The Little Nibbles Story

I’m a cat lover, but somehow I ended up starting a dog treat company.

I started Little Nibbles when I was 12. I had wanted to start a business for a while, but I didn’t want to just sell something that already existed. I wanted to come up with my own idea, make my own product and see if I could turn it into something people would actually buy. I liked the idea of being a young entrepreneur and having something that was really mine — where I could make decisions, try out ideas and learn as I went.

That’s where Juno came in. Juno is our dog, and he became part of Little Nibbles from the very beginning. He was my first taste tester and helped inspire me to keep experimenting until I had recipes I was really happy with. He takes his job very seriously — although his standards for accepting a treat are not exactly high.

I knew I wanted Little Nibbles to be about more than just making something dogs liked. What goes into the treats is really important to me. I wanted simple, organic ingredients that I recognized and would feel good about giving Juno. I also wanted Little Nibbles to be different and fun, which led to “A Treat for Every Mood” — Happy with cinnamon, Playful with ginger and Sleepy with chamomile.

I quickly learned that coming up with an idea and actually building a business are two very different things. There were recipes that didn’t work, packaging and labels to design, prices and costs to figure out, ingredients to buy and lots of little problems I had never thought about before. I’ve had to make mistakes, change things and try again — and I’m still learning.

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My first farmers market was when Little Nibbles really started to feel like a real business. I was nervous about whether anyone would actually buy something I had created, so seeing someone walk away with that first bag was pretty amazing. Now the markets are one of my favorite parts. I get to meet customers, see all kinds of dogs and sometimes have people come back to tell me how much their dog loved the treats.

Being a young entrepreneur has already taught me a lot about money, marketing, talking to customers, solving problems and making decisions when I’m not completely sure what the right answer is. Little Nibbles is still growing, and I have lots of ideas for what I might do next. I don’t know exactly where it will go, but that’s part of what makes it exciting.

Something that started as an idea when I was 12 has become a real business with real customers — and I’m pretty proud of that.

And after all the baking, farmers markets, dogs and having Juno as my business partner...

But in the end I am still a cat person

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