Most of my friends and family still think I sell dog treats and others ask me to bake them my delicious human mini cakes for them... So how did I really come up with the idea to open a dog bakery? And then the idea... to sell dog treat icing and frosting out of a factory? And now... run an entire dog treat training academy to teach other entrepreneurs how to make money selling dog treats?
I'll start at the beginning...
Pastries 4 Pets was originally a division of my bakery for humans, Hart Pastries LLC. I was locally "famous" for my flavored mini cakes, old fashioned pies, and for my chocolate chip cookies. I sold my baked goods wholesale to local stores and at Farmers Markets.
During a busy holiday season in December of 2010, I started baking customized wheat-free dog treats for a local butcher's chain of stores and for one of my neighbor's dogs. Keep in mind, wheat-free dog treats were just becoming popular back in 2010. It didn't take long for them to "take off" especially when I started to decorate them and make pet birthday cakes.
As the popularity of my treats grew, so did Pastries 4 Pets. In 2012, I decided to focus solely on dog treats and opened my first dog bakery & boutique in a small town in Northeastern Connecticut.
In 2013, I developed a dog safe fondant and then a dog treat icing recipe along side my father-in-law who is a retired food chemist. I named the products; Treaty Treat Dog Icing, Frosting and Fondant.
During the next couple of years, I opened a much larger retail dog bakery and boutique and won 2 awards including:
"Best New Business in Tolland County"
and "Best Pet Boutique in Connecticut"
Our fondant was even featured on the Food Network in a popular baking show.
In 2018, the staff of Pastries 4 Pets hung up their aprons to become an Ingredients Manufacturer. My husband, David, eventually left his corporate job to join the team. We now proudly distribute Dog Treat Icing, Frosting, and Fondant mixes to dog bakeries Worldwide.
In 2019, Donna started teaching other Entrepreneurs her secrets to success through her 3 part series of online courses "How to Make Money Selling Dog Treats".
In 2023, Donna and Dave officially opened, Pastries 4 Pets Dog Treat Training Academy to offer a variety of in person classes to dog bakery owners Nationwide.
