Details
Held in Escrow & Refundable.
1 | Over 30k happy dogs treated to more than 170k pounds of biscuits worth over $500k in sales to date. |
2 | We stand out! We have been recognized by the media, industry leaders, & celebrity influencers alike. |
3 | 750% increase in revenue since inception generated by our growing network of brand partners. |
4 | We've added an average of 42 brand partners annually since 2015 without advertising. |
5 | We've bootstrapped nearly 100% of our growth to date. |
6 | We are dedicated and passionate owners, putting all revenue back into the company, never a salary. |
I eagerly invested in fetch! Gourmet Dog Treats because of the vision Jackie and John have for their product. They have their finger on the pulse of what dog owners want from a dog treat. Healthy? Check. Limited ingredients? Check. Variety of flavors? Check. Using their product, I feel I am giving the best treat to my dogs.
I love that Jackie and John have expanded their offerings over the years, while still maintaining their original, hand crafted batches of treats from their bakery for those of us who want them. Even though their original flavors are staples in our household, I must say that every new, unique flavor that they have offered has been a huge hit with our canines.
I want nothing more than to see fetch! Gourmet Dog Treats sold in stores from coast-to-coast. In an environment where you must be careful of where your dog’s food and treats originate from, fetch! stands out as “top shelf” - based on their careful attention to ingredients, their knowledge of what consumers want, and the ability to change course when the consumer’s needs have changed.
Jackie Lovern's inspiration for fetch! Dog Treats began in August of 2012, following a veterinarian trip with her newly adopted Miniature Schnauzer, Sgt. Pepperoni. During the vet's exam, he stressed the importance of healthy feeding habits for her pet, which ultimately sent Lovern in search of dog treats made with natural and nutrient-rich ingredients. To her surprise, she found none. That's what led the determined pet owner to start experimenting with her dog treat recipes and sharing them with family and friends. In a matter of months, her desire to feed Sgt. Pepperoni treats, a quality that she would eat herself, turned into a business, as people started clamoring for her healthy, tasty treats to share with their dogs.
In 2012, the year Jackie adopted Sgt. Pepperoni, there were media reports of dogs becoming sick and even dying due to the poor quality, inexpensive pet treats being imported to the United States and purchased by dog owners. By mid-2012, the FDA was investigating over 1,000 such claims.
A new dog mom, herself, Jackie, set out to develop a solution by creating her line of limited ingredient biscuits made of pure, restaurant-quality ingredients. They were healthier, more beneficial, and completely all-natural. After all, she figured if she wouldn't eat them herself, why would she give them to her dog?
In the end, she came up with three different limited ingredient recipes that were all hits with Sergeant Pepperoni. On one of her daily walks with her pup, it occurred to her that other dog owners and their dogs could benefit from her biscuits. Within weeks, she found herself set up at a local farmers market where her homemade dog treats were an immediate success, and fetch! Dog Treats was born.
In July of 2014, Lovern met John Griveas, a Navy Seabee veteran and single father of two who immediately saw the potential for success in both Lovern and her dog treats. By the end of the year, the pair agreed to form an LLC and together worked methodically to create a scalable brand of products in the growing pet food industry. Slowly the business grew and expanded based on Jackie's flavorful and nourishing recipes, the couple's shared passion for the product, and their sweat equity.
Since forming the LLC, Griveas has used his flair for networking and talent for marketing/sales to forge several vital partner relationships that have kept the business moving forward. They now have a team of advisors and mentors from multiple disciplines, including Ron Smith, the successful pet supply industry icon and owner of LADS Pet Supplies, and Steve Trubiano, current Vice President of Finance for iHeart Radio. The foundation of such partnerships has laid the groundwork for fetch! to expand from regional to national markets and beyond.
As a startup, Lovern produced and packaged all fetch! products in her cramped suburban Buffalo, NY kitchen. The challenges she faced were many, including taste testing the perfect balance of all-natural ingredients, ensuring the shelf-life of her products, and making sure to hand tape a business card on the packing of every bone and treat. Today, Lovern creates her successful fetch! line of dog treats in her commercial bakery complete with industrial ovens, a dehydration system, professional branding, inventory control, recurring sales from multiple sales channels, and a popular retail space attached.
Since forming the partnership in 2015, fetch! has experienced steady growth in revenue, customer acquisition, and retail brand partners, thanks in part to the increase in awareness generated by organic social media posts, digital ads, events, distribution deals, and word of mouth. After building a new website in November of 2019, the company saw an immediate increase in conversions and repeat sales and is on track in 2020 to surpass all previous online sales totals combined. Sales forecasts suggest that with the right digital strategy, fetch! can dramatically increase online sales, improve brand support, and lower the cost to acquire new customers.
