Read more about my PurelyNZ Pet Food review after trying it out for 6 months!
After 6 months of feeding my pets PureNZ Pet Food, I am now a very happy customer with 2 thriving pets. Here's what changed.
I live with a dog and a cat, and feeding them has always been more complicated than I expected, especially recently as they get older.
My dog is a French Bulldog, and my cat is a British Shorthair. Both are common breeds, and if you’re familiar with them, you’ll know they often come with recurring issues that owners quietly accept as “normal”.
Life Before Feeding Them PurelyNZ Pet Food
My Frenchie had what the vet described as a sensitive stomach. In real life, that meant:
- Soft stools on and off
- A lot of gas
- Occasional itchy skin and redness
- Good appetite, but never great digestion
We tried multiple premium kibbles, grain-free options, and sensitive formulas. Things would improve briefly, then slide back again.
My British Shorthair had a different problem. She wasn’t unwell, but she was incredibly picky. Over time, I noticed:
- Occasional vomiting
- Frequent hairballs
- Dry patches in her coat
- Very low water intake
- Little excitement around food
It almost seemed like she ate because she had to, not because she truly enjoyed it. After a while, constantly switching kibble brands started to feel like guessing game rather than actually solving anything.
Thats when I had another dog owner who told me about PurelyNZ Pet Food, apparently she has been feeding her dog their products for quite some time and her dog (who had some skin issues too, got better) So I decided to give it a shot. I walked into PurelyNZ Pet Food with more questions than expectations.
What stood out immediately was how calm and practical the advice was with focus on gut health, digestion, and making changes gradually.
What really sold me on PurelyNZ was learning more about the quality behind the food, especially their partnership with Raw Essentials. Raw Essentials is a company from New Zealand which focuses on high quality raw food for pets. They have been producing prey-model raw pet food in New Zealand for close to two decades, and upon reading up, I found out how carefully their products are made.
Their food uses New Zealand-sourced, grass-fed meats and animal parts with full traceability, prepared in controlled, food-grade environments. Every recipe follows prey-model ratios refined over years of real-world feeding, not guesswork.
There are no grains, fillers, artificial preservatives, or hidden ingredients. Just clean, minimally processed raw food that prioritises nutrient density, digestibility, and consistency. For me, it felt like feeding something professionally formulated and proven, rather than experimenting with raw food on my own (which is incredibly tough! – more on that later in this PurelyNZ Pet Food review article)
Later, I spent time reading real feeding stories shared by Raw Essentials customers. Many of them sounded uncomfortably familiar. Dogs with long-term digestive issues. Cats with low appetite. Skin problems that were treated as “normal” until food changed.
Starting our Journey with PurelyNZ Pet Food
We didn’t go all in right away.
For my Frenchie, we started by replacing part of his meals with raw food and freeze-dried raw treats.
For my cat, we introduced small portions alongside her regular food.
What Changed After a Few Weeks
My French Bulldog: After a few weeks on PurelyNZ’s raw food:
- His stools became firm and consistent
- Gas reduced noticeably
- His skin looked calmer
- His coat became shinier
- His energy felt more stable
- Digestive issues that had been part of our routine for years slowly stopped being routine.
My British Shorthair: My cat’s improvements were quieter but just as clear:
- Less vomiting
- Fewer hairballs (which gradually became lesser overtime. Now 6 months in, she hardly has any nowadays)
- Softer, glossier coat
- Better appetite
- More interest in food overall
- She stopped leaving food behind, which honestly surprised me the most.
As of writing this review of PurelyNZ Pet Food (6 months in) I am very glad to say that both my Frenchie and British shorthair is in MUCH better health! Not only do they look visiblt better, they also have much more energy.
The benefits of raw food
Raw food is simply closer to how dogs and cats are designed to eat.
Compared to kibble:
- It has higher natural moisture
- It avoids heavy heat processing that destroys enzymes
- It is lower in unnecessary carbohydrates
- It focuses on meat, organs, and bones instead of fillers
PurelyNZ follows a prey-model approach, meaning the food mirrors whole-prey nutrition rather than relying on artificial fortification.
