Meal boxes: a meal box tailored to your daily routine
A meal box from ESSENTIAL FOODS brings several meals together in a single delivery, so you no longer need to reorder every few weeks – and your dog gets welcome variety in the bowl. In this collection you'll find boxes you fill yourself with your own favourites, as well as ready-made taste boxes featuring a selection of flavours. What they all have in common is that the contents are prepared from fresh produce and human-grade ingredients, put together so that every single portion meets the standard we set for all our dog meals.
We've built the boxes around two practical considerations: breed size and preference. THE EXPLORER BOX and THE MIXED MEALS BOX both come in a version for smaller breeds and one for larger breeds, so you get a quantity and a kibble size that suit your particular dog. If you choose the contents yourself, you can combine the meals your dog already knows and loves with a single new discovery. It's a gentle way to introduce variety, without turning your routine upside down overnight.
How to choose the right box
Start with your dog's life stage. A puppy has very different needs from an adult dog or a dog in its golden years, so it makes sense to build the box around meals from the right category – whether that's puppy and junior or senior meals. If you're just setting out on the journey with a new puppy, it's well worth reading our puppy universe, where we've gathered everything that matters most in those first few months.
Next comes taste and ingredients. Some dogs fall for fish, others for lamb, duck or game. Our PÂTÉ taste boxes let you try several delicacies at once: THE FEAST with wild boar, poultry and fish, THE COUNTRYSIDE with lamb, turkey and duck, and THE CLASSIC with lamb, fish and poultry. THE COMPLETE PÂTÉ TASTE BOX holds all five flavours, if you'd rather have the lot. If you're unsure what suits your dog best, our nutritional advisers are on hand by phone, chat and email to help you put the box together based on age, activity level and any digestive sensitivities.
Our finest British Heritage Kitchens in the box
COUNTRYSIDE TASTE BOX and CLASSIC TASTE BOX belong to Our finest British Heritage Kitchens and bring three meals together in each box. Both are available in a version for smaller breeds with smaller kibbles and a version for larger breeds. The meals are grain free and BOF-approved, prepared to a grain-free recipe with human-grade ingredients and carefully chosen local and regional delicacies – including the flavours of the Scottish Highlands. If you'd like to explore more grain-free meals, you'll find them all in one place.
BOF stands for Behaviour Optimizing Food and is our way of ensuring that nutrition doesn't simply fill a dog up, but actively supports its wellbeing and behaviour day to day. It comes down to balance in the composition, the quality of the animal ingredients, and the absence of unnecessary fillers.
Variety without upsetting the stomach
When you alternate between several meals, it's a good idea to introduce anything new gradually. Mix a small amount of the new meal into the familiar one over five to seven days, then increase the proportion little by little. Most dogs take the transition in their stride, and a meal box makes it especially easy, because you have both meals ready to hand.
Do keep an eye on quantities, too. Variety shouldn't turn into overfeeding, and a dog in good condition moves through life more easily. We've gathered our advice on how to assess your dog's weight, so you can adjust portions with complete peace of mind.
For households with more than one dog
If you have more than one dog at home, the boxes bring a welcome structure to everyday feeding. You can put together a box that covers different needs under the same roof, while still keeping track of who gets what. That applies equally if your dogs are at different life stages and need their own nutritional profile.
