When it comes to our pooch's, one of the most important decisions we make is what to feed them. Not only does a healthy diet equal a happy and healthy dog, but it can even lengthen the amount of time you get to spend together – and who doesn’t want that! However, choosing the right food is getting increasingly tricky with all the new brands and types of dog food continually popping up. That’s why today we’re comparing two popular options, Scrumbles and Tails.Com, so you can determine which is best to fuel your four-legged friend.

Signs that your pet might need a new diet

Changing your pet’s food isn’t something you want to be doing regularly, and never suddenly. As when you make a change to their diet it can cause upset tums and extra flatulence. The main reasons to change your floof’s food will be because they don’t like it, you’re looking for better quality, digestive issues, or due to medical reasons. Equally circumstantial reasons like the food becoming unavailable or prices changing may lead you to look for a new option.

If you think your floof’s current food isn’t right for them, the key signs which would indicate this are:

• Persistent itchy skin
• Digestive issues like loose stools or particularly yucky-smelling or excessive flatulence
• Flaky, full coat
• Lethargy or change in willingness to go out on walkies or play 

Scrumbles Vs Tails.Com

So now we know some of the reasons you might be looking to change your dog's food, it’s time to review which is best for you. Today we're focusing on two notable options; Tails.Com and Scrumbles. Both brands offer dog food, however beyond this there's a big difference in their service, storage, cost, and sustainability. Each of these areas is broken down section by section to help you understand the difference between Tails.Com and Scrumbles, so you can choose the right dog food to help your furry friend thrive.

Scrumbles Overview

Scrumbles is a family-owned, independent pet food company, founded in 2018 by Aneisha and Jack. Their dry food, wet food, and treats recipes focus on gut health, with natural ingredients and added pre or probiotics. Their range, as listed on their website, consists of 72 product variations, which are relatively evenly split across cat and dog, with 55% of products catering to dog and 45% to cats.

Tails.Com Overview

Tails.com launched in 2014, by James, Graham, Kat, and Joe, and in 2018 was acquired by Nestlé. They predominantly offer their recipes via a direct digital subscription service, however have recently made their grocery debut into Sainsbury's. Their mission it to transform the lives of dogs with bespoke blends of kibble. They offer dry dog food, wet dog food, and treats.

Service

Scrumbles customers are able to order via a one-off and subscription service directly via their website, online via the likes of Ocado and Amazon, or in-store via Sainsbury’s, Tesco, Waitrose, Co-Op, and Wilko. Customers don't need to enter any data to create a subscription, and can build it with any products, quantities, and frequencies they choose, as well as being able to add one-off items.

Customers can purchase Tails.Com predominantly via their direct subscription service, serving the UK only, as well as in some Sainsbury's stores. To purchase via their website, owners must first answer a two minute survey which is used to suggest the right dry food recipe. Food is delivered on a monthly basis, with extras like wet food and treats available, that must be ordered alongside dry food.

Whilst both brands offer a subscription service, Scrumbles subscription offers theirs with an on-going discount of 15% off every box.

Storage and Feeding

Scrumbles wet and dry food can be stored at ambient room temperature, and served immediately. Once opened, their wet dog food should be stored in the fridge, and is also suitable for freezing. Dry food bags come with a handy reseal to stay fresh, and stay fresh for up to 12 months. Customers can use their feeding guideline to work out how much to feed, and alter according to their specific dog's needs.

Tails.Com recommend storing their dry food in a cool, dry place and consuming it within 31 days of opening, or up to 6 months unopened. There isn't any accessible information on how to store the wet food, but it's likely at ambient room temperature until opened.

Ingredients

Scrumbles make a big deal about gut health, natural ingredients, and responsibly sourcing. Their recipes have a higher level of meat or fish, with their dry dog food containing up to 66% fresh and dried meat, and wet dog food 70% fresh meat. They also stick to a pollo-pescatarian diet to reduce their environmental impact. They bias to meat proteins and claim none of their recipes contain added pea protein, commonly used in other pet foods, and they also avoid added sugars or salt. All of their dry food recipes contain probiotics, and their wet food and treats prebiotics for gut health. They also avoid dairy, soy, gluten, and egg from all their recipes for sensitive dogs.

