Butternut Box

What's in the box: Portioned, frozen fresh meals for your dog made from gently cooked meat or fish with vegetables, in recipes you choose, including grain-free options.

Butternut Box is a UK subscription for fresh dog food. Its meals of meat, fish and vegetables are gently cooked and then frozen. To start, you enter your dog's breed, age and weight, and the site works out a rough price for your first box. For a two year old dog weighing 12 to 15 kg, meals start at £1.76 a day. New customers get 25% off their first two boxes plus a free gift, and next day delivery is free. There are nine grain-free recipes, and the brand says none of its recipes contain buckwheat. Ingredients are named plainly, such as human-quality meat, sustainably sourced fish, sweet potatoes, spinach and blueberries. The food is aimed at fussy eaters, puppies, dogs with sensitive stomachs and owners thinking about long-term health. The company reports a 4.8 out of 5 rating from more than 43,000 reviews. Its health improvement figures come from its own customer surveys, so treat them as marketing. The main drawbacks are cost and storage. Fresh food usually costs more per day than dry kibble, and frozen meals need freezer space and time to thaw. You need to go through the quiz to see the price for your own dog. If you are happy to pay more for a convenient fresh diet, it is a solid, established choice.