Hot Trends for 2012

Some of the hot trends that we are hearing on the wires in the dog bakery world are awesome!  Our customers are on the front lines and as their needs change, so do our products.  Some of the common trends that we see on the rise are:

• Simply delicious
• Simple ingredientsSimple flavors
• Still delicious
• High visual appeal

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• Healthy continues to be a trend
• Recognizable ingredients are one part of “healthy” for dog owners
• Owners are becoming more weight conscious for their dogs
• Can mean less overall treats, but more special when treats are given

 

Dog Birthday Parties are growing!!

• Allergy and grain free are really starting to grow
• With food intolerances common with dogs, owners are beginning to pay closer attention to food allergens
• Grains have been associated with food allergies and intolerances for dogs, owners are beginning to seek out “grain free” alternatives

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• Hot Flavor Trends
• Hemp seed
• Sweet potato
• Fruits (blueberry, cranberry, banana)
• Naturally sweet – with honey or molasses

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So what this all means for you, the gourmet dog treat baker and for us at Everything Dog Treats – bakery treats and gourmet bakery treats will continue to be in demand.  Pet owners are treating their dogs more like kids and definitely as part of the family.  The mass produced commercial dog treats while still serving a purpose because of the monetary value are not as appealing to pet owners.  You can see the commercial producers attempting to catch up by using more natural and simpler ingredients.  This trend will continue – and as they are able to leverage volume, they will continue to have a price advantange. 

As you continue to build your business model – make sure to keep value in mind.  Make sure your products are not “mass producable” and have a gourmet appeal.  Use this as your selling point to your customers.  The following key phrases can be a big help as you sell  and market your products:

• All natural (be sure to read our post about what “all natural” means legally)
• Simple recognizable ingredients
• Oven Baked
• Hand Crafted
• Hand decorated
• No animal by-products
• Grain Free (if applicable)

We are working on some new items that will help support these trends.  Be sure to follow our blog or like us on Facebook to stay up to speed with our new items. 

Stay tuned and Happy Baking!

2012 Dawg

While 2011 was a record year for Everything Dog Treats (whew!) I can tell you that thinking about 2012 makes me excited and brings great positive feelings!  I look at where we started, baking treats in a small Georgia apartment (burning myself melting carob and yogurt chips… and cussing), getting engaged, then married, moving to Maryland, mixing icing dry mix with a bowl and wisk to where we are today – working with multiple co-manufacturers, seeing our icing mix in national pet stores and meeting some of the most amazing / hard working people under the sun.  Wow.  I never dreamed that this is where the business would take me.

And while we have grown, our roots are still firmly planted on the ground.  I am still a MoonLight Dawg with my Research & Development center in a corner of my garage. 

Each year on New Year’s Eve I find myself (probably like most folks) reflecting on the past year and thinking of what I want the new year to be.   Some where in my core being I have this voice that says “Do something new this year.  Don’t wake up one day at the end of your days and think ‘I wish I would have, I should have…. (fill in the blank).’ “ 

Now the end of my days is hopefully a long way off.  But I can’t help but consider that if I’m not paying attention the days could turn into months and then years, and because I wasn’t paying attention I will have lost so many opportunities.   The fagile nature of life amazing me.  While I may hope and think that the end of my days is a ways off, I could very well be wrong.  Not to be morbid; just reflective.  So – it is my plan to grab hold of this year and keep blazing my trail.   I love this ride, I love this journey. 

2012…. Here I Come!!!!

It’s all about relationships

Having been in corporate America and now as a small business owner too, there is a theme that I keep bumping into that I thought I would share.  It is all about relationships.  My relationship with my venders, my venders relationship with me, my customers relationship with their customers, my relationships with my customers.  We all interact differently – we all see and expect things in unique ways.  Understanding our differences, meeting each others expectations, clearly communicating – these are all relationship things.  And how well I manage my relationships can make or break the business.

