Larry’s Lunch Dog Food Review
Larry’s Lunch is very similar to Lyka, and that has to be a good thing considering Lyka has consistently made the best rated list based on quality and consumer feedback (a whopping 4.9 on Trustpilot from over 4000 reviews!).
As a slightly-cooked pre-prepared meal delivered to your door, Larry’s Lunch may cost more than other dog foods, but it’s also a lot better for your dog.
As many kibble-fed dogs struggle with a transition to raw, a slightly-cooked option like Larry’s Lunch offers an excellent solution.
Even if you start gradually (i.e. keep feeding your dog kibble as well), then it’s definitely worth a try if you’re looking to boost your dog’s intake of real food and proper nutrients.
I can’t vouch for Larry’s Lunch as I can Lyka as a much more established pet food brand, so I welcome any feedback from yourself if you’ve fed Larry’s Lunch or have experience with the brand.
Let’s take a closer look!
What the marketing says
As with similar brands, Larry’s Lunch was the result of seeing a wonderful transition of one dog – a courageous Labradoodle named Larry – onto “real food” after suffering from a serious dog attack at 5 months of age.
Many times have I witnessed how a transition to a better, more nutritious diet can turn a dog’s life around, I feel this is a very good way to embark on building a pet food company, with better ethics. Dog foods such as this offer our dogs a better alternative to the processed rubbish most people feed their dogs (including myself in my younger years).
Aaron, Larry’s owner, has a long history of selling fresh produce at Melbourne’s Fish Market. He teamed up with chef Raymond Capaldi and animal nutritionist and naturopath Ruth Hatten, and Larry’s Lunch is now a fully fledged home grown Australian pet food company.
It’s worth noting Larry’s Lunch now offer a slightly-cooked freeze dried range. This would be a good option if your dog struggles to tolerate a raw freeze dried food like the excellent Frontier Pets, or if you’re looking for a slightly-cooked and much more nutritious option to a dry food, with the convenience and long shelf-life of being freeze-dried.
What the ingredients really say
Larry’s Lunch seem open and honest with their ingredients. Compared with most kibbles, they have much less to hide.
You’ll find a range of “bowls” (which are basically just packets), with both puppy and adult options available. All are AAFCO compliant to be “complete and balanced” for the respective life stage.
Some bowls include grain, but don’t let that worry you – it’s in a minimal and suitable amount.
The bowls aren’t “full raw”, and similar to Lyka are a mix of vegetables and superfoods as well as meats/meat fat.
Based on the analysis “wet weight”, if you were to compare with a dry dog food product this is clearly high protein, high fat, and minimal carbohydrates – which is really good news given your dog is essentially a carnivore (or facultative/scavenging carnivore if you will).
I consider some carbs beneficial in a dog’s diet, but only when kept to a minimum like they are in Larry’s Lunch. Some veggies, and even some white rice (which is the case for the grain-inclusive recipes) will offer your dog nutrients and energy.
I did some quick maths, and based on the wet weight the Turkey bowl would roughly equate to around 35% protein and a little less fat if you ignore the moisture content (around 67%), and I expect only around 10% carbs.
With that in mind, we can assume a bowl is mostly meat mince and finely ground bone, backed up with carrots and sweet potatoes (both good veggie choices), and a range of other decent inclusions – spinach, apple, white rice, psyllium husk, chia seed, spirulina, kelp, turmeric.
The benefits of all those ingredients need little explanation. We know they’re all healthy, and they’re as beneficial for your dog as they are for you.
The Larry’s Lunch formulas are rounded off with omega 3s and 6s to support health, wellbeing, and joints, plus a trilogy of oils from flaxseed, sunflower, and coconut.
I find the recipes hard to fault, and compared to kibble are a much better option nutrient wise (I’ll leave it up to you to decide cost wise).
Although the website states the use of organ meats (such as liver, heart, bone marrow etc), I would prefer to see these ingredients listed specifically including percentages rather than just “mince”.
As a more minor point, it’s worth noting the formulas aren’t single protein. For example, the Fish Bowl looks to contain organs from Beef, and the Turkey Bowl looks to contain chicken (unless the pictures on the website aren’t fully correct) – make sure you check if your dog has a chicken sensitivity!
Larry’s Lunch is a good choice if…
Larry’s Lunch is undoubtedly a good choice for your dog.
