Brand Comparison
Loyal Saints vs. The Farmer’s Dog
Freeze-dried raw vs. fresh cooked — a complete, honest comparison
Try Loyal Saints →The Short Answer
The Farmer’s Dog is a legitimately good brand. So is Loyal Saints. They are not the same product. The Farmer’s Dog cooks its food. Loyal Saints does not. That single decision changes everything: nutrition, convenience, shelf life, and cost. Here is the complete comparison.
- Raw nutrition, not cooked — enzymes and amino acids preserved, not destroyed by heat
- No fridge. Ever. — pantry-stable for 12+ months, ships without ice packs
- From ~$2–3/day as a ½-cup daily topper
- Travel-ready — take it camping, travel, road trips without a cold bag
- Woman-owned — founder-led brand, not VC-backed
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Loyal Saints | The Farmer’s Dog |
|---|---|---|
| Food type | Freeze-dried raw | Fresh cooked |
| Human-grade | ✓ every ingredient | ✓ |
| No soy / corn / GMOs | ✓ every formula | Varies by recipe |
| Enzymes preserved | ✓ no cooking step | Reduced by cooking |
| Refrigeration required | No — pantry-stable | Yes — must refrigerate |
| Shelf life (unopened) | 12+ months | 3–5 days (fridge) |
| Ships with ice packs | No | Yes — insulated box |
| Travel-friendly | ✓ | ✗ |
| Daily cost (35 lb dog, Halo Club pricing) | ~$3/day at 25% of the bowl ~$12/day as a complete meal | ~$5–8/day |
| Subscription savings | 5% auto-delivery · 20% Halo Club | Standard pricing |
| Woman-owned | ✓ founder-led | ✗ VC-backed |
| Founder story | King — the dog every formula is made for | No comparable founder story |
| Made in USA | ✓ Midwest facility | Multiple facilities |
Freeze-Dried Raw vs. Fresh Cooked — Why the Processing Matters
The Farmer’s Dog uses gentle cooking to prepare its food. This is a legitimate and effective food safety method — cooked food is predictable, consistent, and easier to formulate at scale. Cooking is not the problem. The problem, from a raw nutrition standpoint, is what heat destroys.
Natural enzymes, kept intact. Heat-sensitive amino acids. Differences in digestibility between raw and cooked protein. These are not marketing claims — they are established nutritional science, and they are the reason the raw feeding community exists.
Loyal Saints uses freeze-drying: food is flash-frozen, then moisture is removed under vacuum with no heat at all. The result is a shelf-stable food that retains the enzyme activity, amino acid completeness, and bioavailability of fresh raw food. Your dog gets raw nutrition without the logistics of raw feeding — no freezer, no thawing, no contamination risk from handling wet raw meat.
Both brands are human-grade. Both are free of artificial preservatives and fillers. The core difference is what the processing preserves in your dog’s bowl.
No Fridge. No Ice Packs. No Cold Chain.
The Farmer’s Dog ships in insulated boxes with ice packs because fresh-cooked food spoils without refrigeration. After delivery, it goes straight into the fridge. Once open, you have 3–5 days before it needs to be discarded. If you forget to move it from the front door on a warm day, you have a problem. If you travel, the Farmer’s Dog does not travel with you.
Loyal Saints ships like a bag of premium coffee. No ice. No insulated box to break down and recycle. It lives in your pantry for 12+ months. Once open, seal the bag and use within 4–6 weeks. Add warm water when serving or serve dry. That is the entire logistics story.
This is not a minor convenience difference. For dog moms managing a household, travel, or unpredictable schedules — the difference between a product that requires constant refrigeration and one that sits in a cabinet is significant. It is one of the most common reasons dog moms who switch to Loyal Saints say they will not go back.
Daily Cost: ~$2–3 vs. ~$5–8
For a 35-pound dog, The Farmer’s Dog typically costs between $5 and $8 per day depending on the formula and delivery cadence. Loyal Saints costs approximately $2–3 per day as a ½-cup daily topper, or about $12–15 per day fed as a complete meal to a 35 lb dog — less with the 20% Halo Club discount.
The Farmer’s Dog costs more for structural reasons: fresh-cooked food requires cold-chain shipping, insulated packaging, ice packs, and significant operational infrastructure to maintain food safety at scale. The brand is also VC-backed, which means growth overhead is built into the price.
Loyal Saints ships without a cold chain. It is a founder-owned brand without VC overhead. Both of those structural differences translate directly to the daily cost your dog pays. Loyal Saints delivers raw-equivalent nutrition from human-grade quality ingredients at a price point comparable to premium kibble — because making real food accessible was the mission from the beginning.
