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Butternut Box has partnered with the University of Surrey on a multi-year study into the health outcomes of fresh dog food, supported by an Innovate UK Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP).
The project will examine how different diets affect dogs’ skin health, immune response and overall wellbeing.
Research will be carried out with dogs in their home environments, using methodologies adapted from advances in human nutrition, such as work on gut health and the microbiome.
The study responds to a call from the British Veterinary Association for long-term, controlled studies to assess the health benefits of diet, including impacts on skin and gastrointestinal conditions.
Findings are intended to provide the veterinary profession with independent, evidence-based information to support dietary advice.
Dave Nolan, co-founder of Butternut Box, said: “At Butternut, we’re proud to invest in and champion transparent research that ensures our business decisions are guided by cutting-edge science. We’re excited to collaborate with the University of Surrey in this KTP project, which we hope will illustrate the power of fresh food over traditional diets.”
Dr Teresa Hollands, senior lecturer at the University of Surrey, added: “This collaboration will not only generate the much-needed scientific evidence on the impact of different diets but also serve as a vital resource for educating future veterinarians and informing clinical practice.”
Dr Susan Armstrong, senior lecturer in veterinary clinical research at Surrey, concluded: “This project is so exciting as we aim to investigate, in an ethically robust manner, how nutrition affects dogs’ wellbeing by measuring biomarkers in unprecedented detail and with total transparency of findings.”
