What is the one thing that all house pets have in common? You may have guessed right, they all require an adequate amount of nourishment for their daily hop-step-jumps.
There is no better way to show your cat or dog some tender love and care than to provide then with the most nourishing wet or dry meals packed with nutrients for their health and development at all stages in their lives from kittens and pups to adult cats and dogs.
Before the end of this article we will answer all your throbbing pet food questions and you will learn how to pick the best food brand for your pet. stick with us and lets get started!
Introducing to you, the Blue buffalo pet food brand and the indomitable Iams; this comparison, between two great pet food brands is to determine which one is a better choice using various parameters such as nutritional value, ingredients quality, price, safety, brand history, and general awesomeness.
After you are done with this awesome comparison, check out Blue Buffalo and Iams here to see the different flavors and pricing.
Contents:
- 🤔 Blue Buffalo vs Iams FAQ
- ⚖️ Blue Buffalo and Iams Pros and Cons
- 😻 Types Of Pet Food
- 🥕 Nutritional Value Comparison
- 💰 Price Comparison
- 🤤 Ingredients and Flavors
- 🏡 About Blue Buffalo and Iams
- 🙀 Product Safety and Recalls through History
- 🏆 Blue Buffalo Vs Iams: And the winner goes to…
🤔Blue Buffalo vs Iams FAQ
What is guaranteed analysis?
The concept of guaranteed analysis on pet food products is to assure purchasers of the precise nutrient content of each consumable. Emphasized by AAFCO, guaranteed analysis by food labels must meet certain requirements such as an exact value for the minimum percentage of crude protein and fat, as well as the maximum percentages of crude fiber and moisture on the basis of dry matter obtained. All of the percentages that I use in this comparison are averages of dry matter basis. Learn about dry matter basis here.
Which one has more protein?
Blue Buffalo leads in dry dog and dry cat food protein with a difference of 1.1% and 0.8% respectively while Iams turns the table with a 1.6% and 5.1% lead in wet dog food and wet cat food respectively.
Which is Cheaper
Blue Buffalo is more expensive than Iams of all food types per pound as well as per calorie whereas Iams boasts of one of the cheapest pet food prices in the market.
Which one has more flavors?
Iams has an aggregate of 85 dog and cat flavors as well as treats whereas Blue Buffalo dominates with a whopping 339 aggregate of dog and cat food.
Which one has more recalls?
Iams has had 2 recalls only while Blue Buffalo has had 9 recalls in history.
Check out the current prices, recipes and flavors for Blue Buffalo and Iams
⚖️Blue Buffalo and Iams Pros and Cons
Blue Buffalo Pros:
Blue Buffalo Cons:
Iams pros:
Iams pros:
😻 Types Of Pet Food From Blue Buffalo and Iams
| Product | Iams | Blue Buffalo |
| Dry Dog Food | 28 Recipes | 85 Recipes |
| Wet Dog Food | 10 Recipes | 101 Recipes |
| Dog Treats | ❌ | 51 Treats |
| Dry Cat Food | 14 Recipes | 40 Recipes |
| Wet Cat Food | 31 Recipes | 47 Recipes |
| Cat Treats | 2 Treats | 15 Treats |
| 😻 See all Blue Buffalo recipes | 😻 See all Iams recipes |
🥕 Nutritional Value Comparison Blue Buffalo vs Iams
Every pet food contains a certain amount of ingredients and varying nutritional value which can be measured in terms of calorie value, weight in pound, dry matter content, and various other metrics.
The rationale behind the nutrient concentration report emphasized by the regulatory body AAFCO is to state the precise nutritional content and proportion of all ingredients in cat and dog food.
This would provide a better understanding of what to expect from every brand and to enable comparisons.
An informed choice can be made when shopping for a pet food product when the food ingredients are clearly represented on the package in figures. Many pets have specific nutritional needs and these should be met by the pet owner’s brand of choice.
The anatomy of pets and metabolism greatly differ from specie to the other as well as one stage of life to the other. There are recommended concentrations of various food groups which help in the maintenance of your pet’s body weight, development, immunity, and physical well being.