 It’s easy to get focused on your products, on managing the money, on doing what you do – but if you forget to consider how your actions are impacting others, you may focus yourself right out of your business.  Sounds simple; I know.  But I’ve learned that occassionally I have to remind myself this simple truth.  There are times when I am so focused on developing products or packing orders, that I am not paying attention to some of the simple things that might actually make life easier. 

Some times it is easier to shoot off an email, but what folks may really want / need is to talk to you.  Some times you can get caught in trying to win an arguement and not solving the problem – I can tell you that with customers – this is a death spiral you don’t want to get in.  While we are business owners, we are also just human.  We are not perfect – well, at least I’m not.  Mistakes do happen, miscommunication does happen – be ready for this.  It’s how you manage through this that will either keep you and your business in a positive place with your customers or will send you into a free fall to closing your business.  And while our customers are not always right – they are always our customers.

Since starting my own business as far as relationships go, I have learned

• To listen much better
• To actually hear what is being said while I’m listening
• To pay attention to what I hear while I’m listening (see a theme here?)
• To say “I’m sorry” in a way that translates into an apology that is meaningful
• To say “Thank you” and “I appreciate you” in ways that, too, are meaningful
• To not take myself so seriously…. seriously

So, long story short – I talk to my customers, my venders, my employees the way I want to be talked to.  I really try to listen (always learning to do better with this one) to folks and be genuine in my interactions with them.  And I realize (and have for quite some time) that I’m far from perfect… so I accept that everyone around me isn’t perfect either… and that is totally ok. 

 

Bloated Dawg

The search for natural preservatives in the gourmet dog treat baking world is huge.  We have inquiries almost daily about what folks can do to help with their mold issue.  We often have people asking if Citric Acid is a good “natural preservative” to use in their dog treats.  While we are mainly focused on the dog treat decorating end of the business – we did get our start baking treats.  And with that, we’d like to share with you some thoughts about the use of Citric Acid in natural / gourmet dog treats.

Citic Acid Chemical Representation

 

Citric acid is a weak organic acid and is in fact considered a natural preservative.  “That’s Great!” you must be thinking.  Hold tight, it’s not all sunshine and butterflies.  There is information out there indicating that Citric Acid may be associated with Gastric Bloat in dogs.   That is NOT so great in our eyes. 

In general, we take the perspective that if there is any question / possible concern about an ingredient – we recommend strongly that you not use it in your treats.  “But what about my mold issue?” you may be asking.  We understand that managing mold is probably one of your biggest quality issues.  We also believe that there are other non chemical solutions to your issue that are probably better for dogs.  Now, couple the fact that there are better alternatives to help you with your mold issue with the fact that Bloat is the #2 killer of dogs behind cancer – and we can’t think of any good reason to use citric acid.

  Effectively dehydrating / lowing the amount of moisture in your treats is by far the best way and MOST NATURAL way to prevent mold issues.  We aren’t sure why folks insist on adding unnecessary ingredients to their treats when a little more time in the oven / dehydrator would work wonders.

Soft treats.  Now – yes, with soft treats, you can only lower the moisture but so much before your soft treat becomes a crunchy treat.  The reality of soft treats is this – they are going to have a limited shelf life.  Seriously, would you want to eat a cupcake or piece of cake that was 3 months old?  Probably not.  So why would you want your dog to eat that?  If you are in the business of soft treats, we recomend that you implement some concepts into your business modle that will help manage this issue such as:

1.  Education your buyers about the need for a shorter shelf life and the naturalness that they desire.

2.  Establish a bake to order protocol that will meet your buyers needs and your end users needs.  Offer weekly deliveries as a service that upholds your “baked fresh natural and gourmet” image. 

Still want to use Citric Acid – well, we’d just ask that you read about Bloat in Dogs and make sure that you are choosing the best possible approach to providing healthy treats.

National Dawg

Needless to say, when I got the call for pallet quantities of our dog treat icing mix, I nearly fell off my chair!  Yep, you heard me – pallets of dog treat icing mix!!!

We did it – we made it national!!!  Our icing mix is being used on products that are distributed nationally!!!  WHOOOHOOO!!

