Briantos Adult Mini Grain-Free: Salmon & Potato review

Our Good band verdict puts this level with the typical adult dry food. What keeps it in the lower half of that band is construction and candour, and nothing a buyer needs to fear. The declared meat is modest once the salmon's 20% is set beside the unnamed poultry entries, and the vaguer terms stop the label saying more. Value and transparency each come out Good, with protein and processing and nutritional balance both Average. For a small grain-avoiding dog that loves fish flavours, it remains a perfectly workable everyday bowl.

Ingredients, as declared: 20% salmon (dried), 20% potatoes (dried), potato starch (dried), poultry protein (dried), poultry fat, dried beet pulp (desugared), 3% sweet potatoes (dried), cellulose, protein hydrolysate, peas (dried), fish oil, chicory (dried), brewer's yeast (dried), celery (dried), carrots (dried)

Dried salmon at 20% is a concentrated protein source, so it pulls more weight in the finished kibble than the same figure of fresh fish would. Behind it, though, the animal content leans on poultry protein and poultry fat, and neither names its bird. Protein converts to 28.7% of dry matter, a comfortable level for an adult recipe.

Potatoes at 20% and potato starch do the binding, while 3% sweet potato brings extra fibre and vitamins that plain potato cannot. The estimated carbohydrate lands at 44.2% of dry matter, just under the 46.2% typical for adult dry food, which is a pleasant surprise on a label like this one.

Cellulose is the least welcome sight. It is purified plant fibre, often a by-product of other industries, and it bulks a recipe out without feeding the dog. The beet pulp beside it is the more useful fibre, a steady choice for firm digestion.

Protein hydrolysate is a palatant, meat protein broken down small to make the kibble taste stronger, and its source goes unnamed, which matters only if you are trying to track every animal in the bowl.

The supporting cast reads well: fish oil for omega 3s, chicory as a prebiotic, and brewer's yeast for B vitamins. Chelated zinc is in the mix, the form a dog absorbs best, and every vitamin dose is printed.

£3.59 a kilo, sold in a 1kg bag.

As a guide, a 15kg adult dog in moderate condition gets through about 253 grams a day, which comes to £0.91, working from the standard maintenance allowance of roughly 840 kcal (110 × bodyweight^0.75). The label's own guide is written for dogs up to 10kg, so let condition steer the scoop.