The formulation question comes first
Puppies aren't small adults nutritionally: growth demands more calories per pound and different nutrient levels than maintenance. In AAFCO terms, that means a puppy's food must be formulated for 'growth' or 'all life stages' - a recipe validated only for adult maintenance doesn't cover them. The major fresh brands handle life stage through your dog's profile and their recipe selection, but the burden of confirming it is still yours: before subscribing a puppy, verify with the brand which recipes are formulated for growth and that the plan built for your puppy uses them.
Large-breed puppies deserve extra care
If your puppy will grow into a large or giant breed, one nutrient deserves specific attention: calcium. Excess calcium during the rapid-growth months is associated with developmental joint problems in large breeds, which is why large-breed puppy formulas exist as a category. When considering fresh food for a large-breed puppy, ask the brand directly how its growth recipes handle calcium for large breeds, and loop your vet into the decision - this is the clearest case in dog feeding where 'complete and balanced' has breed-size nuance behind it.
Portions are a moving target
A puppy's calorie needs change month to month, which cuts both ways for fresh subscriptions. The good news: profile-based portioning is genuinely useful for growth, since the brand recalculates as you update weight and age.
The catch: it only works if you actually update the profile - a plan sized for a 15-pound puppy underfeeds the same dog at 30 pounds. Weigh your puppy regularly, update the profile each time, and use your vet's body-condition guidance rather than the bowl to judge whether the plan is keeping up.
The practical verdict
Fresh food can absolutely work for puppies - palatability helps during teething pickiness, and precise portions support healthy growth rates - provided three boxes are checked: growth-appropriate formulation confirmed with the brand, large-breed calcium handled if that's your dog, and a vet who knows what you're feeding. Transition gradually as with any food change, keep the profile current, and re-run the numbers as your puppy grows - the per-day price of fresh food scales with size, so the quote you start with won't be the quote you finish with.