Looking back at the Raw Essentials feeding stories I had read earlier, I noticed a common theme. Pets didn’t suddenly become perfect, but they became more comfortable, more consistent, and more eager to eat. That matched our experience exactly.
Why I Didn’t DIY Raw Foods:
When I first got serious about raw feeding, I briefly considered preparing meals myself.
In reality, it’s not as simple as buying meat and chopping it up. Getting the balance of meat, organs, bones, and nutrients right takes knowledge. Sourcing consistently high-quality ingredients takes time. One mistake, and you risk long-term nutritional imbalances.
That’s where PurelyNZ stood out.
- Because they work with Raw Essentials, the food is:
- Made from New Zealand-sourced meats and animal parts
- Fully traceable from source to finished product
- Prepared in controlled, food-grade environments
- Built around prey-model ratios refined over many years
- Free from grains, fillers, artificial preservatives, and by-products
- Raw Essentials has been feeding pets this way for nearly two decades. That means thousands of pets, long-term customer feedback, and real-world refinement. It’s not theory. It’s proven practice.
For me, that made it better than DIY raw. I could feed food that was professionally formulated, consistent, and nutritionally balanced, without the stress of doing everything myself.
Convenient and extremely high quality food!
As I was writing this PurelyNZ Pet Food review, I also really compared them to other brands of raw food, however many of these other brands, which I had actually tried before in the past. But there is a very noticeable difference in quality. The quality of PurelyNZ food is unmatched. (Just read up more on their official supplier Raw Essential's website here https://www.rawessentials.co.nz/)
And I have also tried to DIY raw food - but anyone who have tried it before can attest to the hassle.
Trying to get that kind of quality yourself is really daunting and too much of a hassle. Compared to PurelyNZ Pet Food, which comes freeze dried in ready packs ready to feed.
Instead of:
- Sourcing organs from multiple places
- Calculating ratios
- Freezing portions
- Worrying if I’d missed something
I5d4 `dΩc could simply feed high-quality raw food that was already prepared properly.
The convenience didn’t come at the expense of quality. If anything, the quality was higher than what I could realistically achieve at home.
And judging by how my pets reacted, they clearly agreed.
Do Pets Actually Like PurelyNZ Pet Food?
This part almost sounds exaggerated, but it’s not.
My dog refuses to leave the PurelyNZ store whenever we visit. He has literally grabbed treat bags and tried to walk out with them. I’ve seen other dogs do the same. Owners laughing while trying to pull their dogs away from the counter.
That kind of reaction doesn’t happen with food pets tolerate. It happens with food they genuinely want.
My Purely NZ review: Not just a regular pet store, but a community.
What sets PurelyNZ apart is the guidance. Every conversation comes back to:
- Gut health first
- Individual pet needs
- Gradual changes
- Long-term sustainability
Their nutrition consultant, who is also the director and certified nutritionist, was honest about what to change now and what could wait. That made the entire process feel manageable rather than overwhelming.
Summary of my PurelyNZ Review:
6 months in, both my pets are doing a whole lot better. And all this was done without medication (that often comes with side effects) It was done with a Premium, Natural, Quality pet food as nature intended!
So it got me thinking that perhaps a lot of common health issues are caused by simply our pets NOT eating what they are meant to be eating. And if we feed them what nature intended, they slowly and gradually gain back their health.
Owning both a dog and a cat taught me that no single diet works the same way for every pet. What mattered most was finding food that supported digestion, appetite, and overall comfort.
PurelyNZ didn’t promise miracles. What they offered was real food, high-quality sourcing, and patient guidance. Over time, that made a noticeable difference for both my pets.
If you’ve been dealing with recurring digestive issues, picky eating, or skin problems and feel stuck rotating through kibbles, PurelyNZ Pet Food is genuinely worth considering.