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Essential Foods · dry

Essential Eternal Living review

A middling dry food - fine, with clear compromises. Just 6% declared meat content. Feeding it costs about £1.08 a day for a typical adult dog - the breakdown below shows exactly what that buys.

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DryNaturalVegetarianJoint careDigestion
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ODF Score 59/100 Average
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Top 70%scores higher than 30% of rated foodsacross all 3075 foods we've scored
Averagescore bandthe dot marks where it sits among every food we've rated
£1.08 approx.per day for a 10 kg dogcheaper than 10% of dry foods
6%declared meat content
Denmarkbrand origin
372kcal per 100 g

Where the points went

The full breakdown, exactly as the algorithm scored it. How our rating works

Ingredient quality
Weighted ingredient quality 60/100 across 40 ingredients (declared percentages used for 10, position estimates for the rest). Legumes carry 38% of the recipe. The FDA found no causal link between legume-rich diets and canine heart disease (DCM), though some cardiologists advise caution - noted for information, not scored. Named meat is only 0% of the recognised recipe, so the quality score is anchored down towards a plant-led food.
19.2 / 40
Label clarity
Every ingredient individually named (+5); percentages cover 79% of the recipe (+4.7); recipe reads as a fixed formula (+2).
11.7 / 15
Additives
No artificial colours, flavours, controversial preservatives or added sugars found.
10 / 10
Red flags
No red-flag ingredients.
0 / 0
Meat content
Declared meat content 6%.
4.2 / 15
Nutritional balance
Estimated carbohydrate 38% dry matter (moderate); fat 17.4% DM in the healthy band; fibre 6.0% DM (+1.3); ash 6.5% DM - sensible mineral load (+2); functional extras: omega-3 source, pre/probiotics, joint support, named botanicals (+2).
8.1 / 10
Processing
Assumed extruded kibble (standard high-heat process).
6 / 10
ODF Score
Algorithm v1.4.1 · scored August 19, 2026 · full methodology public
59 / 100

Our analysis

Breaking the 59 down: the biggest single loss is ingredient quality, where it takes 19.2 of a possible 40. Its strongest showing is additives at 10 of 10.

The label declares 6% meat, which is a low figure, and a declared low figure is still more honest than silence, and the ingredient list is only partly specific.

At about £1.08 a day to feed a 10kg dog, the question is not whether it is cheap but whether the label justifies the price - and on our scoring, it does not.

Ingredients

Straight from the label, grouped by role - every ingredient is coloured by our published classification and links to its full page.

Carbs & grains

Brown Rice Protein 17%

Fruit & veg

Field Beans 10%Peas and Pea Protein 16%Sweet Potato 6%Chickpeas 6%Lentils 3%Lupin S 3%Dried SeaweedPotatoLucerneBroccoliCranberryAcaiBilberryMulberryAppleTomatoOrangePearCarrotSpinachCauliflower

Oils & fats

Sunflower OilRapeseed Oil

Supplements & extras

Linseed 8%Whole Dried Eggs 6%Brewers YeastFresh Free Range Eggs 4%MineralsVegetable GravyAlgaeFructooligosaccharidesMannanoligosaccharidesGlucosamineMSMChondroitinMarigoldGinsengDecaffeinated Green TeaGinger
Good qualityAcceptable / watch the amountRed flagGeneric / neutralOutlined = first five on the label
Additives (as declared on the label)
Vitamin a 14400 IU, Vitamin D3 2000 IU, Vitamin E 96 IU, Taurine 1428mg, Zinc (Zinc Chelate of Amino Acids Hydrate) 48mg, Iron (Iron II Chelate of Amino Acids Hydrate) 48mg, Manganese (Manganese Chelate of Amino Acids Hydrate) 34mg, Copper (Copper II Chelate of Amino Acids Hydrate) 14mg, Iodine (Calcium Iodate Anhydrous) 0.96mg, Selenium ( Sodium Selenite ) 0.29mg. Rosemary Extract.

Feeding & cost

What a bag actually costs to feed - worked out per dog, not per pack.

Pack sizeRRPPer kg
10 kg£75.00£7.50

How heavy is your dog?

A typical 10 kg adult dog needs about 144 g a day = £1.08 / day, £32.83 / month.

How we work this out
  1. Energy: an adult dog at rest needs about 95 × weight0.75 kcal a day (the FEDIAF maintenance formula - a 10 kg dog works out near 534 kcal).
  2. Portion: divide that by this food's energy density, 372 kcal/100g, to get the grams above - a denser food needs fewer grams.
  3. Cost: multiply the grams by this food's price, £7.50 / kg, for the daily cost, then by 30.4 days for the month.

Estimates scale to your dog's weight and the food's calorie density - a denser food needs fewer grams. A rough guide; always follow the pack. Try the full feeding calculator

Nutrition

Declared analysis converted to a dry-matter basis, so wet and dry foods compare fairly.

Protein

32.6 % DM
Directory average: 28.2

Fat

17.4 % DM
Directory average: 14.8

Est. carbs

37.5 % DM
Directory average: 45.2

Fibre

6 % DM
Directory average: 3.6

Ash

6.5 % DM
Directory average: 7.9

Energy

372 kcal/100g
Directory average: 365.3

Carbohydrates are estimated: 100% minus protein, fat, fibre, ash and moisture.

Similar foods that score higher

Same type and life stage, better ODF Score, comparable price per day.

More from Essential Foods

Other foods in this range, whatever they score - the full picture, not just the top of the list.

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This is label analysis, not veterinary advice - if your dog has a health condition, talk to your vet before switching foods.

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