What an amazing feeling have been working for so long and to have a customer believe not only in your products, but you.  Finding great partners in business is so important to being able grow your own business and more importantly  help your customers grow! 

At the end of the day, it is the success of my customers from which I get the most satisfaction. 

The owner in me starts immediately thinking of how to refocus the business and continue driving this thing forward.  “Don’t lose momentum, keep pushing” is the mantra that begins to reverberate through my mind.   But then I stop and remember “smell the roses, Vic.”  Enjoy this win; enjoy this success!  Give thanks and revel in this moment. 

Whatever else comes beyond this will come. 

I’d love nothing more than to reveal all the details of our huge win – but for trademarks and confidentiality agreements, I am not at liberty to disclose the specifics of our success.  Such is the nature of the ingredients business – since the main product isn’t ours, we have to respect the requests of our customers.  But I can just tell you that myself and everyone behind the scenes at Everything Dog Treats went wild when the call came!!!  Picture it in your mind – people jumping and yelling and slapping high fives for like an entire day.  We would see each other and just fist pump or shout!  It was AWESOME!!! It still is. 

Even Sammy was excited – catching the energy we were spreading.  I think he wagged his tail for an entire day – including while he slept! 

Stick with your own businss – believe in your efforts and your products.  If I can do it, no doubt you can. 

Sammy Dawg

I was just working tonight – thinking about some new plans to further grow the business.  And my boy, Sammy stopped in to see me. 

Love the Sangwich.  But then I should explain.  The comedian, Dane Cook (yes, offensive!) – did this bit one time about a fast food joint.  During the bit he mention a “chicken sandwich”, only he called the sandwich a “sangwich.” 

The evolution of our dog Sammy’s name has started off as Samual Adams, that morphed into the Earl of Sandwich; then the Earl of Sangwich – and now, well, he is Sangwich.  He has had some other baked good names – typically related to his snagging some food from places he shouldn’t be (like the kitchen table or the counter).  His attack on a box of Dunkin Donuts is legendary and resulted in his nickname “Cruller.”  There was an equally epic snag off the table of the chips and cheese dip resulting in Sangwich becoming “Queso.” 

Sangwich with his new toy

Love the Sangwich.  He is an awesome dog.  Though it may sound as though he has guts of steal, unfortunately, the little dude just has a sensitive tummy.  Sammy is 7 years old this spring and up until last summer either vomited or had diarrhea every 2 to 3 weeks from the day I got his tubby little self from a lady boarding horses where I did.  Several trips to the vet with a clean bill of health and the shear randomness of it all – we just couldn’t figure out what was going on.  Last summer I felt so bad for him.  He seemed physically fine, but the horrible purging his little body was doing was just screaming to me that there was just something about his store bought food (and we tried numerous brands over the years) that just didn’t work for him. 

I started making his food at home.  It is my own recipe, nothing fancy – ground hamburger, sliced carrots, green beans, and brown rice – all mixed / cooked together in a giant stew.  HE LOVES IT!!!  He hasn’t thrown up or had diarrhea since.  Amazing. 

He is our taste tester – and has granted nothing but rave reviews to all of our icing mixes (naturally!).  And since the conversion of dog food, his sensitive little tummy has had no issues.  Seems he is quite alright with the human food! 

Sammy by the dock.

New Year – New Process

So it is a new year (HAPPY NEW YEAR!).  And with it brings a great deal of learning!  This past fall was our busiest fall yet and a very exciting time!  As we grow, we learn.  Inventory management and logistics became the great learning last year.  We began the busy season anticipating a slight growth over the previous fall – and boy did we miss our forecast!  We ended up doubling our projection. 

It seemed simple – order ingredients and packaging, prepare the orders, and ship them as we had been.  There will just be a few more than last year.

Oh my!  Well, when the orders came in at twice the rate I expected, naturally the ingredients ran out sooner than expected.  The lead times for the ingredients that once didn’t seem so bad – now turned into an eternity.  Eager customers wondering where there orders were (and I completely understand their position).  So then, after what seemed like ages,  the ingredients arrived, but DRAT!  the packaging (naturally) ran out. 