Many theorize that the pet industry is "recession-proof." There might be no better way to test that theory than by inserting a global pandemic into your sales plan. While second-quarter numbers showed a drop in B2C and B2B sales due to the various travel restrictions, quarantines, and cancelations in place across the country, both order size and frequency have increased on Chewy, Amazon, and FetchMeATreat.com, with current online sales already exceeding those in 2019.
According to the American Pet Products Association (APPA), in 2019, 63-million U.S. households claimed ownership of at least one of the 89-million dogs in the United States. Based on our Company analytics, our ideal customer is a middle-class female between the ages of 25 to 64. Those demographics equal approximately 86.1 million Americans, of which about 49.9 million own at least one dog. Sales numbers prove that, on average, pet owners spend $76 annually on treats. Assuming that data is correct, the majority fetch! demographic spends around $3.7B annually on just treats. The typical customer on FetchMeATreat.com spends $42.27 per visit.
The main initiatives for fetch! coming into 2020 were to complete a packaging upgrade, implement a targeted brand support strategy for brick and mortar partners, and launch a full-scale digital marketing and re-targeting campaign. By re-designing their packaging and creating assets that their brand partners can utilize, fetch! Dog Treats will become a better sell-through inventory product. That will open new sales doors previously unavailable due to a perceived lack of awareness or support. We will bolster those efforts by designing and implementing a cohesive, strategic digital campaign mixing organic and paid content, email marketing, scheduled promotions, loyalty programs, and more.
A successfully funded campaign will allow fetch! to immediately restart production and fulfill any previously rejected purchase orders and partner requests that they may have on hold, as well as cover all costs associated with operating the business, with a six to eight-month runway built-in. At the same time, they ramp back up on inventory and begin marketing. If funded at the maximum level, fetch! plans to hire one full-time production assistant and rehire at least one of their existing part-time employees as well. Marketing will play a significant role in moving forward, as years of critical analytical data waits to be used to continue building brand awareness, creating brand affinity, and generating sales across all channels. Finally, 7.5% is set aside to cover WeFunder's incredibly fair platform fee.
The fetch! company that Lovern and Griveas envision dedicates to providing customers with affordable, high quality, healthy, and safe alternatives to most mass-produced dog treats. They are committed to providing exceptional customer service to ensure that customers are 100% satisfied with the brand experience. They have been executing their mission successfully for nearly eight years. With your help, they are ready to spend the next eight years and beyond making fetch! a household name across the United States.
How many people do you know who would try fetch! Dog Treats for their special pup at least once? How many of those dog owners would likely continue to purchase such a reasonably-priced, healthy product that their dog loves?
Join us on this extraordinary journey to provide dogs with healthier foods by hitting that "Invest" button now, and your fur-baby will become part of a business project that they will enjoy!
fetch! Dog Treats has financial statements ending December 31 2019. Our cash in hand is $4,500, as of July 2020. Over the three months prior, revenues averaged $5,848/month, cost of goods sold has averaged $869/month, and operational expenses have averaged $3,691/month.
Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations
You should read the following discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations together with our financial statements and the related notes and other financial information included elsewhere in this offering. Some of the information contained in this discussion and analysis, including information regarding the strategy and plans for our business, includes forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. You should review the "Risk Factors" section for a discussion of important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the results described in or implied by the forward-looking statements contained in the following discussion and analysis.
Overview
Our company makes treats for your dog that are so good you wouldn't mind eating them yourself, which, yes, you can do (Jackie prefers the Scrumptious Pumpkin, while John is more of a Carob Chip Delight guy). We believe that our brand is on track for acquisition within the next five years, with the potential to be a global player in our industry.
In the last two years, we have received two separate inquiries for acquisition, as recently as this past April. Each company perceived our value to be between $500k and $1M annually, and both have left the door open for potential further discussion once we meet that threshold, which we are hoping (but can't guarantee) to reach within the next twenty-four months.
Milestones
Fetch! Gourmet Dog Treats, LLC was incorporated in the State of New York in January 2015.
Since then, we have:
Historical Results of Operations
Liquidity & Capital Resources
To-date, the company has been financed with $89,085 in debt.
After the conclusion of this Offering, should we hit our minimum funding target, our projected runway is 12 months before we need to raise further capital.
We plan to use the proceeds as set forth in this Form C under "Use of Funds". We don’t have any other sources of capital in the immediate future.
