*Warning This May Be A Long Post*
So because of COVID-19, I am home all the time and have plenty of time on my hands, and I was thinking of making a horse treat business as a fun, creative, easy-ish way of making money! I just have some questions for you guys to determine somethings!
I would make sure everything extremely sanitary, and likely wear gloves while making, if that makes you feel any better
1.) Do you care if their cute or not? This is very important because it determines the recipe I use.
2.) How large would you want packets/orders to be? Would you want different sizes like Small, Medium, Large, or if they're decorated 4 pack, 6 pack, 8 pack, 10 pack? This is all very important.
3.) How much would you pay for each size?
4.) Shipped in bags or boxes? (With boxes the price goes up!)
5.) Are there any common ingredients you wouldn't want in them?
6.) Are there any ingredients you would want in them?
7.) What is your favorite current brand for horse treats? Why?
8.) What is your least favorite? Why?
9.) Would you want Sugar Free treats as an option?
10.) Do you think you would buy treats from my business if I made one?
What a great idea and fun/productive way to pass the time! Just my opinions:
1. I think they should be somewhat cute, or at least nice looking - not just lumps. Don't need to be some complicated shape, just something a cookie-cutter can do.
2. I would pay more for lots of small treats than a few larger treats, even if the total weight is the same. Decorations that are too elaborate would make me think I'm paying too much for useless frippery, I think just a nicely-designed label on the bag with a cute picture and list of ingredients would be the right amount of decoration.
3. Let's say it was a 1 lb. bag filled with 32 1/2oz. cookies (I'm not much of a baker, so I'm not sure what size they would be, I'm just guessing flat cookies about 1" wide) I would pay $5- $10 depending on the ingredients. Less if they're a hard consistency like a dog biscuit, more if they're kind of chewy.
4. Definitely bags. Like, a heat-sealed plastic bag with the cute label on it, shipped inside a bubble-wrap mailer bag. I think in this age of covid, people would have more confidence in an inner bag that is sealed.
5 and 6. I think if they were non-GMO and/or organic, people would pay more. Like, stick to fruits/carrots, avoid corn (why would they pay for a treat that's mostly corn when COB is like 50# for $15?) and instead of regular flour, you could use rice bran (powdered, not the pellets) which is low in sugar and healthy for even older/Cushings/Insulin-resistant horses.
Because, the people who would buy these treats, rather than just a bag of carrots or apples, probably have older, lifelong buddy horses who they want to spoil without wrecking their low-sugar diets.
See question #2: this is why small-sized treats are better for this type of customer. Me, for example: I could give my 26-y-o Cushing's horse several treats without having to do a bunch of math with the ingredients or feel guilty that I might have given him too much sugar. And the horses don't care, small or large, a treat is a treat.
7 and 8. I almost never buy treats any more. I give them apples from my trees when they're in season, and occasionally a bag of carrots when the grocery store is practically giving them away. When my horse first went on pergolide for his Cushing's, I tried a bunch of different treats to hide his pills in, and even the most appetizing (and pricey) were a big fail. He started refusing all treats, thinking there was a hidden pill. My mare, on the other hand, considers anything you feed her from your hand a treat and doesn't care what it is.
9. Low in sugar, definitely. A minimal amount of molasses to hold them together OK, but no fake sweeteners.
10. I would definitely give them a try at least once, if the price was right. And if a pill could be hidden in them and my gelding would still eat it, I'd be a regular customer.
When you market them, and this is just my opinion: you should stress
1. the safety, sanitation, wearing gloves and masks all through the process until you seal them in plastic bags.
2. healthy, natural ingredients, no GMO or corn, low in sugar for older horses who need that kind of diet, but still delicious. Do the math and put sugars/carbs per treat on the label and on your website.
3. Also make sure you test how long they stay good with or without refrigeration, and put that on the label/website too.
I bet you'll do really well with a good recipe, honesty and transparency in your process and ingredients, and getting out the right messaging to the horse owners who are able to spend money right now.
Good luck to you!
I will make time today.
) but we're going to have a lot of fun! I'll post pictures of him soon enough....
