Nutrience: what is in it, and what we would feed instead
Original, Grain-Free, SubZero (Prairie Red, Fraser Valley, Canadian Pacific), Infusion, Care · PetSmart, Pet Valu, independents — Made in BC by Rolf C. Hagen
Our take
A well-run Canadian company and an honest attempt at a better kibble. The freeze-dried cubes are the best part of the bag and the smallest part of it.
What the label says
Nutrience SubZero (Prairie Red, Fraser Valley, Canadian Pacific) is high-end Canadian kibble with a freeze-dried coating. Rolf C. Hagen, a Canadian family company founded in 1955, has made it in its own BC kitchen since 2016, with no recall history found. The SubZero ingredient list shows the legume-heavy pattern the FDA described in its 2019 DCM report: peas, pea protein, lentils, chickpeas and pea fibre.
- Still extruded kibble at the core; SubZero is kibble with a freeze-dried coating, not raw food
- SubZero lists peas, pea protein, lentils, chickpeas and pea fibre: the legume-heavy pattern from the FDA's 2019 report
- Yeast extract as a palatant in some lines
- SubZero pricing approaches fresh raw cost per day
- The freeze-dried Nutriboost cubes are a small share of the bag by weight
- Cat formulas are still around 30% carbohydrate
- Whole, named protein
- Moisture in the food (raw is about 70% water; kibble about 10%)
- Protein rotation
- No starch binder
- Fresh fats and omega-3s
The Nutriboost reality check: The freeze-dried beef-liver cubes (Nutriboost) sound impressive in marketing — but they're a small fraction of the bag by weight. The bulk of what your pet is eating is still extruded kibble with the same format limitations. The cubes are a feature, not a transformation.
The switch at Barks N Purrs
SubZero customers already believe raw matters, which is why they pay extra for the cubes. COEVO FD+K (also BC-made) is the sideways step; Perfectly Raw or Big Country Raw is the full move.
Website prices on 2026-09-26. Cost per day is a starting estimate at 2.5% of body weight for an adult dog; your plan uses your pet's real weight and age.
Turn this into a 30-day plan for your pet
Three minutes: who they are, what is going on, what they eat now. You get the food, the first two supplements, the amount to feed and the cost per day, emailed to you as a shopping list to bring in.
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