Brand Comparison
Loyal Saints vs. Sundays
Freeze-dried raw vs. air-dried — the difference most people miss
Try Loyal Saints →The Key Distinction: Raw Is Not the Same as Dried
Sundays is an air-dried food. Loyal Saints is freeze-dried raw. Both are convenient and require no refrigeration. But these are fundamentally different processes — and if raw nutrition is what you are looking for, the distinction matters more than most dog food marketing acknowledges.
- True freeze-drying, no heat — enzymes fully intact, vs. Sundays' air-drying which uses low heat
- Raw nutrition profile — bioavailability and enzyme activity of fresh raw food, preserved
- From ~$2–3/day as a ½-cup daily topper
- Woman-owned — founder-led brand built around one dog’s health story
- Zero compromise ingredients — no soy, no corn, no GMOs, no additives across every formula
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Loyal Saints | Sundays |
|---|---|---|
| Processing method | Freeze-drying (no cooking step) | Air-drying (low heat) |
| Truly raw | ✓ enzymes intact | ✗ heat-exposed |
| Enzyme preservation | Complete | Partial (heat reduces enzymes) |
| Bioavailability vs. raw | Equivalent to fresh raw | Reduced by low-heat drying |
| Refrigeration required | No | No |
| Shelf life (unopened) | Up to 24 months | Up to 24 months |
| Human-grade quality ingredients | ✓ every ingredient | ✓ |
| No soy / corn / GMOs | ✓ every formula | ✓ |
| AAFCO-complete | ✓ all 3 formulas | ✓ |
| Daily cost (35 lb dog, Halo Club pricing) | ~$3/day at 25% of the bowl ~$12/day as a complete meal | ~$3–5/day |
| Subscription savings | 5% auto-delivery · 20% Halo Club | Subscription available |
| Woman-owned | ✓ founder-led | ✗ |
| Founder story | King — the dog every formula is made for | No comparable founder story |
Freeze-Drying vs. Air-Drying: Why the Process Matters
This is the most important difference between Loyal Saints and Sundays — and it is the one most commonly overlooked when customers are comparing the two brands.
Air-drying (what Sundays uses) is a process of removing moisture from food using warm, circulating air over a long period — typically many hours at low temperatures. The food is minimally processed compared to kibble, and the result is a shelf-stable product that is genuinely better than kibble. But air-drying does use heat. Low heat, but heat. And heat inactivates enzymes and, at high temperatures, can damage amino acids such as lysine.
Freeze-drying (what Loyal Saints uses) removes moisture without any heat at all. Food is flash-frozen, then placed in a vacuum chamber where the ice in the food is converted directly to vapor — a process called sublimation. No heat is used at any stage. The food that comes out of the freeze-dryer has the same enzyme activity, amino acid profile, and raw nutritional bioavailability as fresh raw food. It is genuinely raw — not minimally cooked, not heat-dried. Raw.
If you are choosing between Loyal Saints and Sundays because you want no refrigeration and a convenient premium dog food, both deliver that. But if you want the nutritional profile of a raw diet in a convenient format — freeze-dried raw is the correct choice, and Loyal Saints is that product.
What Enzyme Preservation Actually Means for Your Dog
Raw food carries its own natural enzymes, which freeze-drying keeps and cooking inactivates. Enzymes such as amylase, lipase and protease are naturally present in raw meat. Heat inactivates them, even at fairly low temperatures; freeze-drying does not.
What matters most for your dog is how well the food is digested — and in a 2024 controlled study, dogs digested 94% of the protein in a freeze-dried raw diet against 82% in kibble. This is one reason many dogs transitioning to a raw or freeze-dried raw diet show improvements in digestion, stool quality, and energy — the pancreatic load decreases, and the gut microbiome shifts to benefit from the richer enzyme environment.
Air-dried food like Sundays is better than kibble for this reason — and it is far better than food that has been thoroughly cooked at high heat. But it is not equivalent to freeze-dried raw. The enzyme content of air-dried food is lower than fresh raw or freeze-dried raw because low-heat exposure still denatures a portion of those heat-sensitive compounds.
If maximum enzyme preservation and the closest possible nutritional approximation to a fresh raw diet matters to you, Loyal Saints is the correct format.
