Ice Cream for Dogs?? 🐶 🍦

Issue #101

September 17th, 2024

Quick Hits:

🐷 🛹 Who said pigs can’t skateboard?

💒 💤 When the best man falls asleep on the job

🐈 🧪 Crochet hats for cats, but for science 

💰 🐱 Meet the world’s richest cat

😬 ⬆️ Anxiety in pets is on the rise 

🐶 👀 Do you feel connected to your dog? Your brains might be synchronized

✈️ 🫤 Flying with your pet is more complicated than ever

This week we spoke with Debbie Hendrickx, the CEO and founder of Swell.

Back in 2016, you decided to start an ice cream cart in Seattle, but your ice cream cart was very different, why? How did you come up with the idea and what were some initial reactions?

 I had a passion for making gelato for my family. My dogs are part of the family and I wanted to create a long-lasting and delicious dog-safe version for them so we could all enjoy our gelatos together. So when my corporate career in retail fashion came to an end after 18 years, I decided I was going to spend the summer doing just that, making gelato for dogs and surrounding myself with dogs. I thought it would be such a fun way to spend the summer before going back to corporate life so I bought an orange(my favorite color because it's such a happy color) cart and took to the local dog park in Seattle.

There were only 2 reactions: " Oh my gosh this is amazing, what a great idea or..... Wow, you poor girl, usually followed by an eye roll)”

You went from your kitchen then moved to your garage and then finally to a production facility, why did you decide to be so hands-on with the production vs outsourcing to a co-packer?

I tried 2 co-packers to see if they could make the gelatos with the same creaminess and simple whole-food ingredients, and they could not.  I learned that in order for the viscosity of my gelato to work with the narrow tubes that connect all the machines in co-packer facilities my gelatos would have to be watered down a lot. I wouldn't be able to use whole bananas, the thick one-ingredient peanut butter, honey... All the things that make Swell gelatos so wholesome and delicious. So I decided right then and there that I would continue to make it by hand so I could continue to be proud of what we were creating for the dogs we love so much.

You are currently in 1000 (mostly independent ) stores across the US, how did you initially get into retail and how have you navigated scale through nationwide distribution?

Ha! I started with one store, and delivered them all myself until I got to 25. Then I got my first NW distributor. I was making everything by myself out of my garage/kitchen ( because COVID-19 happened during all that too), until I got to close to 400 locations and it was impossible to keep up with the demand. So I sold my house in Seattle and bought my very own Swell factory in The Dalles, OR where my team of Swell Sisters now helps me make the gelato. Having a facility and a production team allowed me to scale.

How did winning the Amber Grant for Women help Swell grow and expand its reach? 

We are working on expanding our product line beyond gelato, but we want to keep the integrity of small batch, premium ingredients, and handmade because that's what our customers love about Swell. The Amber Grant is helping make that product expansion come to life and reach even more dogs and their owners across the US.

The pet food sector is going through its "renaissance" period. Pet owners no longer accept "bad-for-you" ingredients. Why has there been this consumer awakening in the past few years?

It was long, long, long overdue. Consumers are finally realizing that what they put in their own bodies matters and the same goes for our dogs.

What is your number 1 selling ice cream? Why do dogs love that one? 

The number 1 seller is banana-peanut butter, mainly because it sounds best to us dog owners. It's yummy and us humans can almost taste how good that is when we imagine the flavor but to be honest, the all-time favorite with the dogs is the Pumpkin Cheddar gelato, it wins every time in a line-up. I taste test every flavor so I can personally attest that there's a little bit of magic created when gently cooking the pumpkin with coconut milk and folding in some honey and cheddar. It's just a magical little marriage of just the right flavors.

What’s 1 piece of advice you would give an entrepreneur who is today where you were back in 2016?

Have a solid plan to pay your mortgage and other bills for the first 3-4 years and be ready to work harder than you ever have before:)

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Finally, What is a cat's favorite song?

“Three Blind Mice.”

See you Friday!