When it comes to nutritional value, there are a ton of ingredients to look out for such as protein, fat, fiber, carbohydrates, moisture, vitamins and minerals. All these come in various concentrations following the minimum and maximum recommendation of the AAFCO regulatory body.
For this comparison, let’s take a look at the quantity of the principal ingredients for both cat and dog food brands.
| Dry Dog Food | Blue Buffalo | Iams |
| Crude Protein | 28.5% | 27.4% |
| Crude Fat | 15.0% | 14.6% |
| Crude fiber | 7.1% | 5.1% |
| Wet Dog Food (canned) | ||
| Crude protein | 40.4% | 42.0% |
| Crude fat | 25.2% | 24.0% |
| Crude fiber | 7.5% | 5.8% |
| Dry cat food | Blue Buffalo | Iams |
| Crude protein | 37.0% | 36.2% |
| Crude Fat | 16.3% | 16.8% |
| Crude fiber | 6.4% | 4.3% |
| Wet Cat Food (canned) | ||
| Crude protein | 45.4% | 50.5% |
| Crude fat | 24.7% | 19.0% |
| Crude fiber | 8.2% | 14.7% |
| 🥕 See more Blue Buffalo Info | 🥕 See more Iams Info |
The guaranteed analysis for every pet food product is an accurate representation of nutritional content of every meal or treat, specifically Crude protein, crude fiber, and crude fat.
All percentage values represented on the table is based on dry matter.
Protein Content
There are many reasons why protein is a principal ingredient in pet food, especially for cats and dogs. These furry friends require a high protein diet for growth and development.
A reduction in daily protein or insufficiency can lead to weight loss and a good number of health problems and deficiency symptoms.
The Iams pet food brand provides at least 5.16% more protein than the Blue buffalo.
Fat content
Fatcontent, apart from its flavor in meals, also contributes immensely to the health and well being of your pet. Some of its benefits include;
- Improving the quality of the fur coat and skin to avoid skin related diseases
- Enables absorption of essential vitamins
- Boost digestion in pets
- Maintain a fairly constant internal environment as well as a steady blood pressure
- Mitigates yeast infections and the development of various cancer types
Fiber Fiber content is also essential in every meal for its contributions to digestion.
Many pets often present with digestive system issues due to their sensitivity to certain types of meals or ingredients. Hence, meals with adequate amount of fiber enable proper digestion.
💰 Price Comparison
Which of the pet food brand is more expensive? How can we effectively compare costs? The table below shows the cost comparison for Blue Buffalo and Iams using two of the most accurate metrics for price deduction.
| Dry dog food | Blue Buffalo | Iams |
| Per pound (lb) | $2.61 | $1.41 |
| Per Calorie(kcal) | $0.0016 | $0.0008 |
| Wet dog food | ||
| Per pound (lb) | $4.29 | $1.67 |
| Per calorie (kcal) | $0.0088 | $0.0034 |
| Dry Cat food | Blue Buffalo | Iams |
| Per pound (lb) | $3.88 | $1.70 |
| Per calorie (kcal) | $0.0023 | $0.0010 |
| Wet Cat food | ||
| Per pound (lb) | $5.54 | $4.82 |
| Per Calorie (kcal) | $0.0112 | $0.0101 |
| 💰 See the best Blue Buffalo Prices | 💰 See the best Iams prices |
From the table we can deduce that Blue Buffalo is a more expensive brand on all food types.
Both metrics, per pound (lb) and per calorie (kcal) are the most accurate for checking the average cost, although the cost per pound is variably influenced by moisture content in the food while the average cost per calorie deals strictly with dry matter.
This makes the cost per calorie a more reliable metric for cost comparison.
So where is the best place to purchase these brands? Good question! overall, chewy.com has the cheapest prices.
They also offer 30% on your first autoship order which saves you a good chunk of change and makes your pet food ordering process automatic. Overall, this has saved me a ton of time.
🤤 Ingredients and Flavors
Blue Buffalo
The Blue Buffalo pet food brand manufactures and distributes a ton of holistic high-end meals, categorized according to their features, such as wet food for those with significant water content, dry foods, and treats which are used as a form of snack.
