This week we feature Elyse and Sarah from The Dog Mum’s Bakery who make your favourite pooch some tasty vegan treats – they even make special treats for dog’s with allergies and other dietary sensitivities.
You can find out more about The Dog Mum’s Bakery here.
Who is in The Dog Mum’s Bakery team and how long have you been vegan?
The Dog Mum’s Bakery is a family business we are sisters Elyse and Sarah who has been a passionate vegan for 6 years.
When did you get started?
It started out as a hobby when we wanted to provide the dogs in ours and our loved ones lives with quality plant-based treats that we could feel proud to feed them, we loved being able to choose ingredients that would benefit them individually. Once we realised that we wanted to branch out and offer this to fellow dog lovers, we started planning our vision, researching and trialling recipes very early in 2018 and officially launched The Dog Mum’s Bakery on the 8th of October 2018.
What challenges did you face in starting your business and now that it’s up and running?
Challenges we faced starting out were finding time to put 100% into building a business from scratch while still having other work, life and family responsibilities. It was also a challenge to keep a momentum of growth with limited resources. Creating a small business can be a risk and in those early stages it was and still can be at times difficult to feel 100% confident that all the sacrifices being made in other areas of our lives are going to be worth it and that kind of self-doubt can be a challenge. At this stage the biggest challenge is a work life balance being a small business in these early stages it can be hard to switch off, especially when we are so excited to keep moving forward.
What strengths and weaknesses do you think come from being a specifically vegan business?
Being a vegan business is a strength for us because it gives our dog treats a point of difference and allows us to focus in on the health benefits of plant foods! We are able to cater to those dogs that have allergies, have sensitivities to meat proteins, or other health related issues, for example at the moment we are working on a treat customised for a dog with diabetes. A weakness would be sometimes people may be hesitant about whether their dogs would be interested in a plant-based treat.
What’s the thing best about running your business?
The best thing about running our business is definitely the feedback we receive from our customers about their dogs enjoying and benefiting from our treats, and them feeling as though they’ve finally found something they can feel great about feeding them! Overall being able to supply holistic dog treats with purpose and also providing the opportunity to customise the perfect suited treat for people’s dogs needs and sensitivities, especially to those who may have not been able to enjoy one in the past due to allergies or health, is extremely rewarding.
What would say is the ‘secret sauce’ that makes your business so special?
We would have to say our ‘secret sauce’ would be our relationship and bond as sisters because we are building something for us and our family. Secondly our love for our own dogs and passion for all dogs and their health is what got us started and keeps us driven and inspired.
Looking forward what does the future hold for The Dog Mums Bakery?
The future for The Dogs Mum’s Bakery includes lots of product expansion and experimenting. More involvement with dog events and having the opportunity to donate and raise awareness for dog rescues and other organisations. We also can’t wait to see our treats stocked on shelves one day!
Anything to add?
We would like to add that we are focused on always trying to be as environmentally sustainable as we can with all of our business practices and are excited to continue progressing with our sustainable and earth friendly choices. We are also passionate about supporting other Australian small businesses throughout our business transactions.