Sales and marketing specialist Kelly Chaney created Puppy Cake after taking inspiration from a client who made cake mixes for people. Puppy Cake is an online brand that produces and sells healthy cake mixes for dogs.
Puppy Cake is a business that allows pet owners to treat their lovely dogs with cakes that are beneficial for their digestive systems.
Kelly has studied canine nutrition to ensure she has all the necessary knowledge. Initially, she developed a few flavors and primarily worked out of her kitchen. Over time, she has successfully developed several flavors of cake mixes among other dog treats. These treats also come with a yogurt frosting mix.
At Puppy Cake, dog-friendly treats are made using all-natural human-grade ingredients. These ingredients include rice flour or whole wheat flour, peanut flour, natural banana flavor, and carob powder.
These products are similar to human cake mixes in that you must add eggs, oil, and water to bake these treats.
Kelly has a great fondness for dogs and a drive for manufacturing the perfect product. She is thoroughly involved in manufacturing the Puppy Cake products to ensure top quality and safety with every product. All the products at Puppy Cake are passed through taste tests, which Kelly herself conducts.
, Channey sells these treat mixes in 150 retail stores and on the Puppy Cakes website. Puppy Cakes also sells personalized dog birthday cakes.
Kelly Chaney appeared on Shark Tank in 2013. She was looking for an investment of $50,000 for 25% of her business. To present a convincing argument, Chaney brought her dog Minnie to show how much the dog loved the treat.
In the last four years before Shark Tank, Channey had sold dog treats worth $80,000. This did not impress the Sharks. Lori Greiner was interested in how she marketed the Puppy Cake brand and Mark Cuban was curious about why Puppy Cake did not grow in the last 4 years.
The Shark Tank pitch was unsuccessful as Robert Herjavec thought Puppy Cake products were a novelty item. Kevin O’Leary did not see profit potential. Others didn’t see a good market for the product or were interested in dog products.
Kelly Channey walked out without an investment. She did receive valuable advice though. Taking the criticism constructively, she did not back down on her business. She changed the narrative of Puppy Cake.
Appearing on Shark Tank also helped Puppy Cake receive enough publicity that increased her sales drastically. In a month after Shark Tank, she earned more than she did in a year. With a growing demand for treats from Puppy Cake, Chaney introduced many other products and flavors.
In July 2021, Puppy Cake landed its products in hundreds of indie pet stores and on Amazon. These milestones bought annual revenue of $1 million for Puppy Cake.
Our Review of Puppy Cake
Puppy Cake sells an incredible variety of treats for dogs. These products are popular among pet owners, and pets also love these delicious treats.
Products include cakes, ice creams, and cookies, with flavor variations. Besides dog treats, Puppy Cake also sells other products like dog toys and baking/decorating accessories.
Customer reviews for Puppy Cake have been unanimously positive. Puppy Cake has an active Instagram account where they repost pictures of happy dogs with their delicious treats.
Puppy Cake has a one-year shelf life before it is baked. Owners can refrigerate baked items for almost a week. In the freezer, these treats can last for many months.
Pros of Puppy Cake
Puppy Cake is a small business that has established itself well over the years. There are various pros behind the success of Puppy Cake.
Here is a list of a few of these pros.
- The dog treats that Puppy Cake sells are extremely well-researched products to ensure the products are safe for the dogs to eat.
- The instructions for baking are simple and easy to understand.
- Puppy Cake is constantly adding new variety to its range of products therefore dog owners have a lot to choose from.
- These products are also suitable for cats to eat. It won’t upset their stomachs, but they may not enjoy the taste.
- Puppy Cake offers a money-back guarantee for customers who are unsatisfied with the products.
- Puppy Cake delivers its products quickly, in about 2-3 days.
Cons of Puppy Cake
Even though the business is doing great, there is an issue with the cakes that Puppy Cake could improve with consideration.
- Their cakes don’t rise as much as regular cakes.
- It’s a treat and not a staple.
Who Is Puppy Cake For?
Puppy Cake is for people with pet dogs who want to treat them to cakes, cupcakes, and ice creams, foods that are otherwise not good for your dogs. These treats are suitable for any dog breed of any age.
Are There Any alternatives?
Surprisingly there are many alternatives available for Puppy Cake. Unlike what the Sharks thought, dog owners love celebrating their dogs enough to bake them a special cake.
Some of these alternatives are:
- Pooch Cake
- Whisk & Wag
- Bark Bistro Company
What sets Puppy Cake apart from the other options in the market is that they offer a range of flavors, including banana, peanut butter, red velvet, and carob. They also sell ice cream and cupcakes.
Conclusion
Even though the Sharks were not impressed and Kelly did not get any investment, she learned from that experience greatly, and the constructive feedback the Sharks gave helped her turn her business around profoundly.
Kelly experienced satisfactory sales before Shark Tank, but featuring on the show helped her sales improve drastically. She expanded her range of products because there was a big demand for her products.