I remember thinking to myself – “Are you kidding me?  Am I this bad a planning?”  The funny thing, the ironic thing – I am a master planner and organizer.  It is one of those skills that in the corporate world has been recognized and rewarded numerous times.  But alas, with all of the details of a small business that I was managing, I suppose the Universe felt that there was a “teaching” opportunity for me. 

I know when these moments come, when this happens – take a deep breath and hang on for the ride.  Keep your mouth shut and just learn. 

Trust me – I am thrilled with our growth, but personally disappointed that some of our customers had to endure our growing pains.

Truly we have the greatest customers – everyone was unbelievably understanding.  And as we face this new year – we have already put in place a lot of new systems and tools that will enable our continued steady growth!  This year will be awesome!!  The various peak seasons will go off seamless and without a hitch.  It is our commitment to our customers and our belief in our company that let’s me say this! 

Happy new year to all!

Relaxing Dawg – Know when to take a break

Sometimes you just have to step away and take a break.  This is one of the lessons that I have learned in starting my own small business.  There are moments when you are working so hard – the hours grinding on you, that you start becoming inefficient in what you are doing.  In response you start working longer hours trying to get ahead or to get where you thought you should be.  The cycle is vicious and feeds on itself.  You work harder to catch up, become more inefficient, so then you work harder and longer hours to catch up, only to find you are even  more inefficient.  Then your whole life is consumed with your business and you are stressed out and not making good decisions. 

At this point it’s time to just stop.  Step away from it all and renew.  That is exactly what I did this past weekend.  I can’t tell you how much more clearly I can see the business now.  I can’t tell you how by stepping away and focusing on my family for a weekend that I am now better able to think about and execute my business.

My husband and I took a weekend trip to a great cabin in the mountains of Virginia in a small town called Rileyville.  The view was unbelievable.  It was so serene and peaceful.  Even if I had wanted to think about work, it was as if the mountains wouldn’t allow it. It was a much needed break.  We had just launched our new Sugar Free Dog Treat Icing product line, but I wasn’t completely happy with it – so I was working overtime to try and get it right.  My full time job has been extremely busy – busier than I can recall in years.  The house, my horse, my husband were all getting neglected as I started down the path of workaholism.  Having been trapped in this cycle before – I was able to recognize it – and stop.

 Running your own small business is about balance.  You have to be productive but never at the expense of those things that you hold dear.  Family, friends, pets, and life can’t be put on hold while you run your business.  Before long, you will be wondering why you are working so hard, making bad decisions, and generally exhausting yourself.  In this place – your business is most vulnerable – and you will no doubt be miserable.  Sometimes you have to take a step back and see the big picture.  You have to see your life completely – and life can’t be just about work.

Sammy had a great time in the mountains with us.  He was happy that his “pack” was everywhere he was.  We took a hike, sat on the deck, relaxed by the fireplace with the cool spring breeze blowing through the window watching the NCAA tournament.  The stars were incredible – “like someone had opened powdered sugar and sprinkled it everywhere on the night sky” my husband said.  The birds were fascinating to watch, the sky was perfectly clear and blue.  After a day and a half of not thinking at all about Everything Dog Treats, I allowed myself to venture back to those thoughts.  And what I found was that things that were causing me stress before weren’t stressful anymore.  I discovered some of the things I was really unsure about made themselves clear to me.  It all started to flow very easily back to me – my passion renewed, my balance restored – this was good not only for everyone around me, but for the thing I had been slaving over and struggling with – the business.

We are so lucky and blessed that we were able to escape to the mountains.  But I can tell you, the next time the balance starts to get out of kilter… I won’t hesitate to just stop, take a break and refocus.