We will likely require additional financing in excess of the proceeds from the Offering in order to perform operations over the lifetime of the Company. We plan to raise capital in 24 months. Except as otherwise described in this Form C, we do not have additional sources of capital other than the proceeds from the offering. Because of the complexities and uncertainties in establishing a new business strategy, it is not possible to adequately project whether the proceeds of this offering will be sufficient to enable us to implement our strategy. This complexity and uncertainty will be increased if less than the maximum amount of securities offered in this offering is sold. The Company intends to raise additional capital in the future from investors. Although capital may be available for early-stage companies, there is no guarantee that the Company will receive any investments from investors.
Runway & Short/Mid Term Expenses
Fetch! Gourmet Dog Treats, LLC cash in hand is $4,500, as of July 2020. Over the last three months, revenues have averaged $5,848/month, cost of goods sold has averaged $869/month, and operational expenses have averaged $3,691/month, for an average net margin of $1,288 per month.
We are currently down 60.13% over last year in sales. This is due to the COVID-19 Pandemic.
We have had to change our operations to mostly online sales and curbside delivery. We are currently up by 47% in online sales over last year. Employing this channel allows our Company the highest profit margins. By creating an updated and optimized site we were able to offer customers specialty items not available to our wholesale brand partners, such as seasonal and special occasion cookies, cakes and gift baskets.
We have also added a subscription service online. The subscription economy is booming, having grown 100% each year from 2011 to 2016 and hasn’t slowed down since. And pet owners want to get in on this phenomenon. Our subscription service allows customers to sign up and receive monthly allotments of their favorite treats without worrying about shopping on a regular basis
Wholesale is also up by 17% over last year at this time. This channel offers our Company the largest opportunity for national growth and exposure. Although the margins are smaller, we would have the ability to move massive quantities of treats at one time. In expanding Company sales through wholesale and distribution channels, we will focus on targeting the following: Independently Owned Pet Boutiques, Doggy Day Care/Pet Spa/Grooming, Veterinarian Clinics, Specialty Retailers: Cupcakeries, Country Stores, Ladies Boutiques, Co-ops.
Additionally, fetch! Gourmet Dog Treats already enjoys established relationships with Chewy.com and Amazon.com, both marketing and selling our treats within the continental United States, while adhering to our strict MAP policies. It is a foot in the door of a market forecast to explode. American Pet Products Association (APPA) analysts calculated that sales of pet products and services in the United States reached US$95.7 billion in 2019. Pet food and treats made up the largest portion of the total with 2019 sales of US$36.9 billion, led by dog and cat food. APPA analysts forecast that the pet food and treats category sales would increase 4% in 2020. This industry forecast provides evidence that consumers for fetch! Gourmet Dog Treats are ready and waiting for the products our Company is ready and waiting to supply.
But due to the pandemic, our retail sales are down by 77.52%. Most of the events have been cancelled for 2020 because of social distancing.
Once doors open again, we plan to push more of our local customers to our bakery location in Williamsville, NY by advertising our loyalty program and offering services like free pick up and free local delivery. We plan to use these services to help drive additional sales and continue to build brand loyalty and awareness in western New York. Having a retail bakery is not a long-term goal of fetch!, but we utilize the option as it exists in our current facility
Revenue:
Our pre-pandemic projections included revenue totaling $300K in 2020. While not entirely unattainable, we have scaled back expectations for this year to focus on full execution upon funding for Q4 2020 and beyond. We will achieve our goal in three different areas:
1. eCommerce: 50% of total revenue or $150K. Our products are now selling on Chewy.com and Amazon.com, which we will be utilizing to help drive sales back to our Shopify website. In our financial plan, we have created a budget of $1,500 per month of digital advertising to drive traffic and increase sales by targeting our specific audience and offering occasional incentives, such as percentage off, BOGO, free shipping, loyalty programs, extra points, and then strategically re-targeting for repeat business.
2. Wholesale/Distribution: 40% of total revenue or $120K. Currently, our best selling item both in wholesale and through distribution is our Dipped Peanut Butter Bones, which we sell by the case. If we were to focus on only this item, we could realistically reach our goal by selling a minimum of 263 cases of bones per month. Our revenue goal becomes easier to achieve when considering the Dipped Bones are just one of many SKU's that we carry. We will also focus more time and energy on brand support for these stores by working with our partners to develop visual assets that they can use, like shelf-talkers, and through strategic geo-targeted digital ad campaigns.
3. Retail: 10% of revenue or $30K. We plan to push more of our local customers to our bakery location in Williamsville, NY, by advertising our loyalty program and offering services like free pick up and free local delivery. We plan to use these services to help drive additional sales and continue to build brand loyalty and awareness in western New York. Having a retail bakery is not a long-term goal of fetch!, but we utilize the option as it exists in our current facility.
We are also in the process of designing new packaging. Not only will this lower our COGS, but our updated packaging follows the industry standard and allows for much more detail on the package that we can use to help grab attention and sell at the same time.
