My dog Bentley is 11 years old, but you wouldn’t know it by looking at him.
He still prances through Boston like he owns the place, always ready for his morning chicken jerky and a long walk.
I’ve always been picky about what I eat. And like a lot of dog owners, I try to extend that same care to Bentley.
If a bag says “chicken,” I assume it’s real chicken. If it says “healthy,” I assume it means something.
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But hearing how most pet food is actually made still made me do a double take.
Because when Ryan Perdue, founder of Full Moon Pet and a fourth-generation member of the Perdue Farms family, told me there’s a “big gap between what people think they’re buying and what they’re actually buying,” it hit me.
It turns out even the dog food aisle isn’t safe from marketing spin. And most pet parents don’t even realize it.
If you’ve ever assumed the label tells the whole story, you may want to keep reading.
Full Moon
How Full Moon is changing the dog food industry
When Perdue started Full Moon over a decade ago, most pet treats were just grain-based fillers made to look like meat.
And the few meat-based options available? Often made overseas, with questionable quality.
That disconnect between perception and reality is what drove him to build something different.
Full Moon only uses 100% human-grade ingredients. Every treat and meal is made in USDA-certified food facilities, using the same quality standards you'd expect for your own dinner.
Yes, technically you could eat it.
That commitment is now extending into a new category: air-dried dog food.
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Their latest launch, Pure Protein, is 90% meat and liver, made without fillers, preservatives, or artificial anything. Unlike raw or freeze-dried options, it’s shelf-stable and scoop-and-serve.
Most importantly, it’s priced to compete with kibble — removing one of the biggest barriers for pet parents who want to feed better but can’t afford $70 bags of boutique food.
And early reviews suggest it might just be working.
In fact, Full Moon recently conducted a palatability study comparing Pure Protein to a leading competitor’s air-dried dog food—and the dogs made their preferences clear.
“We were really happy to see that they prefer it two times over,” said Aeliya Mohsin, Senior Director of Marketing at Full Moon.
That’s the kind of result that speaks for itself.
How Full Moon plans to take on the premium pet food market
The air-dried dog food category is gaining traction, but for many pet owners, it still feels out of reach. Most products are expensive, hard to find, or overly complicated.
That creates a window of opportunity for Full Moon.
By vertically integrating with Perdue Farms, the brand controls every step—from sourcing to production.
That control allows them to deliver a premium, human-grade product at a much more accessible price point.
Pure Protein starts at $13.99 for a 1lb bag and is already available at major retailers like Walmart, Target, and Meijer.
“Everything that goes into the product is human edible, and it's cooked to the exact same standards,” said Ryan Perdue.
While many brands chase buzzwords, Full Moon is betting on something simpler: real food, made right.
The company isn’t just trying to win shelf space. It wants to reshape expectations around what pet food can be.
For dogs like my boy Bentley, it’s not just better food…it’s a better future.
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