HEALTH-conscious people often look for guilt-free indulgences. But pet lovers rarely see similar healthy snacks for their furbabies.
The brothers Carlo and Chiam Canda had the same struggle for their lovely dogs Chico, Hachi, and Bogart. Their initial solution was to feed their pets with raw meat. It turned into an initial business when they started catering to their neighbors who have decided to feed the same to their pet dogs.
“But along the way, selling raw meat became unsustainable because we don't have a big refrigerator so we looked for alternative ways to preserve meat,” Carlo said.
He learned to dehydrate raw meats on the internet and endured the painstaking process of producing healthy dog treats. In 2018, it became their product under the brand Chico’s Treats, inspired by Chico, their amiable Chocolate Labrador Retriever.
Chico’s Treats came in beef liver and chicken meat variants which Carlo considered as the dog’s all-time favorites.
“These are healthy dog treats considering that they don't contain any artificial flavoring and preservatives. They are all made from 100 percent human-grade beef liver or chicken meat and it can be eaten by humans,” Carlo said, adding that the chicken and beef taste are not flavors, but the dog treats itself.
“We made sure that they are tested for guaranteed analysis so pet owners know what they are feeding their pets,” he added.
While dog food and dog treats have already been in the market during the time they launched Chico’s Treats, he is sure that they were the only Davao City-based producer of pet snacks in the local market.
“Since then, we want to start small so we opted to create dog treats instead of the main dog food,” he said.
Just like what they did with the raw meats, they began selling to their neighbors. But they realized selling products such as dog treats required a different approach to reach its target customers.
“We started as a business to consumer model through our online page but we observed that our buying cycle is different considering na dog treats siya, dili siya main or staple food sa dog (It is not the main or the staple dog food),” he said.
“So, we shifted to a business to business model because its use is more functional such as for rewards and training. That is what's happening in pet shops. Pag-abot sa mga tao sa store, makita nila amung product paliton nila as secondary item (People buy it as a supplementary product),” he explained.
Because of this, they made Chico’s Treats available in Petastic Fur in Cabantian, Ecostore Davao along Diversion Road, Doug Smart in Bangkal, Mama Chokee Pet Grocer in Mintal, Purrbox in Obrero, and Wags & Whiskers Pet Clinic.
“When we tested the market by selling to our neighbors first, they buy around one or two so we can sell around 12 packs a month. Now that we have distribution channels, we can sell up to 50 packs a month,” he said.
With two production staff, they can also produce about 30 packs a day.
The Canda brothers have also envisioned Chico’s Treats to grow and reach more pet lovers in seven years.
“We set the goal after considering our first two years of testing the market and sales experience in Davao City,” Carlo said, adding that it would also be their birthday gift to Chico which will turn 10 in seven years.
“We are expecting to see Chico's Treats in every pet shops across the country and we are excited to see more happy and healthy dogs and cats too,” Carlo said.
For the Canda brothers, Chico’s Treats enabled them to extend their desire to keep their pets healthy to other pet lovers in the region and provide jobs to their staff, more than earning extra income.
“Nalipay gani sila na nag train sa ilang pets kay (They are happy to train their pets because) they have spent quality time without feeling guilty of compromising their dog's health with the food that they are giving them,” Carlo said.