more than one animal protein
You are limiting fat: 23.0% on a dry-matter basis is in the high band

These points are derived from declared ingredients and analysis, not a substitute for veterinary advice. If your dog has a diagnosed condition, food choice is a medical nutrition decision: speak to your vet. Find foods that fit your dog.

Nutrition and feedingProtein 35% · Fat 21%

Typical analysis (as fed)

Nutrient	As fed
Protein	35%
Fat	21%
Fibre	3.50%
Ash	8%
Moisture	8.50%
Omega-3 fatty acids	1.70%
Omega-6 fatty acids	3.60%
Calcium	1.60%
Phosphorus	1.30%

Additives & feeding info

Feeding and storage

Storage

The food should be stored in the bag, in a cool, dry place (5-18 °C). Away from direct sunlight, and with the zip carefully closed.

Additives declared on the label

Nutritional additives

Vitamin A 15000 IU; Vitamin D3 2000 IU; Vitamin E 240 IU; Taurine 1500 mg; Zinc (Zinc Chelate of Amino Acids Hydrate) 50 mg; Iron (Iron (II) Chelate of Amino Acids Hydrate) 50 mg; Manganese (Manganese Chelate of Amino Acids Hydrate) 35 mg; Copper (Copper (II) Chelate of Amino Acids Hydrate) 15 mg; Iodine (Calcium Iodate Anhydrous) 0.96 mg; Selenium (Sodium Selenite) 0.3 mg

Technological additives

rosemary extract

Ingredients (34)10% of the recipe is estimated

Estimated composition

meat 81.0%
oil 9.0%
veg 6.0%
supplement 3.1%
carb 0.9%

#	As declared	Matched	Label reading	Declared %	Est. %
1	Fresh free-range British chicken and free-run welfare assured British country duck (34%)	Chicken	meat · medium	34	34.0
2	Dried Chicken and Duck (30%)	Chicken	meat · medium	30	30.0
3	Sweet Potato	Sweet Potatoes	carb · good	-	0.5
4	Chicken Fat (9%)	Chicken Oil and Fat	oil · good	9	9.0
5	Peas	Peas	veg · good	-	0.5
6	Fresh Scottish salmon and Trout (7%)	Salmon	meat · good	7	7.0
7	Whole Egg (7%)	Egg	meat · good	7	7.0
8	Linseed	Linseed	veg · good	-	0.5
9	Potato	Potatoes	carb · medium	-	0.4
10	Chicken Gravy (3%)	Chicken	meat · medium	3	3.0
11	Lucerne Sprout	Alfalfa	veg · good	-	0.4
12	Vitamins	Vitamins and minerals	supplement · medium	-	0.4
13	Minerals	Vitamins and minerals	supplement · medium	-	0.4
14	MOS (Mannan Oligosaccharides)	Mannanoligosaccharides	supplement · good	-	0.4
15	FOS (Fructo-Oligosaccharides)	Fructo-oligosaccharides	supplement · good	-	0.4
16	Glucosamine	Glucosamine	supplement · good	-	0.4
17	MSM (methylsulfonylmethane)	MSM	supplement · good	-	0.4
18	Chondroitin	Chondroitin	supplement · good	-	0.4
19	Cranberry	Cranberries	veg · good	-	0.4
20	Acai	Acai	veg · good	-	0.4
21	Bilberry	Bilberries	veg · good	-	0.4
22	Mulberry	Mulberry	veg · good	-	0.3
23	Apple	Apples	veg · good	-	0.3
24	Tomato	Tomato	veg · good	-	0.3
25	Orange	Orange	veg · medium	-	0.3
26	Pear	Pears	veg · good	-	0.3
27	Carrot	Carrots	veg · good	-	0.3
28	Spinach	Spinach	veg · good	-	0.3
29	Cauliflower	Cauliflower	veg · good	-	0.3
30	Seaweed	Seaweed	veg · good	-	0.3
31	Marigold	Calendula	veg · good	-	0.3
32	Ginseng	Ginseng	supplement · medium	-	0.3
33	Decaffeinated green tea	Green Tea	veg · good	-	0.3
34	Ginger.	Ginger	veg · good	-	0.2

