Today we’d like to introduce you to Treasure Crocker.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I’m an animal nurse turned entrepreneur, I’ve always had a passion for animals and I didn’t realize that my calling in life was to actually be a business owner as opposed to an animal nurse until my dog became severely sick after suffering from an allergic reaction to eating store-bought treats. Not knowing or even being able to pronounce all of the ingredients on the back of the labels on treats at the store, I wanted to be able to give my dogs healthy treats with all-natural ingredients and thus became the start of Pawstries. I started my business in 2018 and since then I’ve been providing treats not only in my home state of Michigan but also to other states in the U.S. and Canada.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Haha any entrepreneur will tell you that the journey of entrepreneurship is not an easy one but I can only speak for myself when I say that it has been well worth the journey and I’m happy to be able to wake up and do something that I love while being on my own time every single day. The struggles I’ve faced during my entrepreneurship journey especially over the last year while being in a pandemic is continuing the overhead cost of keeping the business going. Funding, gaining brand recognition brand clientele have also been a struggle. Not in a way in which you might think in regard to the brand recognition and clientele but sometimes it gets hard to convince people to feed their pets healthier snack options when they’ve been purchasing the same preservative-filled treats from the store for a fraction of what our treats cost.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
Pawstries is currently the only black woman-owned all-natural and gluten-free pet treat business registered in the entire state of Michigan. I, Treasure Crocker, owner and founder of Pawstries, am an animal nurse turned entrepreneur. The reason I started the business in 2018 is because my oldest dog suffered from an allergic reaction to store-bought treats and I wanted to create a product that was not only healthy with all-natural and gluten-free ingredients but also delicious and something that every pet could enjoy. I also partner with Detroit’s local honey company, Detroit Hives, as they provide the honey that goes into our treats. I believe in partnering with members of my community because without their support, Pawstries wouldn’t exist. I take pride in all of the work I have done and all of the work I have yet to do in order to provide healthier snacking options for pets and educating pet owners at the same time on the importance of pet nutrition.
We cater to both dog and cat treats with a variety of flavors and sizes. Dog treats are offered in Peanut Butter, Peanut Butter and Banana, Venison, and Bison flavors and they come in small bites and biscuit chewing sizes. Cat treats are offered in salmon, chicken, and tuna flavors and come in cat bite chewing sizes.
We want people to know that their pets deserve healthy and delicious snack options just as much as we do as humans. Pets are family too and they deserve the best!
What are your plans for the future?
My future plans for Pawstries is to expand and open a brick and mortar where my fellow pet parents and their pets can gather and both enjoy pastries and beverages. I’m looking forward to building more communities and connections with other pet lovers and parents.
Contact Info:
- Email: treasure@pawstries.com
- Website: www.pawstries.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/pawstries_
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/pawstriespettreats
- Twitter: www.twitter.com/pawstries_
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZzTbgP1HzTcASrPDIs8_pg
Image Credits
GoTakeMedia
