Kibbles ‘n Bits Dog Food Review: Is It Good or Bad?

Kibbles ’n Bits is a classic dog food brand in just about every store you could imagine. The bag is one of the most recognizable on the market, and it blends dog nutrition with budget constraints to produce highly affordable food. So affordable, in fact, that it’s one of the few you could get even if you can’t afford anything else.

But is the price worth it? Let’s take a look at everything Kibbles ’n Bits has to offer to see if saving a few dollars is worth it or if you should head to a premium dog food.

Here is our unbiased Kibbles ‘n Bits dog food review.

Brand Quick Look

• Parent Company: J.M. Smucker Brand
• Founded in: 1981
• Made in: Lawrence, Kansas, USA
• Available at:  Chewy, Amazon
• Types of Food: Dry, Wet
• Real Meat in First 5 Ingredients? : No
• Recalled in Past? : Yes

 

Behind the Brand

Kibbles ’n Bits was first introduced in 1981. It claims to be the first dual textured dog food on the market, combining soft, chewy bits with kibble. It uses a variety of protein sources and vitamin premixes to provide a balanced meal that many dogs seem to enjoy.

The brand was acquired in 1995 by J. Heinz Company. It was later sold to Del Monte and is currently the fifth largest dry dog food brand in the United States. Its reputation is one of familiarity and affordability. It’s in just about every brick and mortar store plus online retailers all over. If you run out of food, you can find it just about anywhere.

It doesn’t have an excellent reputation for being a quality food, however. The ingredients aren’t always complete proteins and frequently cut corners in the name of that affordability. The brand uses corn as the first ingredient in many of its recipes and uses artificial flavors and colors to make the recipes more appealing.

Dogs often have allergic reactions to the kibble and the cheap fillers can make it difficult for the dog to maintain the proper weight throughout its lifetime. It’s good food for when there’s no other option, but many pet owners are switching to more premium brands.

Kibbles ‘n Bits Dog Food Review

We aren’t huge fans of kibbles ‘n Bits, but they do have a fan base among pet owners who are happy with the brand’s affordable products. Here are the popular options in dry and wet food varieties:

1. Bistro Oven Roasted Beef, Spring Vegetable & Apple Flavor

Bistro is the company's range for culinary-inspired tastes. This particular recipe is a blend of crunchy kibbles and soft meaty bits that are enhanced with the flavor of beef, apple, and spring vegetables.

The first two ingredients are corn and soybean meal. While there is nothing wrong with the two, they should not be the ingredients that make up the bulk of the meal. (In recipes, the ingredients are listed in order with the first one making up the most volume in the food.)

Both of them are nutrient-dense and provide decent protein, but they should only act as support in meals instead of heading them. Soybean meal, in particular, should be given in limited quantities because of its flatulence characteristics.

The third ingredient is beef and bone meal. This one we agree with. Beef meal is simply rendered beef that has had its moisture taken out, while bone meal is crushed bones, which is a rich source of calcium and phosphorus.

The apples, peas, and green beans are fine inclusions as well as the added minerals and vitamins. The rest of the ingredients, however, are not very impressive. There are fillers such as wheat middlings, artificial flavors, and even artificial colors.

So if you’re looking for affordable food that can give your pet enough nutrition for his needs, this recipe can provide that for you. However, be aware that the affordability also comes with a cost: artificial flavors and colors as well as low-range ingredients.

2. Mini Bits Bacon & Steak Flavor Small Breed

Little mouths need small-sized kibbles to help them chew and eat better. The Mini Bits range offers small-breed dogs delicious little chunks of combination crunchy and chewy kibbles with bacon and steak flavor.

Now let’s check the guaranteed analysis. The protein here is much higher at 21% than the other dry food recipes in our list. This is because small breed dogs need more nutrition per body weight than larger breeds. Sounds weird, but it’s true. Smaller dogs have higher metabolic rates, and they burn through the energy they have quicker than large breed dogs.

Because of the peculiar metabolism of small-breed pups, their food has to be more nutrient-dense, specifically when it comes to fat and protein. The fat in this recipe is at 8% (not high, but not low either), while the fiber is at 4%. Because the kibbles are a mixture of crunchy and chewy, moisture content is relatively high at 18%.

Now let’s go on to the ingredients. Sadly, the recipe does not start with meat. Like all dry food recipes they offer, corn and soybean meal lead the list. The meat ingredient doesn’t figure until the third slot, so we don’t know exactly how much there is but for sure there isn’t much.

As we’ve mentioned a few times above, we have nothing against corn and soybean meal. These are nutritious ingredients that many dog food companies frequently add to their products. And dogs are omnivores so there is no concert that they would not be able to digest these. But your pet’s main source of protein should be from meat. Why?