1. Fresh free-range British chicken and free-run welfare assured British country duck (34%)34% declared34.0% estimated
Chicken · meat · medium
2. Dried Chicken and Duck (30%)30% declared30.0% estimated
Chicken · meat · medium
3. Sweet Potato0.5% estimated
Sweet Potatoes · carb · good
4. Chicken Fat (9%)9% declared9.0% estimated
Chicken Oil and Fat · oil · good
5. Peas0.5% estimated
Peas · veg · good
6. Fresh Scottish salmon and Trout (7%)7% declared7.0% estimated
Salmon · meat · good
7. Whole Egg (7%)7% declared7.0% estimated
Egg · meat · good
8. Linseed0.5% estimated
Linseed · veg · good
9. Potato0.4% estimated
Potatoes · carb · medium
10. Chicken Gravy (3%)3% declared3.0% estimated
Chicken · meat · medium
11. Lucerne Sprout0.4% estimated
Alfalfa · veg · good
12. Vitamins0.4% estimated
Vitamins and minerals · supplement · medium
13. Minerals0.4% estimated
Vitamins and minerals · supplement · medium
14. MOS (Mannan Oligosaccharides)0.4% estimated
Mannanoligosaccharides · supplement · good
15. FOS (Fructo-Oligosaccharides)0.4% estimated
Fructo-oligosaccharides · supplement · good
16. Glucosamine0.4% estimated
Glucosamine · supplement · good
17. MSM (methylsulfonylmethane)0.4% estimated
MSM · supplement · good
18. Chondroitin0.4% estimated
Chondroitin · supplement · good
19. Cranberry0.4% estimated
Cranberries · veg · good
20. Acai0.4% estimated
Acai · veg · good
21. Bilberry0.4% estimated
Bilberries · veg · good
22. Mulberry0.3% estimated
Mulberry · veg · good
23. Apple0.3% estimated
Apples · veg · good
24. Tomato0.3% estimated
Tomato · veg · good
25. Orange0.3% estimated
Orange · veg · medium
26. Pear0.3% estimated
Pears · veg · good
27. Carrot0.3% estimated
Carrots · veg · good
28. Spinach0.3% estimated
Spinach · veg · good
29. Cauliflower0.3% estimated
Cauliflower · veg · good
30. Seaweed0.3% estimated
Seaweed · veg · good
31. Marigold0.3% estimated
Calendula · veg · good
32. Ginseng0.3% estimated
Ginseng · supplement · medium
33. Decaffeinated green tea0.3% estimated
Green Tea · veg · good
34. Ginger.0.2% estimated
Ginger · veg · good

Trust and sourceNo recalls recorded in our database · checked 2026-08-22

Brand and contact: Essential Foods

Website: https://essentialfoodsgb.co.uk/
Social: Facebook · Instagram

Trust and provenance

Recall history: No recalls recorded in our database
Label data last checked: 2026-08-22
Scored with: Model v3 (methodology)
Product page: essentialfoods.com

Recall history is presentation-only and never affects the score. Dates are when we recorded the data, not when the manufacturer last changed the recipe.

Spotted a mistake in this listing? Report it here and we'll take a look.

Score details and methodologyCalculations, history and evidence

Recipe: how the 1-100 score is calculated

Why this score?

This recipe scores 72 out of 100. The meat content contributed +7.2 points. The processing format reduced the score by -6.7. The overall quality of the ingredient list contributed +5.5 points, and being labelled nutritionally complete contributed +2.3 points.

Scored with model v3 on 2026-10-25. Each component is the feature value for this product multiplied by the model's published coefficient.

