Watch Now “Our Daily Show Interview! Pup Kitchen: Local Holistic Food For Your Pup!”
EDWARDSVILLE – A new local business is creating well-rounded, holistic, healthy meals for dogs.
Pup Kitchen, based out of Edwardsville, is a family business that focuses on all members of the family, including the four-legged ones. The company sells homemade, AAFCO-certified nutritious dog food. Owner Marc Fussell noted that his dogs’ health has improved since he started feeding them Pup Kitchen meals, and he hopes to help other dogs get the same benefits.
“With humans, you hear many times, ‘Let food be thy medicine.’ And I think even with dogs, if you feed them a healthy diet, a well-balanced diet, that’s going to be what they need to have longevity,” Fussell said.
About 20 years ago, Fussell became interested in nutrition and began cooking healthy, whole-food meals for his family. He soon realized how much better he felt, and he started to wonder if better food could have the same effect on his pets.
At first, Fussell and his wife Christie bought known brands that touted health benefits, but they ran into issues with deliveries and found that their labs were still at unhealthy weights. It wasn’t until Christie started making her own dog food that they began to see improvements. Not only did the dogs’ shedding decrease, but they also naturally dropped 20 pounds.
“We saw a huge improvement in our dogs’ overall health after we started feeding them our food, so it encouraged us to do more with it,” Fussell remembered.
Since they began selling their food through Pup Kitchen, Fussell and his wife have heard from customers who say the same things happened to their dogs. Some dogs’ allergies improve; others become more active and playful. Fussell said it has been exciting to know that so many dogs’ lives are better because of their product.
Article continues after sponsor message
The Fussell family decided to buy a commercial kitchen in Edwardsville, where they make human-grade dog food for local customers. It hasn’t been without its challenges, but Fussell is proud of how the business has grown in the past few months.
“I think if you’re doing things the correct way with good intent, you’re going to learn along the way as you’re starting something new,” he said. “So I was learning about dog food as I was going down this journey, and as I got pushed back or as I was told no, it wasn’t, in my mind, negative. I was glad to learn it and I wanted to do things the right way.”
This commitment to doing everything “the right way” has guided Pup Kitchen as they expand. Fussell created a calculator for customers to denote their dog’s weight, age and target weight so they can calculate how much food to purchase. He also made sure to compare different brands so that Pup Kitchen is priced competitively.
“We are a family business and a start-up, so really, argumentatively, we’re priced at a point right now where our margins are very thin,” Fussell explained. “But I’m okay with that because I’m trying to create a brand that’s local and people want to use, and if we’re helping dogs get healthier and providing value to the community, I’m okay with that.”
The Fussell family even hand-delivers the meals within a 40-mile radius of Edwardsville, taking care to ensure each meal arrives frozen and ready to be thawed and served. Fussell added that the whole family has sampled each meal, and they enjoy cooking together in the kitchen every weekend to make that week’s batch of meals.
Looking ahead, they hope to create more recipes in the future and grow the brand. Fussell and his wife are pleased with the start of Pup Kitchen and can’t wait to see it take off. They believe it’s the best choice for dogs, and they are proud knowing that the business is helping local families feed their pets.
“The majority of all people who have dogs love their dog and want their dog to be healthy and have a long life,” Fussell added. “I think those people are definitely individuals who should look at feeding their dog something healthier than kibble.”
For more information about Pup Kitchen, visit their official website at PupKitchen.com.
More like this:
This post was originally published on this site be sure to check out more of their content.
