Small business and branding interview with the Raw Pawz team
We chatted to the sister-duo, Alana and Mish, of Raw Pawz to find out about running a small business, having strong and tail-wagging branding, and of course - making dogs and their owners happy and healthy around Australia.
If you haven’t already seen (and immediately fallen in love with) their delightful packaging and feel-good messaging, you’re about to!
1. Who’s behind the Raw Pawz brand and what do you sell?
We are 2 sisters that are super passionate about food, clean eating, health, wellness and the importance good gut health has on us living our best lives. This is not limited to only us as humans, but also extends to our favourite furry friends.
We have been lucky enough in our lives to have grown up with great education around healthy food, cooking and eating everything in moderation. Well... maybe a little too much pasta given our Italian heritage (all homemade of course). We have our Mum to thank for being an incredible role model and showing us the way. As we get older, we are increasingly grateful for that as we have adopted such clean eating habits in our adult life.
We have applied these same rules to our dogs. Our business was born out of our love for raw/fresh feeding our babies.
Our products haven’t just been created for fresh feeders though. They are for all pawrents who can easily incorporate our products into their pooches’ diet to improve gut health and well being. One step at a time.
We have created a range of 4 different gummies which all serve different purposes (all which come back to improving gut health) for various health benefits. We love this range of gummies so much. So do our pooches. We have:
Peanut Butter and Green Banana Starch Gummies: full of protein, healthy fats and bio-actives
Antioxidant Blue Boost Gummies: packed with antioxidant properties
Red Velvet Gummies: full of vitamins and minerals that promote better digestion and immunity
Bone Broth Gummies: Promote strong bones and joints and better gut health
Then we have our range of organ powders which we are so proud of. Organic, grass-fed beef organ powders are very hard to source and we are so proud of these human grade products. We have Liver Powder, Heart Powder and Kidney Powder.
We love having these on rotation in our house. It isn’t always easy to find wet organ meat and it is a staple for a fresh food diet. It is reassuring to know that these powders are always in the fridge and ready.
We have had people in the Raw Pawz community saying their dogs no longer eat their kibble without a sprinkle of the powders on their meals. Cute!
2. What inspired you to start Raw Pawz and how long have you been operating?
We have been operating for 12 months and what a journey has it been.
What inspired us to start Raw Pawz? We are passionate about giving our babies a fresh food diet. We tried numerous different kibbles but none of which our dogs would eat. We have absolutely loved our fresh food journey. With that comes so many additional supplements that you need to feed to ensure your pooch gets all the vitamins and minerals they need. And everything needs to be fed on rotation to ensure a balanced diet over time.
We thought to ourselves, what about if we made supplements that had heaps of vitamins and minerals in 1 bag. And then turn those powders into fun gummies. Not only do they look great with their meals but they are packed with vitamins and minerals.
3. What’s your best selling product and what do you think makes it so popular?
Our Red Velvet Gummies.
What makes them so popular? The name, the ingredients, the amazing deep red colour they are. They are absolutely delicious for dogs.
4. What makes Raw Pawz unique from other pet treat businesses?
We are 2 sisters and best friends
We are Australian Made and Owned
All products are human grade and have absolutely no nasties
We are focused primarily on gut health and well being
We are the only brand with the gummy flavours that we have
We have a large range of silicone moulds
5. What’s your favourite part of being a small business owner in your industry?
We get to work together as sisters and best friends
We have an amazing team around us with our printers, designers and manufacturers
We get to panel test on our favourite furry friends
We love dogs and we love gut health and we get to incorporate it all together
Our skills complement each other perfectly
6. What’s the most valuable lesson you’ve learnt from running your business so far?
Don’t rush decisions. Take your time and sit with it!
7. How would you define business success?
Getting our products into the hands of as many dog parents as possible so we can start to improve gut health. Gut health is so important and can affect so many aspects of dogs’ behaviour and well being. Success is getting our products out there
Also… Owning a lot of animals on a big farm 😊
8. If you won $100,000 to invest in your business, what would you do with it?
New product development
Marketing
Partnerships
9. What do you love most about your branding?
We love how fun and bold it is. We love our mascot Norman so much too.
10. If you had to change one thing about your current branding, what would it be?
Nothing!
11. If you could speak to your younger self just starting out in business, what advice would you pass on?
Do not give up. You make mistakes and that is ok. The most important thing is how you bounce back.
Resilience is key.
Order your Raw Pawz treats directly from their website at www.rawpawz.com.au
Or follow them on Instagram @rawpawz_
