Comparisons
AlphaPak vs. We Feed Raw: Freeze-Dried Raw Beef vs. Frozen Raw Patties
AlphaPak · Reviewed by our veterinary and formulation team · Updated September 14, 2026
We Feed Raw sells frozen raw beef patties by subscription. AlphaPak is freeze-dried raw beef you keep in the pantry. Both are complete and balanced for all life stages, and both are built on beef, organ, and bone. We Feed Raw adds a small vitamin and mineral premix. AlphaPak adds none, and needs no freezer.
We Feed Raw and AlphaPak start from the same belief: a dog's food should be raw meat, organ, and bone, never cooked. Where we differ is the freezer. We Feed Raw ships frozen patties on a subscription. AlphaPak is freeze-dried and lives in your pantry. Here are the facts from both labels, side by side, read from each company's own website on September 14, 2026.
One note on scope. We Feed Raw also sells a freeze-dried beef recipe, but its page shows only an 85% meat and 15% produce split, with no ingredient list, analysis, or calories. So we compared their frozen Beef Recipe Patty, which is fully published.
The facts, side by side
| AlphaPak Beef | We Feed Raw Beef Recipe Patty | |
|---|---|---|
| Main protein | Beef | Beef |
| First five ingredients | Beef meat, flaxseed, beef kidney, beef liver, beef heart | Beef, beef liver, beef kidney, beef bone, flaxseed |
| Crude protein (min) | 51% as sold (about 54% dry matter) | 12.2% as fed, frozen (about 39% dry matter, by our math from their label) |
| Crude fat (min) | 27.5% as sold (about 29% dry matter) | 10% as fed, frozen (about 32% dry matter, by our math from their label) |
| Calories | 246 kcal per cup (4,458 kcal/kg) | 51 kcal per oz (1,800 kcal/kg); per cup not published on their site |
| Added vitamin & mineral premix | None. The list ends with mixed tocopherols, a natural preservative | Yes, a short one: zinc sulfate, vitamin E supplement, manganese sulfate, vitamin D3 supplement, salt. Also kelp |
| AAFCO statement | AlphaPak Freeze-Dried Dog Food is formulated to meet the nutritional levels established by the AAFCO nutritional profiles for all dog life stages, including growth and development of large size dogs (70 lbs or more as adult dogs). | 'This raw beef recipe is nutritionally complete and balanced, and complies with AAFCO recommendations for all of your dog's life stages.' |
| Made in | USA | Not stated on the recipe page. Their blog says the food is made in a USDA-certified facility |
| Safety process, as each brand describes it | We run a kill-step process and test the finished food, and the equipment it is made on, for Salmonella, Listeria, and E. coli. | High-pressure processing (HPP) on all recipes |
| Format | Shelf-stable cubes; add warm water before serving | Frozen patties, delivered by subscription; must stay frozen until served |
Both foods are beef, liver, kidney, and bone first, with flaxseed as the omega-3 source. Both carry an all-life-stages AAFCO statement. The two big differences are the freezer and the premix.
What We Feed Raw does well
We Feed Raw keeps it simple. Six whole foods, a short premix, and that is the whole label. The patties arrive frozen at about 69% moisture, so the water is already in the food. Their site says the recipes are formulated by a PhD nutritionist, that every recipe goes through HPP, and that meal plans are portioned to your dog. If you have freezer space and like a subscription that shows up at the door, it is a well-built product.
Where AlphaPak pulls ahead
We Feed Raw uses a premix of four added vitamins and minerals plus salt to complete the recipe. It is a short list, and we respect that. AlphaPak uses none. Our beef, organs, bone, and whole fruits and vegetables supply every vitamin and mineral in the bag, and the list ends with mixed tocopherols. Same AAFCO standard, no premix at all.
Compared water-free, AlphaPak is also the higher-protein food: about 54% protein on a dry-matter basis next to about 39%. Fat lands close, at about 29% and 32%.
Then there is the freezer. AlphaPak needs none. It rides in a backpack, sits in a pantry, and goes camping. You add warm water when it is time to eat. For a lot of dog people, that is the difference between raw feeding that lasts and raw feeding that ends when the freezer fills up.