Animal protein like beef, chicken, and fish are complete proteins because they contain ALL of the amino acids that bodies need to function effectively. Plant proteins have amino acids too, but they usually lack one or more essential amino acids. Soy is supposed to be complete but two of its amino acids are in such small quantities that it might as well not be there.

We are also not fans of unspecified ingredients like animal fat. What animal did it come from? The term encompasses a great amount of animals, and some you don’t want to be anywhere near your pet’s food.

Last ingredient that we have an issue with is the corn syrup. It’s not toxic to dogs and many treats list this as an ingredient, but too much of this (which may happen since you’ll be feeding your dog this recipe as part of his regular meals and not as a treat) and you’re looking at possible obesity or diabetes in the future.

So our take is this: This recipe offers complete nutrition required by small dog breeds, it is easily wolfed down by pups because of the size, and the flavor seems to be a well-loved one. However, there are plenty of unnecessary ingredients included here such as artificial coloring, artificial flavoring, and sugar.

 

What Types of Dog Food Do They Offer?

Kibbles and Bits offers a variety of dry and wet foods in a few different life stages and breed size specifications. Their dry foods are more extensive than their wet foods, but both contain similar tier ingredients.

The recipes often use cheap fillers such as corn or soy and the meats aren’t always discernible or whole. Your dog will get protein and carbohydrates, sure, but it may be more akin to you eating processed foods for every meal. There’s not much natural about the recipe.

It also uses a fair amount of by-product meals, which can be difficult to identify but are often pieces of the animal not fit for human consumption. However, there are recipes designed to fit the specific issues faced by overweight dogs or certain life stages.

Dry Food:

• Beefy Bits
• Bistro Oven Roasted Beef Flavor
• Bistro Small Breed Mini Bits Oven roasted Beef Flavor
• Homestyle Grilled Beef and Vegetable Flavor
• Original Savory Beef and Chicken Flavors
• Small Breed Mini Bits Beef and Chicken Flavors
• Bacon and Steak Flavor
• Steak and Cheese Flavor
• Meaty Middles Prime Rib Flavor

Kibbles ‘n Bits previously offered a wet dog food product line, but it has since been discontinued. The brand now primarily focuses on its dry dog food varieties.

Recall History 

In 2018, the brand came under fire for reports of low levels of a chemical often used to euthanize dogs found present in quite a few of the brand’s lines.

Pentobarbital was detected in small doses, prompting J.M. Smucker to issue a wide recall of six different wet food brands in the name of safety. Overall, the company has a mostly clean record, but that recall was particularly harrowing.

Customer Reviews

The food rates highly across online platforms, but many customers are relieved that their dogs aren’t going to cost them a lot of money. We can understand that. The budget can be tough, and if it’s a choice between feeding this or turning your dog out, we support feeding them this food.

It has around four stars on Chewy and Amazon in quite a few recipes, but trusted dog food reviewers feel much, much differently. It regularly rates at just a single star if not less.

What Do Customers Say?

Pet owners like that their dogs will eat the food without much protest. It does seem to have a pleasant flavor for most dogs, and most customers reported that their dogs ate without complaining. Also, the budget for the food was highly suitable for a wide variety of budgets and customers appreciated that they could always find the food wherever they were.

Quite a few customers complained that the food caused itchiness in their dogs and some digestive issues. Dogs can be sensitive to things like corn or soy in their diets, and artificial flavors can also trigger inflammation that causes itchy skin.

Really, customers were somewhat divided on whether the food was worth it for the budget or terrible. Most reviews trended at the extreme in either direction.

Positive

• “If you are feeding strays, have a picky dog you can't get to eat well, need to save money, buying for shelter donations, etc. Its perfect! You can't go wrong with it because they love it!” SmokeysMom22, chewy.com

Negative

• “My 4 indoor dogs Don't really like is. My 5 outdoor dogs like it. So I guess I will have to go back to what I was getting for the indoor dogs before I decided to change things.” Mousie, chewy.com

Final Say

After a thorough evaluation, it's evident that Kibbles and Bits, while a budget dog food among pet food brands, it falls short in terms of quality and nutritional value. While it may appeal to some dog owners due to its affordability, it's essential to consider the trade-offs. 

The inclusion of preservatives and reliance on dog food by-products raise concerns about the overall healthiness of this brand. Despite being established by the AAFCO (Association of American Feed Control Officials), a reputable organization, Kibbles ‘n Bits fails to earn a high star rating in terms of ingredient quality and nutritional adequacy. 

While it may suffice as a temporary solution for those on a tight budget, dog owners should prioritize investing in higher-quality pet foods for the long-term health and well-being of their furry companions.