Is it time to switch your pup’s dog food? There are many products on the market, and it can be tough to decide which one to choose for your furry friend. We recently took a look at Fromm’s dog food recipes to see what they have to offer and if they’re worth a try. Hint: we think they are, and you’ll find out more in this Fromm Dog Food Review!
Fromm has three product lines for canines. Fromm Family Classics, Gold Nutritionals, and Four-Star Nutritionals. Each line has unique attributes, and they even provide special recipes for puppies, seniors, and dogs who need weight management support.
The special recipes for puppies and seniors include choices for small and large breed dogs, unlike some of their competitors. They also offer grain-inclusive and grain-free choices, so you can choose what is right for your canine companion at every stage of life.
Most dogs seem to love Fromm foods, and they deliver a premium product at a price point that’s on par with other brands in their competitive set. However, they do prepare the food in small batches and commit to not using artificial preservatives or ingredients from China.
Food Review at a Glance: Fromm Formulas
Best For Puppies
Fromm Puppy Food
Best For Adults
Fromm Adult Formula
Best For Seniors
Fromm Senior Formula
Brand History & Recalls
The Fromm family flourished in the Wisconsin business world long before they started manufacturing dog food. Initially, the Fromm brothers dreamed of raising silver foxes on their ranch. Their record-setting venture led them to a partnership with Dr. Robert Green, which resulted in the first canine distemper vaccine in 1939.
In 1940, the Fromm brothers partnered with Dr. Willard Roberts to form Federal Foods, Inc. with the goal of developing a complete and balanced dry dog food. The first bag of Fromm Complete Dog Meal sold in 1949, and they never looked back.
By 1990, the company created a new formula that shifted the focus on protein. They moved toward a “quality over quantity” approach with their “New Formula” recipes for more digestible meals.
In 1995, Federal Foods, Inc. changed its name to Fromm Family Foods. The shift reflects the company’s strong family values and commemorates four generations of family ownership. Fromm Family Foods remains a family-owned business.
Every one of Fromm’s products comes from one of their three Wisconsin plants. The Mequon and Columbus plants handle dry foods while the Eden facility manufactures all wet food products. They have complete control over every stage of the process, including quality control.
To their credit, we found only one recall of Fromm food. In March 2016, they issued a voluntary recall on three of their wet food products due to elevated levels of Vitamin D. Fromm discovered the issue themselves and reported that they received no reports of health issues related to the products.
Food Ingredients
Since Fromm Family Foods is family-owned and independently operated, they have full control over the entire process, including the suppliers they use. It’s a major plus that they don’t use ingredients from China because of the significant quality issues with Chinese food products over the past several years.
Fromm Family Foods takes pride in the quality of their ingredients, and that includes testing items when they arrive at the facilities. The company reports testing occurs before using any ingredients to verify they are safe and up to standards. They also send completed pet foods to outside labs for testing before clearing the products for sale.
This company uses high-quality ingredients and exceptional quality control measures to create a premium product. The recipes are well-balanced and take care to address common issues for pet parents. They incorporate multiple types of meat and meat meals (like lamb meal and chicken meal) in their recipes but don’t use generic ingredients.
Expect to find unique ingredients on many product lists, including cheese, which excites most dogs. Many of these ingredients provide additional benefits for your furry friend, like digestive support or added protein. They use natural preservatives and even developed a cutting-edge approach, the use of tocopherols, that changed the face of dog food forever.
Fromm Dog Food Reviews
Fromm is one of the older names in the dog food industry, and they built a positive reputation for delivering quality products. They offer a vast selection of recipes, including unique blends for puppies and seniors. Fromm clearly put effort into creating something for every canine companion.
The company built a name on making nutritious meals for canines, and Fromm’s products compete with some of the biggest names in premium dog food. Even though they have an expansive catalog of options, they still prepare their foods in small batches.
There are more than 70 Fromm formulas to choose from. The selection of dry foods, wet foods, and treats can make it difficult to pick the right one, so we’ve dug into the ingredient lists and broken down some of the key points. Let’s start with the puppy formulas and work up in age from there.
Puppy Formulas
Fromm Puppy Gold Dry Dog Food Formula
- High-quality, animal protein is the first ingredient.
- Contains vegetables, like potatoes and celery.
- Includes grains, but no corn, soy, or wheat.
- No fillers, artificial flavors, or preservatives.
- Includes flaxseed and salmon oil for skin health.
- 417 Calories per cup.
- 27% Protein, 18% Fat, 3.5% Fiber.
Puppies have unique needs because they grow and develop rapidly during the first year of life. Even though you could feed them an “all stages” blend, puppy formulas are superior because they account for a puppy’s growing body, especially bone, joint, brain, and eye development. Fromm’s puppy blends provide all the nutrition your pup needs for their first year of life. Fromm caters to many different sized puppies, including formulas that are perfect for small breed puppies, and large breed puppies too.
With Fromm, you have more choices for your puppy than most other brands offer. Though the Classic line only has one recipe and the Four-Star line only offers treats. The Gold line has two grain-inclusive puppy recipes, one for small breeds and the other for large breeds. If you prefer a grain-free diet, they have the Heartland Gold line with options for small and large breeds.
Whichever Fromm puppy foods you choose, they include plenty of nutritious proteins (more than adult recipes), fat, and fiber to keep your furry friend energized. They all have probiotics to make digestion easier and help your young friend absorb as much nutrition as possible from their food.
The Classic recipes have just a bit more protein than the Gold line, but the difference is negligible. Additionally, the puppy foods may be beneficial to dogs who are pregnant or nursing because the nutritional profiles differ slightly from adult foods.
Adult Formulas
Fromm Adult Gold Formula
- Contains chicken, duck, and lamb for protein.
- Includes sweet potatoes.
