Belcando

Belcando Finest Grain-Free review

Name: Belcando Finest Grain-Free
Brand: Belcando

62.5/100Good

DryAdult

A Good grain-free dry food that swaps cereal for amaranth, a pseudocereal with more protein than the grains it replaces and no gluten. It comes as a Lamb and a Salmon, each opening with 40% fresh meat or fish, with krill, chia and salmon oil carrying marine omega 3s through both. The kibble is sized for small and medium dogs.

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Our view

Likely to suit

Small and medium adults; the feeding guide and the kibble are both sized for them
Dogs off grain. Amaranth and potato starch carry the starch
Dogs that have to stay off land meats, through the Salmon recipe, whose animal side is all fish and krill
Owners after marine omega 3s from the bowl itself

Worth watching

Unnamed poultry protein and poultry fat in the Lamb recipe, so it is not lamb alone
Grain free is not starch free: amaranth and potato starch add up to a fair carbohydrate share

Written by our editorial team. Independent guidance, not veterinary advice.

How this scores

How we score

62.5/100Good

Protein and processingGood

Nutritional balanceAverage

TransparencyGood

ValueGood

The details

Dog fit

Listed for small and medium adults. Choose the flavour with the ingredients list open, since the Lamb and the Salmon suit different dogs.

Food type

Dry

Life stage

Adult

Breed size

Small, Medium

Main protein

Salmon

The score, in context

Belcando Finest Grain-Free 62.5

All one Good. Typical dry food: Good.

A recipe doing everything competently, with nutritional balance the one pillar a step behind.

What's in it

Fresh lamb meat, liver and lung (Lamb) or fresh salmon (Salmon)40%The lead animal parcel on each recipe.
Amaranth16.5% Lamb, 16% SalmonA gluten-free pseudocereal standing in for grain, with more protein than the cereals it replaces.
Potato starch, pea flourBinds the kibble.
Dried lamb protein, low-ash dried poultry protein, hydrolysed poultry liver, poultry fat (Lamb)10% lamb proteinThe poultry is unnamed.
Meal from ocean fish, salmon meal, hydrolysed salmon (Salmon)Keeps the Salmon recipe entirely marine.
Ground sea zooplankton (krill)2.5% Lamb, 5% SalmonMarine omega 3s.
Grape seed expellerThe pressed seed left after oil extraction, an antioxidant source with none of the danger of the grape itself.
Dried carob bean gum, sugar beet pulp, chia seedsFibre and binding.
Salmon oil, thistle oilThistle oil on the Salmon only.
Dried yeast, salts, dried herbs, yucca extract2.5% yeast, 0.2% herbsThe herb blend is the house signature.

Vitamins A, D3 and E, taurine at 500 mg, and copper, iron, manganese, zinc, iodine and selenium in standard inorganic forms, identical on both recipes.

This listing covers two recipes, Lamb and Salmon, under one shared analysis.

The Lamb recipe carries poultry and salmon oil; for an elimination trial, the Salmon is the cleaner pick.

Named ingredients

Lamb: Fresh lamb meat, liver, and lung (total: 40%); Amaranth (16.5%); Potato starch; Dried lamb protein (10%); Low-ash dried poultry protein; Pea flour; Hydrolysed poultry liver; Ground sea zooplankton (Krill, 2.5%); Dried yeast (2.5%); Poultry fat; Grape seed expeller; Dried carob bean gum; Dried, sugar-free sugar beet pulp; Chia seeds; Salmon oil; Sodium chloride; Potassium chloride; Dried herbs (total: 0.2%; Nettle leaf, Gentian root, Centaury, Chamomile, Fennel, Caraway, Mistletoe, Yarrow, Blackberry leaves); Yucca schidigera extract, Salmon: Fresh salmon (40%); Amaranth (16%); Potato starch; Pea flour; Meal from ocean fish; Salmon meal; Ground sea zooplankton (Krill, 5%); Dried yeast (2.5%); Salmon oil; Grape seed expeller; Dried carob bean gum; Hydrolysed salmon; Chia seeds; Dried, sugar-free sugar beet pulp; Dicalcium phosphate; Thistle oil; Dried herbs (total: 0.2%; Nettle leaf, Gentian root, Centaury, Chamomile, Fennel, Caraway, Mistletoe, Yarrow, Blackberry leaves); Potassium chloride; Sodium chloride; Yucca schidigera extract

Against the range

One template sits behind the Lamb and the Salmon: a 40% fresh animal parcel, amaranth in place of cereal, potato starch to bind and krill ground in. The additive panel is identical on both, every trace mineral dosed in print with taurine at 500 mg.

Nutritional analysis

Declared analysis

Energy

350 kcal/100g

Estimated using Modified Atwater factors*

Protein

25%

Fat

14.5%

Fibre

3.5%

Ash

7.2%

Moisture

10%

Dry weight

Protein

27.8%

Fat

16.1%

Fibre

3.9%

Ash

Carbs

44.2%

As-fed composition

Estimated breakdown of the finished product by ingredient category, from the declared ingredient list and ingoing weights. These are estimates, not measurements.

Meat

35.9%

Oils

64.1%

Pricing & size

Price per kilo: £5.26 (RRP)
Pack: 4 kg, 12.5 kg, in each of two flavours - the selector reads "**(4 variants)**": Lamb and Salmon, each in 4 kg and 12.5 kg.
A 15kg dog eats: 190 g a day
Cost per day, 15kg dog: £1.00

The price runs a little ahead of what the analysis shows, though the Value pillar still reads Good.

Ingredients and nutrition are taken from manufacturer data. Retailer pricing is not yet live for this food.