Nulo: Facts, Recalls & Verified Foods
Nulo is made by Apax Partners, founded 2010 — it scores green on 1 of 4 WSAVA-aligned criteria we track (1 red, 2 undisclosed), no FDA recalls on record, and 0 of the 33 Nulo foods we've verified carry an AAFCO feeding-trial statement.
THE FACTS, ONE SENTENCE — · 33 Nulo foods in our corpus
The scorecard
WSAVA-aligned criteria
The World Small Animal Veterinary Association's nutrition guidelines suggest four questions to ask any pet food maker before you buy. Most "best dog food" sites skip straight to ingredient vibes and star ratings — we publish the actual answers instead, each sourced, or marked honestly undisclosed when we can't confirm it.
1 of 4 criteria confirmed yes · 1 confirmed no · 2 undisclosed. Undisclosed is common, especially for smaller brands — it means we couldn't confirm an answer from a public source, not that the answer is unfavorable.
Names two full-time PhD nutritionists: Dr. Greg Aldrich (Ph.D. Nutrition, Univ. of Illinois) and Dr. Heather Mendoza (Ph.D. Grain Science/Pet Food Science, Kansas State). Qualified by PhD, not by ACVN/ECVCN veterinary diplomate.
source & quote
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FAQ references a 'network of premium pet food facilities' and 'manufacturing partners,' indicating third-party co-manufacturers rather than company-owned plants.
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No feeding-trial AAFCO statement found on the 63 labels we’ve verified for this brand, and no company-wide claim was found either. Most pet foods are only "formulated to meet" AAFCO profiles (a paper calculation) rather than fed to real animals in trials — this is common, not necessarily a red flag.
1 PubMed-indexed paper carry this brand's name in an author affiliation — but without a recognized pet-nutrition research arm we can't confirm these are the company's own studies rather than unrelated name matches (surnames, the taxonomic family "Canidae", institutions). We don't count it as confirmed research.
source
These four checks come from WSAVA's global nutrition guidelines for evaluating a pet food manufacturer — not our own opinion score. Read our full methodology →
The company
Who makes Nulo
Ownership and history, each sourced independently — private-label and co-packed brands often hide the actual manufacturer behind the name on the bag.
Parent company
Apax Partners
source
In June 2021, funds advised by PE firm Apax Partners acquired majority ownership, buying out CAVU Venture Partners and Main Post Partners; founder Michael Landa/management retained a stake and Landa remained CEO.
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Founded
2010
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Trade press (just-food) cites 2010; some secondary sources say 2009; Nulo's own /our-story page gives no year.
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Headquarters
Austin, Texas, USA
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Corroborated by Nulo's /our-story page describing the move to Austin, Texas.
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The safety record
What Nulo costs, against everything else we have priced
The median Nulo dry food we have priced works out at $2.17 per 1,000 kcal, against $2.09 for every dry food in the corpus — so it sits roughly level with the market. Cost per 1,000 kcal is the only basis that survives different bag sizes and moisture levels; per pound this comparison would mean nothing. On composition the gap is usually smaller than the price gap implies: 44.4% dry-matter protein against a corpus median of 32.2%.
Nulo foods by cost per 1,000 kcal
| Food | Form | Protein (DM) | Cost / 1,000 kcal | Buy |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Frontrunner Ancient Grains Chicken, Oats & Turkey Recipe for Dogs | dry | 30.0% | $1.69 | Check price |
| FreeStyle Salmon & Peas Recipe for Dogs | dry | 33.3% | $2.17 | Check price |
| FreeStyle Large Breed Puppy Salmon & Turkey Recipe for Dogs | dry | 35.6% | $2.25 | Check price |
What Nulo actually puts in its food
The ingredients this brand reaches for most across its 33 verified foods, counted once per recipe. Each links to what the ingredient is, what the evidence says, and how common it is industry-wide.
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Taurine (supplemental)
In 31 of 33 Nulo foods (94%).
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Prebiotics (chicory root / inulin, FOS)
In 28 of 33 Nulo foods (85%).
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Flaxseed (ALA omega-3)
In 19 of 33 Nulo foods (58%).
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Mixed tocopherols (natural vitamin E)
In 18 of 33 Nulo foods (55%).
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Rosemary extract
In 18 of 33 Nulo foods (55%).
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Yucca schidigera extract
In 18 of 33 Nulo foods (55%).
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Guar Gum
In 16 of 33 Nulo foods (48%).
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Named Meat/Poultry Meal (e.g., Chicken Meal, Lamb Meal)
In 15 of 33 Nulo foods (45%).
FDA recall history
Joined from the FDA's own Animal & Veterinary recall feed (2019–present) plus curated pre-2019 records — the same live-checked feed as our full recall database, filtered to Nulo.
Join of data/recalls.json (FDA Animal & Veterinary recall feed, 2019-present) + data/recalls_historical.json. This is NOT a complete lifetime recall history; recalls predating 2019 (or absent from the FDA datatable) are not represented unless curated in recalls_historical.json.
The corpus
What we've verified from Nulo's labels
Computed directly from the official-label data we've extracted for this brand — never estimated.
Foods verified
33
3 dog · 30 cat
Feeding-trial validated
0
of 33 (0%)
Formulated to meet
31
AAFCO paper calculation
Label transparency
58%
avg. fields disclosed
The foods
Foods from Nulo we've verified
Every one links to its own Verified Label — guaranteed analysis, AAFCO statement, and (where priced) cost per day.