- Contains probiotics to aid in digestion.
- Flaxseed and salmon oil promote coat health.
- Excludes corn, wheat, or soy.
- 418 Calories per cup.
- 25% Protein, 16% Fat, 5% Fiber.
When your pup reaches the grand old age of one, they’re ready for adult food. The transition opens up a whole new world of flavors and blends for your furry friend, but that means more choices for you.
Fromm’s Adult Gold recipe is loaded with nutrition and can see your dog through their golden years. This grain-inclusive blend uses plenty of animal-based proteins to build lean muscle. Like several of the Fromm recipes, this blend incorporates cheese for a flavor your canine companion will love.
The kibble size is on the smaller side, which makes it appropriate for all sizes and breeds. However, they do have alternate options for larger and smaller dogs if you’re not entirely comfortable with the kibble size.
Grain-free Adult Formulas
Fromm Grain Free Beef Frittata
- Grain-free.
- The first ingredient is beef.
- Contains several whole fruits and vegetables.
- Includes salmon oil and flaxseed for coat health.
- Beef broth adds flavor and moisture.
- 399 Calories per cup.
- 30% Protein, 18% Fat, 6.5% Fiber.
If you decided with your veterinarian to go grain-free, but don’t love the Heartland Gold blend, Fromm has a dozen other options for you. The grain-free recipes in the Four-Star Nutritionals all start with an animal, fish, or avian protein, and include several whole fruits and vegetables.
Like the grain-inclusive recipes, the grain-free Four-Star Nutritionals will cost more than other options. They are the highest quality food that Fromm makes and remains a popular option among those who can afford it. The Four-Star Nutritionals line is ideal for sensitive stomachs and picky eaters. It’s also the closet Fromm gets to a limited ingredient blend.
Senior Formulas
Fromm Gold Nutritionals Senior Dog Food
- Chicken is the first ingredient.
- Includes fish, duck, and lamb.
- Contains whole vegetables.
- Formulated for older dogs.
- No corn or wheat.
- 368 Calories per cup.
- 23% Protein, 11% Fat, 5.5% Fiber.
Like humans, dogs slow down as they age, and their diet needs to change with them. As your canine companion enters their golden years, they require less of some things (like calories) and more of others (like probiotics to help with digestion). Usually migrating your dog to a senior-specific dog food is recommended around age 7.
Fromm’s Reduced Activity & Senior Gold blend starts with chicken and rounds out the recipe with plenty of protein, vitamins, and minerals. They took extra care to include ingredients to support aging bones and joints, maintain a healthy coat, and keep your furry friend feeling good.
The Classic line also carries a “Mature Adult” recipe with animal proteins, healthy grains, and cheese for flavor. It has a little less protein than the Gold blend, but contains plenty of nutritional support for your dog’s bones, joints, and digestive system.
Weight Loss Formulas
Fromm Gold Weight Management Formula
- The first ingredients are real meat.
- Contains whole vegetables.
- Formulated to help with weight loss.
- Also good for weight maintenance.
- Formulated for both large and small breeds.
- 334 Calories per cup.
- 25% Protein, 10% Fat, 10% Fiber.
If your canine companion needs some help maintaining a healthy weight, you don’t want to choose a product that they won’t eat. Fromm does a fine job of creating a tasty weight management meal that doesn’t sacrifice nutrients to conserve calories.
The foundation of this blend is a combination of healthy proteins, nutritious vegetables, vitamins, minerals, and probiotics. Fromm uses a special blend of proteins to give dogs what they need without the excess, and they even include cheese.
Fromm also has a grain-free weight management option, the Gold Coast Weight Management recipe. It uses a combination of whitefish and salmon for protein, and many of the same nutritional elements as the grain-inclusive version, minus the grain.
For pups accustomed to the Four-Star Nutritionals line, Fromm recommends the Whitefish & Potato formula for weight management. This blend is not grain-free, but uses high-quality ingredients, including fruits and vegetables, to help dogs maintain their weight.
Wet Foods
Fromm Shredded Beef Wet Dog Food
- The first ingredients are beef broth and beef.
- Includes beans and whole vegetables.
- Limited ingredients to make digestion easier.
- Includes salmon oil for skin and coat health.
- Grain-free.
- 249 Calories per can.
- 7% Protein, 2.5% Fat, 1.2% Fiber.
Did you think we forgot the wet dog foods? We couldn’t neglect Fromm’s expansive selection of wet food. However, we want to note that wet food, while delicious and nutritious, is not a good choice for everyday meals. Dogs need dry kibble to help keep their teeth clean and wet foods tend to have less protein.
Fromm’s grain-free wet food recipes have limited ingredients with proteins cooked in broth. Each blend uses animal, fish, or avian proteins filled out with whole fruits and vegetables. They even have some intriguing combinations, like Surf & Turf Pate and Turkey & Pumpkin Pate.
The Four-Star Nutritionals blends carry the heftiest price tags, but they also have the highest quality ingredients lists. Also note that the Four-Star Nutritionals recipes identify as entrees while the Gold and Classic lines are pates, and they do have slightly different consistencies.
Final Thoughts
The Fromm brand spent more than fifty years honing their recipes, and some of the greatest innovators in the field helped along the way. It’s hard to find fault with a reliable, family-owned company that delivers a quality product time and again. They have multiple grain-free recipes, but also several grain-inclusive options, so there’s sure to be something your pup will like, even if you have concerns about going grain-free.
If you’re in the market for some new dog food, it’s tough to pass over the Fromm product lines because there is something for almost anybody. Even if you’re on a budget, the classic line could be an option with the occasional splurge on Gold or Four-Star blends. We hope after reading this Fromm Dog Food review, that you are well on your way to finding to testing the best food formula for your pup.