The recipes manufactured by this brand are ingenious ideas brought to life by the creativity of home-inspired meals. They are formulated to support all age stages and pet breeds.
Blue Buffalo brand is specifically recognized for its extremely wide variety and rich diversity of exotic flavor rich with ingredin, these food flavors may include meat loaf meals, turkey and potato, beef with vegetables and rice,
meat chunk in rich gravy, , grain-free diets, duck stew, chicken pie recipes and other unique blend of flavors.
Each well-prepared recipe comes with the finest ingredients, and delicious fillers, protection formula to boost the immune system as well as its antioxidative properties.
Popular flavors
- Chicken wild bites
- Tasty Turkey stew grain
- tender beef recipe
- Lamb and brown rice
- chicken and brown rice
Iams
A proactive health and life style is what the Iams brand promises, with an array of pet food flavors to provide vitality for pets of all stages of life.
The brand utilizes essentials and an all-natural ingredient to create the most delectable pet dishes that keeps our furry friends coming back for more.
These flavors include but not limited to lamb, turkey, gravy, chicken, whole grain rice, beef, ocean fish, vegetables and more.
Popular Flavors
- Minichunks dry dog food chicken
- Flaked mackerel and whitefish
- Wild mackerel and whitefish flaked in sauce
- Ocean fish
- Real chicken dry
- Beef, rice,carrots, and green beans flavor chunks in gravy
Check out the current Blue Buffalo recipes and Iams recipes here.
🏡 About Blue Buffalo and Iams
Blue Buffalo Information
The Blue Buffalo brand started very small as a family business before it expanded into what we now know as a global brand.
The idea was conceived after the family pet began to experience life threatening health issues.
Nutrition played a major role in extending the life of the pet. It became clear that nutrition was a key component in mitigating diseases and all forms of infections as well as building a strong immune system for pets.
This led to the development of various health and age specific formulas for both dogs and cats.
The market for pet food has since then expanded.
More and more people became aware of the brand and its pet food categories which included Life protection, Natural Veterinary Diet, Basics and Wilderness, and Freedom.
Iams Information
The veteran pet food brand, named after the founder Paul Iams, manufactures and distributes high-end cat and dog pet food in various regions in the united states such as Ohio, North Carolina, Lewisburg, and others as well as in 70 countries worldwide.
It remains one of the fastest growing pet food companies and a leading brand all over the world.
🙀 Product Safety and Recalls through History
Companies make scheduled recalls on products that may have a foreseen defect or safety issues. The importance of a recall is to conduct further safety tests in order to effect changes to product to ensure that it is safe for use.
Blue Buffalo Recalls
Has had a total of 9 recalls in history
- March 18 2017 – elevated beef thyroid hormone
- March 3rd 2017 – foil package issues
- Feb 14th 2017 – presence of aluminum
- May 31st 2016 – Mold risk
- Nov. 25th, 2015 – salmonella risk
- Nov 6th, 2015 – presence of propylene Glycol
- Oct 8th 2010 – toxic levels of vitamin D
- April 26th 2007 – Melamine
- April 19th 2007 – Melamine
Iams Recalls
Has only been recalled 2 times in history
- Aug 14th 2013 – Salmonella risk
- July 30th – 2010 – Salmonella risk
🏆 Blue Buffalo Vs Iams: And the winner goes to…
Looking critically at the data set, Iams has more protein content and in cheaper than blue buffalo, but blue buffalo comes in a wide variety of flavors, giving your pet more meal options.
It may seem like a tie at this point but Iams takes a last minute lead with only two safety recalls in history while the blue buffalo settles for 2nd place with 9 recalls.
Both brands however, are industry leaders in pet food and are popular in over 70 countries.
| If you want | Then you should choose |
| High levels of protein | Iams |
| A cost effective brand | Iams |
| A safer brand, based on number of recalls | Iams |
| A brand with a wide variety of flavors and ingredients | Blue Buffalo |
| Healthy formula for different stages of life | Both brands |
