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PIA Innovator Spotlight: Barkwheats – the Socially Responsible Healthy Dog Biscuit |
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PIA Innovator Spotlight
Chris Roberts
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In today’s market of enlightened consciousness, can an idealistic visionary with a very narrow and exclusive market vision hope to succeed? Or, is he a harbinger of micro-market segmentation yet to come?
Chris Roberts, the brains and passion behind Barkwheats, a grain-free dog biscuit comes from a family steeped in the food business. However, he initially broke from tradition and worked as a record engineer in Nashville until a nervous and skittish pet dog inspired him to concoct a ginger biscuit to calm her nerves.
The product proved so good that he started selling them on online retailer <etsy.com> (“your place to buy and sell all things handmade”). Word-of-mouth soon had local stores also calling, and his first large wholesale order came appropriately on Earth Day 2008.
Barkwheats uses organic buckwheat which naturally contains magnesium (to relax the blood vessels) and a beneficial profile of amino acids, ginger (as an anti-inflammatory), and lavender (as an anti-septic) to ensure the biscuits are gluten free.
Chris buys directly from farmers and prides himself on having control over every node of the supply chain. Once the ingredients are marshaled, Chris and his girlfriend Renee process the ingredients at a flour mill they own to ensure no cross contamination of the raw product and ensure the gluten free promise. The actual baking is done in the converted basement of their home in Stockton Springs, Maine and together, they could pack upward of 200 boxes and day.
Their idealism extends to the community development fund which is part of heir Fair Trade Certification. Most of the ingredients are bought from local farmers, but when Chris needed high quality ginger, a trip was planned to Belize where he now partners with participating farmers of Sustainable Harvest International to grow organic, Fair Trade Certified ginger. Chris happily pays a 15% premium over the market price to contribute to community development fund where these funds are used for building schools, medical supplies and other infrastructure development in Belize. Barkwheats is the first pet product in the industry to carry the Fair Trade Certified logo.
However, can this idealism be sustainable?
Chris’ business model has been based so far on an idealistic, quality-and-integrity-first platform that is targeting a very narrow audience niche. From 2008, their first year of business, gross revenues generated have grown over 87% and Chris anticipates significant growth in 2010 as well, mirroring his projections for market segment growth.
Barkwheats retails in around 350 stores nationwide. While TJ Maxx, Homegoods and even Walmart have contacted them, Chris prefers to live within the constraints of his supply chain and confine distribution (and consequently, growth to more specialized stores catering to his more educated consumers. He does want to see distribution expand to 2000 stores and maybe more.
Chris Roberts and Barkwheats have come a long way from their first sale and enjoy an excellent reputation in the market. But can growth keep pace with the market growth evidenced within the organic, socially-enlightened, healthy food segment?
The market has proven willing to pay a premium for the product. Chris is fully aware that less than 10% of the market represents his total universe. He has been successful in delivering the message of a healthful, pure, organic product not only delivering healthful benefits to a pet, but also connecting to other people and bringing societal benefits to a greater universe.
Challenges to this mission include government regulation – inconsistent labeling regulations from state-to-state are a sore point – and the limits to growth based on maintaining the purity and integrity of the product attributes.
Watch this space to see how Chris, a true innovator and idealistic visionary shows us if he is able to overcome these challenges to growth, or whether his idealism will trap him into a market size that will allow other more resourceful competitors to widen the trail he has blazed into a superhighway of product choices for the consumer. |
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Mission, Vision & Value Statement
We at the Pet Industry Advisory think it appropriate to lay out our vision for the coming twelve months and discuss how we deliver value to you, our customer.
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