It’s not a mistake – it’s a test…

It’s not a mistake – it’s a test…

Those words were great advice when I started in the food industry. They have proven an invaluable mantra during my Everything Dog Treats journey. When I first attempted decorating my dog treats with carob chips – oh my!!! Everything started off nicely, the carob was all smooth, my treats all lined up and ready to decorate. The drizzling started, the carob started seizing and clumping, I burned myself (repeatedly), and ended up with a carob mess everywhere.

It’s not a mistake – it’s a test.

More importantly, it was a great learning in the challenges of decorating with chips. So I searched the net far and wide and found a few tips on how to make the whole melting chips experience go better. Add more hydrogenated fats (Crisco or paramount crystals) to help make a smoother carob after melting. Ok. So, that’s what I did. Eventually the seizing started again, after the burns and the mess. Was I really adding Crisco to my dog treat decorating? I don’t even eat Crisco. Paramount crystals are the exact same thing as Crisco, but with lecithin (an emulsifier). This just wasn’t something I felt good about. I was ok with a little sugar – after all it was a treat. But that nasty fat, this felt wrong.

 I remember thinking – “Am I sure this isn’t a mistake, because it sure looks like a big ol’ mistake to me…”

Several more weeks of this agonizing pain without success resulted in the birth of an idea. Surely if I am having this much trouble decorating dog treats with melting chips – so must many others. Now, I understood that there were some very talented folks out there that were having huge success with the chips. And if I’m feeling this bad about the hydrogenated fat, so must others. I was certain I was not going to make it using chips. I didn’t know that I wanted to use the chips. But what if there was an easier way, what if there was something I could add water to and then decorate with that. What if there was something that didn’t contain the hydrogenated fats. Hmmmm – now that might be helpful.

It wasn’t a mistake – it was a test; a test that ended in seeming failure each time, but opened up the door to another possibility. And so was born our Dog Treat Icing Mix line. I put my skills as a food scientist to work, mixing and combining dry powders until I got the right mix.

I think one of the things I am learning in all of this is to keep my eyes open during the whole process. There may be opportunity to help meet others needs in ways that I hadn’t originally thought about. At the end of the day – helping others is really what I enjoy the most about my business. The second part that I love is that it is for dogs. Combining two things that I love dearly with some experience, a bunch of mistakes (tests), and a willingness to maybe see it differently has made all the difference in the world.

Moonlight Dawg

Many of my customers have emailed me and talked about the challenges of starting up their own business.  They work full time, come home, bake until the wee hours of the morning, grab some sleep, and then get up and do it all the next day.  They are so passionate about their dog treat business and yet have the need to be practical and pay the bills.  I am always delighted when I hear these stories – as it gives me renewed energy.

 I am a moonlight dawg too.  I work full time at a multi-billion dollar food company as a senior food technologist / project leader.  And by night – I am the mad scientist developing new coatings for dog treats.  Some days I just collapse and want to sleep – but my mind is racing with ideas, things I still have to do; if fact my mind is so full that the dawg follows me into my dreams.  And in my restless sleep I am working with my coatings, contemplating new things to do, or thinking about my customers and what they may need.  What else can I do, build, make, write that would help them???

 It is exhausting, but in a good way.  The dream (and I know it is a dream that many of my customers share) is to depart the corporate world and really do this small business thing 100%.  I’ll get there. I’m close.  Someone once told me – slow and steady, that’s the way to grow.  It has been great advice.  It has helped me to realize that there are so many options, so many ways to go – to recognize some of the challenges that might be ahead as my business grows and to recognize the demands that go beyond just developing the products.

 It’s funny.  Many of my coworkers don’t realize that I have another business. I keep it quite as not to be a distraction at work.  They often look forward to the weekends with lots of fun things planned.  I am looking forward to my weekends as a chance to try and get ahead for the following week. It’s a chance to focus on Everything Dog Treats 100%.  Sometimes my husband has to drag me away and force me to relax.  He’s good for me in that way, or else I think I might work myself to death.

 So much to do, so much I want to do, so much I can’t wait to do… but I still have to pay the bills.  So until that day when I’ve hit it big… I’ll continue moonlighting…I’ll be the moonlight dawg.