The scores
Crave Grain-Free High Protein Chicken: B (78/100) — Good. Chicken + chicken meal + pork meal in the top five, 34% minimum crude protein, clean preservation.
Blue Buffalo Wilderness High Protein Grain-Free Chicken: B (75/100) — Good. Deboned chicken first plus chicken meal, LifeSource Bits, grain-free with pea-based carbs.
How the ingredients compare
The top five ingredients:
Crave: Chicken, Chicken Meal, Split Peas, Lentils, Pork Meal
Blue Buffalo Wilderness: Deboned Chicken, Chicken Meal, Pea Protein, Tapioca Starch, Peas
Both formulas lead with fresh chicken plus chicken meal — the same high-protein strategy. They diverge on the plant side. Crave goes with split peas and lentils as carb-and-protein-stretchers and adds a third named meat (pork meal) at position five. Wilderness relies on pea protein (a concentrated isolate), tapioca starch (pure starch), and peas for its carb-and-protein-extender layer — no second named meat in the top five.
Further down, Crave adds chicken fat, pea starch, beet pulp, flaxseed, natural flavor, alfalfa meal, and a mineral premix. Wilderness adds chicken fat, flaxseed, natural flavor, salmon meal (a secondary fish protein), salt, potassium chloride, its signature LifeSource Bits (cold-formed antioxidant granules), plus dried chicory root and an extensive fruit-vegetable premix (sweet potatoes, carrots, blueberries, cranberries, apples, pumpkin, parsley).
Where Crave pulls ahead
Three named meats in the top five: Chicken, chicken meal, and pork meal collectively deliver denser animal protein than Wilderness's chicken + chicken meal pair. For active dogs or working breeds, that extra protein density matters.
Higher guaranteed protein: Crave's label lists 34% minimum crude protein. Wilderness lists 34% minimum as well — functionally the same — but Crave achieves it with less reliance on pea protein isolate (Wilderness puts pea protein at position three, meaning a meaningful slice of its total protein credit comes from a plant isolate).
Mars Petcare QA infrastructure: Mars has the largest manufacturing and quality-control footprint in pet food. Blue Buffalo was acquired by General Mills in 2018 and has good QA too, but Mars's supply chain scale is a quiet advantage. Shop on Amazon →
Where Blue Buffalo Wilderness holds its own
LifeSource Bits: Wilderness's signature cold-formed antioxidant granules deliver vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants at lower-heat processing than the main kibble — preserving nutrient bioavailability. Crave has nothing analogous.
Broader whole-food premix: Sweet potatoes, carrots, blueberries, cranberries, apples, pumpkin, parsley — Wilderness stacks real whole-food inclusions deep into the ingredient list. Crave's whole-food layer is dehydrated alfalfa meal and flaxseed, nothing more. The phytonutrient diversity on Wilderness is measurably broader.
Salmon meal for EPA/DHA: Wilderness includes salmon meal as a secondary named protein, which contributes marine omega-3s directly. Crave doesn't include a fish protein source. Shop on Amazon →
The bottom line
Crave wins on protein concentration and manufacturing infrastructure; Wilderness wins on whole-food diversity and antioxidant delivery. Neither brand includes guaranteed taurine, and both sit in the legume-heavy grain-free category that the FDA continues to monitor for DCM associations. For a DCM-risk breed, neither is ideal without a vet-recommended taurine supplement; for a non-risk breed, the choice comes down to whether you prioritize raw protein density (Crave) or phytonutrient diversity (Wilderness). Read our full reviews of Crave and Blue Buffalo Wilderness for the complete breakdown.