Natural Balance Pet Foods

Natural Balance began in 1989 when Van Patten was a guest on John Davidson's show. Van Patten had lunch with the show's band drummer, Joey Herrick, who rescued dogs and cats. Van Patten told him when he was a kid he had snakes, alligators, and other animals. The drummer and Van Patten had an idea of making a health food for dogs. At the time, Van Patten played tennis with a veterinarian and she said the best quality food should have no filler, no wheat, no corn, no soy, and no by-products.

Many of Natural Balance's dry formulas maintain this initial ingredient list; others, such as the dog food rolls, include wheat flour and sugar. As of 2014, the food rolls have been reformulated to not contain wheat flour and instead utilize brown rice.

Initially Natural Balance lost money, until the brand was picked up by Petco and featured in more than 625 stores.

On May 22, 2013, Natural Balance merged with Del Monte Foods, maker of pet foods such as Kibbles 'n Bits, Meow Mix and Milo's Kitchen. In March 2015 The J.M. Smucker Company purchased Natural Balance Pet Foods and the Big Heart Pet Brands from Del Monte. The J.M. Smucker Company then sold the brand to Nexus Capital in January 2021 for $50 million.

Products

The product line includes L.I.D. Limited Ingredient Diets, Original Ultra Whole Body Health, Vegetarian, and Wild Pursuit high protein diets.

Pet food formulas

Natural Balance has a large variety of both dog and cat formulas in dry, treats, rolls, or canned form, including:

Limited Ingredient Diets-Dry Dog

Limited Ingredient Diets-Wet Dog