Component	Input	Coefficient	Contribution
Base score	-	30.909	+30.91
Average ingredient quality	0.6	9.191	+5.52
Meat share of dry matter	75.2%	0.096	+7.22
Carb share of dry matter	0.4%	-0.115	-0.05
Oil share of dry matter	16.2%	-0.092	-1.49
Vegetable share of dry matter	3.0%	-0.005	-0.02
Supplement share of dry matter	5.2%	-0.012	-0.06
Undeclared quantities	10.0%	-0.106	-1.06
Complete diet	yes	2.294	+2.29
High meat (30%+ of dry matter)	yes	0.707	+0.71
Processing multiplier	0.98	33.786	+33.11
Processing: Dry Extruded	yes	-6.713	-6.71

Show all 40 components

Component	Input	Coefficient	Contribution
Base score	-	30.909	+30.91
Average ingredient quality	0.6	9.191	+5.52
Meat share of dry matter	75.2%	0.096	+7.22
Carb share of dry matter	0.4%	-0.115	-0.05
Oil share of dry matter	16.2%	-0.092	-1.49
Vegetable share of dry matter	3.0%	-0.005	-0.02
Additive share of dry matter	0.0%	0.163	+0.00
Supplement share of dry matter	5.2%	-0.012	-0.06
Other share of dry matter	0.0%	-0.375	+0.00
Unrecognised share of dry matter	0.0%	-0.027	+0.00
Recipe graded poor	0.0%	-0.065	+0.00
Poor-quality meat in recipe	0.0%	-0.179	+0.00
Number of poor ingredients	0	-0.876	+0.00
Largest single poor ingredient	0.0%	0.060	+0.00
Undeclared quantities	10.0%	-0.106	-1.06
Prints ingredient percentages	no	0.000	+0.00
Complete diet	yes	2.294	+2.29
Frozen or chilled fresh	no	0.000	+0.00
High meat (30%+ of dry matter)	yes	0.707	+0.71
Low meat (under 10% of dry matter)	no	-3.158	+0.00
High carb and low meat	no	-1.180	+0.00
Meat share × printed percentages	0.0	0.000	+0.00
Meat share × fresh	0.0	0.000	+0.00
Fresh × high meat	0.0	11.084	+0.00
Additive penalty	0.00	0.222	+0.00
Processing multiplier	0.98	33.786	+33.11
Processing: Raw	no	-0.054	+0.00
Processing: Fresh Chilled	no	-2.354	+0.00
Processing: Fresh Frozen	no	-2.354	+0.00
Processing: Fresh Refrigerated	no	0.000	+0.00
Processing: Fresh Shelf	no	-0.672	+0.00
Processing: Dry Freeze Dried	no	6.629	+0.00
Processing: Dry Air Dried	no	6.331	+0.00
Processing: Dry Cold Pressed	no	-6.713	+0.00
Processing: Dry Baked	no	-6.713	+0.00
Processing: Dry Extruded	yes	-6.713	-6.71
Processing: Dry Semi Moist	no	-6.174	+0.00
Processing: Dry Muesli	no	-10.146	+0.00
Processing: Wet Pate	no	-0.672	+0.00
Processing: Wet Chunks	no	-0.672	+0.00

Processing-type offset: +0.02
Additives declared on label: +2 transparency bonus
Subtotal: 72.4
Final score: 72/100

Contributions are rounded to two decimals, so they may not sum exactly to the subtotal. The full coefficient table is published on the methodology page.

Score history across model versions

The score shown above is always computed with the latest published model. Earlier scores are kept for the record and are never edited or deleted; a scoring change ships as a new model version with a public write-up on the methodology page.

Model	Score
v3	72/100	current
v2	70/100
v1	78/100
v1.9	80/100

Nutritional: declared analysis vs reference ranges

How the declared analysis compares with FEDIAF reference ranges for puppies and growth. The label prints as-fed values; we convert to a dry-matter basis before scoring, and the bands are dry-matter ranges. Scores rise to 100 at the band midpoint: the reference is adequacy, not maximisation. Nutrients with a published upper limit taper again above it; fat is policed through calorie density rather than a direct penalty.

Scored against FEDIAF growth minima; puppy scoring is under review.