The Story No Competitor Can Copy: King
Kristina Voltin did not start Loyal Saints as a business opportunity. She started it because of King. His digestive sensitivities pushed her to question the ingredients, processing and nutrition behind every bowl, and she spent years researching canine nutrition before formulating a freeze-dried raw food, made with human-grade quality ingredients, that she felt confident feeding him.
That is the foundation of every Loyal Saints formula. Not a market gap identified by a strategy team. Not an investor thesis about the premium pet food segment. A specific dog, with a specific health history, and a founder who would only feed him food she understood completely. King is the brand’s mascot because King is the standard.
No VC-backed fresh delivery brand can tell that story. The Farmer’s Dog is an excellent product — but it was built by founders who spotted a market opportunity, not by a dog mom whose own dog changed the way she thought about every ingredient — and who needed to share what she found. That difference is not just emotional. It shows up in every formulation decision Loyal Saints makes — because the standard has always been: would I feed this to King?
Frequently Asked Questions
Is The Farmer’s Dog better than Loyal Saints?
They are different products that solve the same problem through different approaches. The Farmer’s Dog is fresh-cooked and requires refrigeration. Loyal Saints is freeze-dried raw — equivalent or nutritionally superior (enzymes intact, no heat), more shelf-stable, more travel-friendly, and significantly less expensive per day. Neither is objectively better — but if you prioritize raw nutrition, cost, and pantry convenience, Loyal Saints wins on all three counts.
Is freeze-dried raw healthier than fresh-cooked dog food?
Freeze-dried raw keeps food raw — natural enzymes and amino acids untouched by cooking — because there is no cooking step. Fresh-cooked food, while excellent by pet food standards, uses heat that can reduce some heat-sensitive nutrients. Both formats are superior to traditional kibble. For maximum raw nutrition profile, freeze-dried raw is the stronger choice.
Why is Loyal Saints cheaper than The Farmer’s Dog?
The Farmer’s Dog requires cold-chain logistics, insulated packaging, ice packs, and the operational infrastructure of a VC-backed brand scaling nationally. Loyal Saints ships without a cold chain (no ice, no insulation), is founder-owned (no VC overhead), and passes those savings to the customer. The lower price is not a quality difference. It is a business model difference.
How do I switch from The Farmer’s Dog to Loyal Saints?
Because both brands are human-grade and free of artificial additives, the transition is usually smooth. We recommend a 7-day transition: start with 25% Loyal Saints + 75% current food, increasing by 25% every 2 days. Dogs already on a high-quality diet (like Farmer’s Dog) typically transition with minimal symptoms. Some dogs notice firmer stools quickly due to the lower moisture content of freeze-dried food versus fresh.
Does Loyal Saints require refrigeration?
No. Loyal Saints is shelf-stable for 12+ months before opening. After opening, store in a cool dry place and use within 4–6 weeks. If you rehydrate a serving and have leftovers, those can be refrigerated up to 24 hours. You will never need ice packs, a dedicated fridge slot, or a refrigerated delivery window.
Is Loyal Saints woman-owned?
Yes. Loyal Saints was founded and is led by Kristina Voltin, a Minneapolis-based dog mom and entrepreneur. She created Loyal Saints after King’s health challenges changed the way she thought about what went into his bowl. The brand is woman-owned, founder-led, and has no VC funding.
The quarter-bowl rule
Big dog? Start with a quarter of the bowl.
Freeze-drying takes out the water, not the food. That is why a small scoop looks like nothing and still carries real raw nutrition — and why you do not have to replace an entire large-breed diet to change what is in it.
Feed Loyal Saints as about 25% of the bowl. Your dog gets human-grade freeze-dried raw in every meal — no fillers, no synthetic premix, no heat — at a daily cost that stays sane as your dog gets bigger.
| Your dog | Full meal per the bag | 25% of the bowl | Per day Halo Club | One bag lasts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Calculating from the label… | ||||
A quarter bowl is a starting point, not a rule — feed to body condition. Fed as a complete meal instead, the same 50 lb dog eats 3½ cups a day. We would rather tell you that than hide it.
Ready to Try Loyal Saints?
Human-grade. Freeze-dried raw. No soy, no corn, no GMOs. No fridge. No ice packs. From ~$2–3/day as a daily topper. Woman-owned. Made in the Midwest, USA. 30-day promise on your first order — store credit if she won’t eat it (conditions apply).