Looking at Tails direct range, as they offer different blends of kibble, it's not possible to easily view specific ingredient and analytical information lists prior to purchase. All About Dog Food provide an example ingredient list, with the dry food containing 40% meat, 60% carbs, 17% fats. The remaining % includes vitamins, and other ingredients like Yucca which is high in prebiotics. This makes their protein content average, and carbohydrate percentage well above average. Their wet food contains slightly more meat at 51%, and is available in 20 flavours. Ingredients are grouped together under terms like "meat and animal derivatives" making it tricky to know what's specifically used, and sugars are also added for palatability. 

Pricing

To help you understand the difference in cost between Tails.Com and Scrumbles you can look at the price per day on All About Dog Food.

Scrumbles dry dog food is £0.92 per day and their wet dog food £2.81 /d for the average pooch, with further savings available via subscription. Treats start from £2.75 for 90/100g. 

Tails.Com dry dog food is £1.24 per day and their wet food £2.57 /d for the average pooch. The price for treats isn't openly available.

*Prices taken from All About Dog Food. May be subject to change. The average pooch is based on 6 years old, 14kg.

Product Comparisons

Adult Dry Dog Food

Scrumbles Chicken Dry Dog Food 2kg vs Tails.Com Salmon Adult Dog Food.

Adult Wet Dog Food

Scrumbles Salmon Wet Dog Food vs Tails.Com Turkey Terrine.

*Prices taken from All About Dog Food website. May be subject to change. The average pooch is based on 6 years old, 14kg.

Sustainability

With all the information and real-time events, it’s now impossible to ignore the impact all our buying decisions have on the planet. That’s why more pet parents than ever are looking out for more sustainable food options. It’s also not just us that care about our brands eco-credentials, as I’m sure you can agree our pets wouldn’t want to live in a world without plush green spaces.

Scrumbles is a certified B Corporation, certifying in 2019. This verifies their commitment across all aspects of sustainability, from environmental to social, with a score of 90.8. All their packaging, excluding their wet food sleeves are 100% recyclable, and the majority of their recipes are made in the UK.

Tails.Com mission doesn't have any environmental certifications. Their dry food bags aren't recyclable, but their remaining product packaging can be recycled and they use 100% renewable energy in their factories. Whilst they don't clearly state where every recipe is made, 24% of their suppliers are outside of the UK generating more food miles.

Both companies also support charities by providing food and financial donations to charities such as All Dogs Matter. Scrumbles additionally is a member of 1% for the Planet, giving back 1% of their sales each year to social and environmental causes.

What do customers say about Scrumbles? 

Scrumbles has a product rating of 4.8/5 over the past year on Feefo and 4.4 on Trust Pilot. Reviews frequently reference customers seeing improvements in their pet's poops, skin, and coat.

For example Sandra was very happy with Scrumbles recipes, and the improvements to her pooch’s #2’s.

Whilst this customer couldn't believe the difference they saw to their sensitive cat, especially considering the value.

How to switch to Scrumbles

Now that you’re equipped with all the info you need to make a wise decision about what’s best for your floof, you may be considering making a change.

We always recommend transitioning onto a our gut-friendly recipes slowly to reduce the risk of upset tums. For puppies with extra sensitive bellies, this should be done over a minimum of two weeks, and for adult floofs at least 8 days. To transition, gradually increase the portion of Scrumbles to your old food. Starting off with 25% of Scrumbles and 75% of the old food, working your way up to 100% Scrumbles by the end of the period.

By following this process you should be able to introduce the new recipe seamlessly. However, even so, it is quite normal to see some changes in their stools or flatulence during this time. By the end of the transition they should be back to normal, or ideally even better!

If you have any questions about our recipes or need any help, drop us a line at hello@scrumbles.com