Both Are Convenient. Only One Is Raw.
Loyal Saints and Sundays share one major convenience advantage over fresh delivery brands: neither requires refrigeration. Both are shelf-stable, pantry-friendly, and travel-compatible. If you are switching from Farmer’s Dog or Ollie specifically for the convenience factor, either brand solves that problem.
The distinction worth understanding is this: Sundays is minimally processed, air-dried food that is significantly better than kibble. Loyal Saints is freeze-dried raw food that is nutritionally equivalent to fresh raw. If you are looking for the gold standard of convenience-without-compromise — freeze-dried raw is that standard, and Loyal Saints is that brand.
King — Why Loyal Saints Is Freeze-Dried Raw
Kristina Voltin did not start Loyal Saints because she found a gap in the air-dried market. She started it because of King. His health challenges — digestive sensitivities, skin flare-ups, and a long search for food she could trust — changed the way she thought about what went into his bowl. She researched canine nutrition, learned why raw food was different from cooked or dried food, and formulated a freeze-dried raw diet from scratch.
That is the standard Loyal Saints runs on. Not a market gap on a spreadsheet. A specific dog, a real health history, and a founder who would only serve him food she understood completely. King is the brand’s mascot because he is the standard. No other brand in the air-dried or freeze-dried category can tell that specific kind of founder story — and it is the reason every formulation decision Loyal Saints makes starts with one question: would I feed this to King?
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between freeze-dried and air-dried dog food?
Freeze-drying removes moisture with no heat — food is frozen and moisture is removed under vacuum (sublimation). The food remains genuinely raw, with enzymes and bioavailability of fresh raw food fully intact. Air-drying removes moisture using warm circulating air over a long period. Air-drying uses gentle heat, which can reduce heat-sensitive enzymes and vitamins. Both are better than kibble; freeze-dried raw is superior to air-dried for raw nutrition preservation.
Is Sundays considered raw dog food?
Sundays markets itself as "air-dried raw" — but the "raw" qualifier is contested because air-drying does use heat, which technically cooks the food at low temperatures. Freeze-dried raw (like Loyal Saints) is the more accurate use of "raw" because no heat is used and the food’s nutritional profile remains equivalent to fresh raw. If raw nutrition is your priority, freeze-dried raw is the more accurate product.
Is Loyal Saints cheaper than Sundays?
Yes. Loyal Saints costs from $2–3/day as a ½-cup daily topper, or about $12–15/day fed as a complete meal to a 35 lb dog. Loyal Saints' Halo Club membership (20% off every order) further reduces the daily cost. For comparable convenience and superior raw nutrition, Loyal Saints is the better value.
Can I switch from Sundays to Loyal Saints?
Yes. Both brands use high-quality ingredients and are free of artificial additives. Because both are non-refrigerated shelf-stable formats, the transition is usually smooth. Follow a 5–7 day transition: start with 50% Loyal Saints and 50% Sundays, increasing Loyal Saints to 100% over the week. Dogs coming from Sundays or other quality foods tend to adapt easily.
Is Loyal Saints truly raw?
Yes. Loyal Saints uses freeze-drying — flash-freezing raw ingredients and removing moisture under vacuum with no heat at any stage. The food retains the enzyme activity, amino acid profile, and bioavailability of fresh raw food. It is genuinely raw in a shelf-stable, pantry-friendly form. It does not require refrigeration and ships without ice packs.
Who founded Loyal Saints?
Loyal Saints was founded by Kristina Voltin, a Minneapolis-based dog mom and entrepreneur. After King’s health challenges changed the way she thought about what went into his bowl, Kristina researched raw canine nutrition and formulated the freeze-dried raw food she felt confident feeding him every day. She launched Loyal Saints so every dog could have a bowl like King’s. The brand is woman-owned, founder-led, and not VC-backed.
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.
The Convenience of Dried. The Nutrition of Raw.
No heat. No refrigeration. No compromise. Freeze-dried raw — not dried, not cooked, not almost-raw. Human-grade quality ingredients, AAFCO-complete, woman-owned. From ~$2–3/day as a daily topper. 30-day store-credit promise on your first order.
