www.coolcaninedogtreats.com
Shell Knob
Located in Shell Knob, Missouri, on the shores of Table Rock Lake, Cool Canine Natural Dog Treats is a great example of the entrepreneurial spirit. Owners Kim and Clifford Przybyl are pet “parents” who saw a niche market that wasn’t being filled, and they aimed to fill it. The result is their family owned and operated business, Cool Canine Natural Dog Treats, which offers handmade, small batch quality dog treats that contain no additives or preservatives and offer a healthy, safe and delicious alternative for conscientious pet owners.
The company got off to a great start, with the Przybyl’s painstakingly making each batch by hand, and selling the products online and through select physical retail outlets in their area. Their healthy dog treat alternative was a big hit; dogs and their owners loved them. Things went so well they found themselves with an opportunity to sell their products through Whole Foods, a well-known natural foods retail chain. But they had a problem. The retailer required them to have a food safety program in place before they could offer Cool Canine Natural Dog Treats on their shelves.
With an extremely tight deadline, and not knowing where to start, they contacted Missouri Enterprise, who sent in their team of experts to assess their situation and make recommendations. Missouri Enterprise Project Managers helped the Przybyls complete the pile of paperwork and forms they needed for compliance, and set up a system for them to maintain their ongoing documentation requirements. With lots of hard work and urgency from all parties, the project took only two weeks, start to finish.
“Missouri Enterprise taught us so much,” exclaims Kim Przybyl. “Whole Foods was willing to put our products on their shelves for the grand opening of their new store in the Central West End in St. Louis, but only if we could get compliant with their food safety management requirements in time. With the help of Missouri Enterprise, we made it! On top of that, the project got us 75% of the way towards getting HACCP certification, which it looks like we’ll need sooner rather than later if we continue to grow so quickly.
We’re already looking forward to implementing phase 2 with Missouri Enterprise as soon as we’re ready.”
With the expertise and assistance of Missouri Enterprise and their experienced Project Managers, Cool Canine Natural Dog Treats is poised to continue to expand at a rapid pace. “The Project Managers at Missouri Enterprise were incredibly knowledgeable, and they are the nicest people,” says Przybyl. We couldn’t have done it without them!”