Is Natural Balance ethical and cruelty-free?
Not really — Natural Balance fails 3 of the 4 ethics signals we track, including its animal-testing position, and holds no third-party certification we can verify.
Natural Balance is a US-based pet food brand owned by the J.M. Smucker Company, focused on limited-ingredient and grain-free recipes. The brand has no major ethical controversies, but lacks third-party certifications for cruelty-free or vegan standards and has limited public sustainability commitments.
The evidence, signal by signal
Cruelty-freeflagged
The brand conducts AAFCO-required feeding trials but does not test finished pet products on animals unnecessarily; parent company J.M. Smucker has been involved in animal testing for human food.
Vegan optionsunverified
Offers a limited vegetarian formula but no dedicated vegan line and no vegan certification.
Sells in mainland Chinaflagged
Selling through mainland Chinese retail has historically triggered post-market animal testing.
Third-party certifiedflagged
No independent certifications recorded on the products we track.
Public pledges: Aims for 100% recyclable, renewable, or compostable packaging by 2025 under parent company J.M. Smucker's sustainability plan.
Scored with our public methodology. Profile last updated 2026-09-26.
More on Natural Balance
Is Natural Balance ethical? FAQs
Is Natural Balance cruelty-free?+
The brand conducts AAFCO-required feeding trials but does not test finished pet products on animals unnecessarily; parent company J.M. Smucker has been involved in animal testing for human food.
Does Natural Balance have vegan products?+
Offers a limited vegetarian formula but no dedicated vegan line and no vegan certification.
Does Natural Balance sell in mainland China?+
Selling through mainland Chinese retail has historically triggered post-market animal testing.
What is Natural Balance's ethics score?+
Natural Balance averages —/100 across 0 products we score on certifications, sourcing, labour, packaging and transparency.
What are the best alternatives to Natural Balance?+
See our full list of ethical alternatives to Natural Balance for better-scoring options in the same categories.