Cost will likely be your main concern, and if it is I would suggest simply adding Larry’s Lunch as part of your dog’s diet. Variety should be seen as a good thing, and can help you keep the cost down as a whole.
I know with Lyka some have struggled with freezer space, so that’s worth considering with Larry’s Lunch being similar.
If you have a small or toy breed, a slightly-cooked dog food such as this may feel more affordable, but keep in mind as a soft food you should also cater for dental health by giving your dog something to chew.
If you’re trying to weigh up Lyka versus Larry’s Lunch, I have to say (at this stage) the feedback I have on Lyka is more solid, but Larry’s Lunch may prove an equal alternative.
How do you think they compare?
Where to buy?
Larry’s Lunch is available direct from their website.
Ingredients
I note Larry’s Lunch do not show the ingredients panel on their website – only on the product – so these are sample ingredients taken from a product photo of the Puppy Turkey bowl:
Turkey mince, finely ground fresh turkey bone, carrots, sweet potatoes, spinach, apple, white rice, psyllium husk, chia seed, spirulina, kelp, turmeric, omega 3 & 6, flaxseed oil, sunflower oil, coconut oil.
Analysis
Analysis of the Larry’s Lunch Adult Turkey bowl as formulated (wet weight):
| Protein | 12.66% |
| Fat | 11.51% |
| Crude Fibre | (max) 3% |
| Carbohydrates * | Listed net carbs 3.84% |
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I’ve been feeding my two Greyhounds Larry’s Lunch since January and now I genuinely can’t imagine feeding anything else. I’m not usually one for brand loyalty, but I’m probably ride or die on this one.
One of my dogs is basically a walking garbage disposal unit so he’s easy to feed, but my other is prone to randomly deciding he won’t eat something, and even the fusspot has never turned down a bowl of Larry’s Lunch. I used to have them on Lyka for a while but neither dog was overly interested and would often choose to not eat at all. Remi even eats the fish dish of LL, and this is a dog that has historically loathed any kind of seafood. Having fed both and so have a fair basis for comparison, I do think Larry’s Lunch is the superior product on all fronts, especially quality/freshness, and I find it decently more reasonably priced than Lyka (definitely a bonus when both dogs are around the 40kg mark). I haven’t tried many other fresh food brands, but I legit think LL has nailed it on this one.
Customer service is always fast and friendly, and the level of transparency Aaron Bach maintains with his customers is remarkable. No bulldust, no arrogance, just straightforward answers. I’m a bit of a nuisance and often have really silly questions or things to say, and have always been met with friendliness and openness.
I’ve been feeding my two fussy cavoodles Larry’s Lunch for almost a year and half now with great success and joy.
One of the dogs has pancreatitis and IBD, allergic to Beef and Chicken. Prior this, i tried various options including Hill’s vet food and Lyka.
Most recent prior Larry’s was Lyka which i had a tough time trying to get my dogs to eat their fish meals which were heavy full of Sardines and barely any fish and my dogs refused to eat it. On top of this the failed deliveries and damaged packages that looked like soccer balls full of air. Lyka tried to convince me it was ok to eat. I don’t think so. At the time i requested Lyka if they could do me a special and remove the sardines to which they said NO as they run massive production line machinery and are not able to make unique adjustments.
I stumbled onto Larry’s Lunch from another commenter here at PetFoodReviews and my first request was can Larry’s remove the sardines and add more fish. Aaron runs a small family business who take pride in their dog food and keeping dogs happy and thankfully he accommodated my request.
14 months later my dogs have been the happiest and healthiest and we’ve had zero trips to the vet in 14 months. That’s money well saved.
Aaron who owns and runs the business is always contactable phone or email unlike Lyka I had to go through a helpdesk who then got “somebody” to respond days later with a scripted message.
I’m glad PetFoodReviews has finally reviewed Larry’s Lunch to give people and pets an alternative.
Thanks Tony, that’s great to hear, and noted about your issues with Lyka.
Heya Legend, Aaron here — Founder of Larry’s Lunch Pet Food. Thank you so much for the amazing review! That 9 out of 10 means the world to our little family business. Just to clarify, all of our ingredients are clearly listed on the website — if you head to the meal section and scroll down, you’ll see each individual ingredient along with a full formula table. If anyone ever has any questions, we’re always here and happy to help. Give your dogs a big pat from me.
Cheers,
Aaron