What the research says about digestibility
In a University of Illinois study, adult dogs fed raw and mildly cooked diets digested more of their food than dogs fed kibble (Algya et al., 2018). A later study saw the same pattern for both frozen raw and freeze-dried raw (Geary et al., 2024). These are findings about diet types, not tests of any one brand. Both We Feed Raw and AlphaPak are raw and never cooked, so both sit on the right side of that line. Where we go further is keeping the whole-food approach all the way to the end of the label.
How each is made safe
We Feed Raw runs high-pressure processing on all of its recipes. We run a kill-step process and test the finished food, and the equipment it is made on, for Salmonella, Listeria, and E. coli. Both approaches are serious. Either way, you are handling raw food at home. Wash hands and bowls, and follow each brand's thawing or rehydrating directions. More in is freeze-dried raw safe?.
Which one is right for your dog?
If you have the freezer space and want fresh frozen raw delivered on a schedule, We Feed Raw does that well. If you want raw with no premix at all, more protein by dry matter, and no freezer in the plan, AlphaPak is built for you. Switch slowly over about a week, and talk with your vet if your dog has special needs.
Where these numbers come from
- We Feed Raw Beef Recipe Patty (frozen), recipe page, read September 14, 2026
- We Feed Raw Freeze-Dried Raw Beef Recipe, recipe page, read September 14, 2026 (no label data shown)
- We Feed Raw, Freeze-Dried Raw Dog Food Safety, read September 14, 2026
- AlphaPak Freeze-Dried Raw Beef, product page
AlphaPak is a food, not a medicine, and nothing here replaces your vet's advice. Not sure which recipe fits your dog? Find your recipe takes about a minute, and we are happy to help.
Common questions
- Is We Feed Raw frozen or freeze-dried?
- Their main line is frozen raw patties delivered on a subscription. They also sell a freeze-dried beef recipe, but its page shows only an 85% meat and 15% produce split, with no ingredient list, analysis, or calories. So this comparison uses their frozen Beef Recipe Patty, which is fully published. AlphaPak is freeze-dried raw and shelf-stable.
- Why does We Feed Raw's protein look so much lower than AlphaPak's?
- Because frozen raw is mostly water. We Feed Raw's beef is 12.2% protein as fed at about 69% moisture. Take the water out and that is roughly 39% protein on a dry-matter basis, by our math from their label. AlphaPak Beef is 51% protein as sold at 5% moisture, or about 54% on a dry-matter basis. Compared water-free, AlphaPak is still the higher-protein food.
- Does We Feed Raw add vitamins and minerals?
- Yes, a short list: zinc sulfate, vitamin E supplement, manganese sulfate, vitamin D3 supplement, and salt. AlphaPak adds no vitamin and mineral premix. Our list ends with mixed tocopherols, a natural preservative.
- Does We Feed Raw use HPP?
- Yes. Their site says all recipes go through high-pressure processing (HPP). AlphaPak runs a kill-step process and tests the finished food, and the equipment it is made on, for Salmonella, Listeria, and E. coli.
More in Comparisons
Sources
- Algya, K. M., Cross, T.-W. L., Leuck, K. N., Kastner, M. E., Baba, T., Lye, L., de Godoy, M. R. C., & Swanson, K. S. (2018). Apparent total-tract macronutrient digestibility, serum chemistry, urinalysis, and fecal characteristics, metabolites and microbiota of adult dogs fed extruded, mildly cooked, and raw diets. Journal of Animal Science. DOI: 10.1093/jas/sky235
- Geary, E. L., Oba, P. M., Templeman, J. R., & Swanson, K. S. (2024). Apparent total tract nutrient digestibility of frozen raw, freeze-dried raw, fresh, and extruded dog foods and their effects on serum metabolites and fecal characteristics, metabolites, and microbiota of healthy adult dogs. Translational Animal Science. DOI: 10.1093/tas/txae163
AlphaPak is a food, not a medicine. Our products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. Statements about nutrition describe the role of whole-food ingredients in supporting normal health and are not a substitute for veterinary care. Individual results vary.