Nutrient	As fed (label)	Dry matter (scored)	Score
Protein	35	38.3	100
Fat	21	23	100
Calcium	1.6	1.7	90.7
Phosphorus	1.3	1.4	100
Calcium:phosphorus ratio	1.2	1.2	100
Omega fatty acids (omega-6 and omega-3)	-	-	100

Omega fatty acids (omega-6 and omega-3): scored as the mean of its declared components (omega-6 100, omega-3 100). The FEDIAF minimum for omega-6 is linoleic acid specifically.

Scored over 6 declared nutrients (combined weight 80); undeclared nutrients do not affect the score.

Declared fortification: 10 nutritional additives on the label

Vitamin A 15000 IU
Vitamin D3 2000 IU
Vitamin E 240 IU
Taurine 1500 mg
Zinc (Zinc Chelate of Amino Acids Hydrate) 50 mg
Iron (Iron (II) Chelate of Amino Acids Hydrate) 50 mg
Manganese (Manganese Chelate of Amino Acids Hydrate) 35 mg
Copper (Copper (II) Chelate of Amino Acids Hydrate) 15 mg
Iodine (Calcium Iodate Anhydrous) 0.96 mg
Selenium (Sodium Selenite) 0.3 mg

Medium confidence: the full five-part analysis is on file; where moisture was not declared it was estimated from the food type.

This measures agreement with published reference ranges, not suitability for an individual dog. For medical conditions, follow veterinary guidance.

Transparency: what the label discloses

How much the manufacturer discloses, measured against the FEDIAF Code of Good Labelling Practice and Regulation 767/2009. Mandatory items dominate the weighting.

Item	Points
✓ Ingredient list on the label (mandatory)	10/10
✓ Printed percentages on the label (90% of the recipe mass) (voluntary)	18/20
✓ Analytical constituents declared (mandatory)	15/15
✓ Additives declared (mandatory)	10/10
✗ Energy value declared (voluntary) - not on file	0/5
✓ Complete/complementary designation (mandatory)	5/5
✗ Feeding guidance given (mandatory) - not on file	0/10
✓ Manufacturer identity and address (mandatory)	5/10
✓ Country of manufacture stated (voluntary)	10/10
✓ Batch and date labelling (mandatory)	5/5

Capped at 60: mandatory items missing (Feeding guidance given).

Safety: recall history

Recall and safety-notice history, time-decayed. This dimension is shown alongside the score and never feeds the headline number.

No recalls recorded in our database.

See all current recalls we track.

Evidence: what the brand claims, and what supports it

The claims made on the pack and product page, checked against the declared label. We record claims as stated; "consistent" means our stored label data supports the claim, "contradicted" means it conflicts with it. Functional claims are recorded but never scored.

100/100 · moderate — 2 checkable claims: 2 consistent, 0 contradicted.

Consistent with the label

"no grain, no fillers" — supported by the declared grain-free data.
"GRAIN-FREE" — supported by the declared grain-free data.

5 further claims on file that we cannot check against the label.

Moderate: every checkable claim is consistent with the declared label.

Claim	Type	Check	Substantiation
A grain-free diet helps sensitive digestion (on page)	Functional	not checkable	Manufacturer assertion
Serving ESSENTIALS positively will affect the mental balance of your dog. (on page)	Functional	not checkable	Manufacturer assertion
Calcium and phosphorus work together and play an important role in skeletal, dental, and muscle health, and normal bodily functions. (on page)	Functional	not checkable	Manufacturer assertion
no grain, no fillers (on page)	Free-from	consistent	Manufacturer assertion
GRAIN-FREE (on page)	Free-from	consistent	Manufacturer assertion
deluxe grain-free meal tailored to puppies expected to reach an adult weight of up to 15 kg (on page)	Content	not checkable	Manufacturer assertion
Our high fresh meat content and the low preparation temperature means your dog gets exceptional nutritional values vs. mass-branded pet foods. (on page)	High/low level	not checkable	Manufacturer assertion