Poppy's Picnic

Poppy's Picnic Power Balls: Chicken Meatballs review

Name: Poppy's Picnic Power Balls: Chicken Meatballs
Brand: Poppy's Picnic

89.5/100Outstanding

RawPuppyAdult

Flavour

Poppy's raw recipe rolled into meatballs, and all four flavours sit in our Outstanding band. It is the shortest label the brand prints and the tidiest of its formats to serve. Organs do real work here, which is how the recipe stands up without a vitamin panel.

Where to buy: coming soon

Live retailer links are coming soon. Once we have them from UK retailers, where to buy and the best price will appear here.

Our view

Likely to suit

Raw without the mess. Meatballs go from pack to bowl without a spoon
Hand feeding and dogs that need coaxing
A short, readable label
Any size and any stage, from puppies to older dogs
A less common lead animal, with wild boar beside beef, chicken and lamb

Worth watching

Beef in every recipe and wild salmon oil on all four labels
Calcium from eggshell alone, light on the Chicken for a large breed puppy
Frozen storage, fridge thawing and a proper clean down

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

How this scores

How we score

89.5/100Outstanding

Protein and processingOutstanding

Nutritional balanceOutstanding

TransparencyOutstanding

ValueOutstanding

The details

Dog fit

Listed for puppies, adults and seniors of every size. For a large breed puppy, check the calcium on the flavour you pick: the Chicken reads 0.71% of dry matter.

Food type

Raw

Life stage

Puppy, Adult, Senior

Breed size

Toy, Small, Medium, Large, Giant

Main protein

Chicken

The score, in context

Beef Meatballs 90.2
Wild Boar Meatballs 90.2
Chicken Meatballs 89.5
Lamb Meatballs 89.3

All four Outstanding. Typical raw food: Outstanding.

Keeping level with raw, our strongest field, takes a genuinely good label, and the four are close enough that the animal should decide it.

What's in it

Free range skinless chicken breast32%The lead animal, though beef makes up more of the meat.
Grass fed beef mince29%
Beef heart, beef liver15%, 3%
Sweet potato, green cabbage, carrots, parsnip, parsley4% eachItemised, so there is no fresh vegetables entry to take on trust.
Organic crude wheatgermThe manganese source.
Wild salmon oilVitamin D and omega 3, and fish on every label in the range.
Crushed eggshellThe only calcium source, with no ground bone.
Natural vitamin E from sunflower oil
Kelp, spirulina, wheatgrass, turmeric0.7% down to 0.2%Kelp for iodine; the rest is character.

No additives panel: vitamins and minerals come from the food itself, salmon oil, sunflower oil, kelp, wheatgerm and eggshell.

Calcium at 0.71% of dry matter, light for raising a large breed puppy.

Named ingredients

32% Free Range Skinless Chicken Breast, 29% Grass Fed Beef Mince, 15% Grass Fed Beef Heart, 3% Grass Fed Beef Liver, Fresh Vegetables (4% Sweet Potato, 4% Green Cabbage, 4% Carrots, 4% Parsnip, Parsley), Organic Crude Wheatgerm (a natural source of Manganese), Sustainably Sourced Wild Salmon Oil (a source of Vitamin D and healthy Omega 3 fats), Crushed Eggshells, Natural Vitamin E from Sunflower Oil, 0.7`% Kelp Seaweed (a source of Iodine), 0.44% Spirulina, 0.34% Wheatgrass, 0.2% Turmeric

Against the range

Energy: 119 kcal per 100g; The leanest by some way; the Lamb reaches 222.
Fat, dry matter: 19.2%; 37.0% to 38.2% on the others.
Protein, dry matter: 64.6%; Highest in the range.
Calcium, dry matter: 0.71%; 0.8% to 0.95% on the others.

A dog new to the format could hardly start on anything easier.

Every flavour puts named grass fed meat and organs first, with beef in all four, then sweet potato, green cabbage, carrots and parsnip at 4% each. Wheatgerm, sunflower oil, wild salmon oil, crushed eggshell, kelp, spirulina, wheatgrass and turmeric finish each label, with no supplement powder.

What varies is the lead animal and the richness: from 119 kcal per 100g on the Chicken to 222 on the Lamb. Protein converts to between 36.2% and 64.6% of dry matter.

Nutritional analysis

Declared analysis

Energy

119 kcal/100g

Protein

15.5%

Fat

4.6%

Fibre

2.6%

Ash

Moisture

76%

Dry weight

Protein

64.6%

Fat

19.2%

Fibre

10.8%

Ash

4.2%

Carbs

1.2%

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

79%

Veg

9.8%

Oils

4.2%

Other

Pricing & size

Price per kilo: £10.56 (RRP)
Pack: 360g tray/pack, sold as 1 Pack, 8 Packs, 16 Packs, 24 Packs, 36 Packs, 44 Packs
A 15kg dog eats: 375 g a day
Cost per day, 15kg dog: £3.96

Premium end of the market for raw, and strong value for the recipe.

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