Expense:
Our product COGS is averaging 35%, or the product margin is 65%. We continue to look for ways to cut costs and have the opportunity to continue to lower our direct cost of goods sold by taking advantage of all of the resources available with our co-packer, The Pound Bakery, especially by running full-size batches, upgrading our packaging, and purchasing materials and supplies in bulk at a discount whenever possible.
Our annual non-product expenses are $90K. Pre-pandemic estimates for 2020 projected an increase to $190K, covering all operating costs, including the addition of more employees, and adding a substantial marketing budget to support production and drive sales. As we begin Q3 2020, we are currently at $17k in non-product expenses and are projecting to finish anywhere between $34k and $100k depending on the outcome of our funding campaign.
Currently, our sources of capital are from sales of the product, personal loans from friends and family, high-interest, short-term loans through Kabbage, PayPal Business Loans, Quickbooks Financial Capital, Shopify Capital, Square Capital, and Fernwood Capital.
1 | Investors understand that it may take years to see a return on their investment and they are willing to wait for this time period. |
2 | Investors understand that the initial valuation may change either positively or negatively over time. |
3 | Investors understand that investing in startups is risky and that the failure rate is higher depending on the stage of the startup. |
4 | Increases in the cost of key ingredients and/or disruptions in supply can negatively affect our ability to manufacture and produce our items. |
5 | Our future success depends on the efforts of a small management team. The loss of services of the members of the management team may have an adverse effect on the company. There can be no assurance that we will be successful in attracting and retaining other personnel we require to successfully grow our business. |
6 | The unpredictability of the COVID19 pandemic can create instances where we will be forced to adapt very quickly to change. Mandates and shutdowns can have a negative impact on revenue and our supply/distribution chain. Canceled events, material shortages, and increased cost of goods sold are potential examples to be aware of. |
Director | Occupation | Joined |
---|---|---|
John Griveas | Owner @ fetch! Dog Treats | 2015 |
Jacqueline Lovern | Owner @ fetch! Dog Treats | 2015 |
Officer | Title | Joined |
---|---|---|
John Griveas | Vice President CEO | 2015 |
Jacqueline Lovern | Secretary CFO President Comptroller Clerk Treasurer | 2015 |
Holder | Securities Held | Voting Power |
---|---|---|
Jacqueline Lovern | 850,000 Common Units | 85.0% |
Date | Amount | Security |
---|---|---|
$43,042 | Priced Round | |
04/2020 | $4,000 | Loan |
04/2020 | $2,095 | Loan |
01/2019 | $14,484 | Loan |
01/2020 | $2,900 | Loan |
02/2020 | $1,356 | Loan |
07/2019 | $10,000 | Loan |
09/2019 | $24,000 | Loan |
10/2018 | $12,000 | Loan |
08/2016 | $6,500 | Loan |
03/2015 | $1,750 | Loan |
07/2019 | $10,000 | Loan |
Lender | Issued | Amount | Oustanding | Interest | Maturity | Current? |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Dave Librock | 03/11/2015 | $1,750 | $1,750 | 0.0% | 12/31/2021 | Yes |
Kabbage | 08/13/2016 | $6,500 | $3,783 | 24.0% | 04/28/2021 | Yes |
PayPal Business Loan | 10/11/2018 | $12,000 | $0 | 14.5% | 09/18/2019 | |
Marlin Capital Solutions | 01/29/2019 | $14,484 | $14,713 | 10.94% | 04/06/2024 | Yes |
Concepts2Code | 07/16/2019 | $10,000 | $5,579 | 5.0% | 01/12/2021 | Yes |
Quickbooks Financial Capital | 07/25/2019 | $10,000 | $0 | 16.0% | 06/18/2020 | |
PayPal Business Loan | 09/18/2019 | $24,000 | $20,003 | 14.5% | 05/03/2022 | Yes |
Square Capital | 01/17/2020 | $2,900 | $2,613 | 17.75% | 07/31/2021 | Yes |
Shopify Capital | 02/09/2020 | $1,356 | $79 | 17.0% | 07/31/2020 | Yes |
SBA EIDL Advance | 04/20/2020 | $4,000 | $4,000 | 0.0% | 04/23/2025 | Yes |
Paycheck Protection Program | 04/24/2020 | $2,095 | $2,095 | 0.0% | 10/08/2020 | Yes |
$40,000 | 25% will be used to immediately resume and maintain all production, fulfillment and distribution activities. 32.5% is budgeted to cover all operations costs, including the resolution of any COVID19 related matters that we may experience. 35% will be used for our new strategic digital marketing and brand support campaign, and the remaining 7.5% will cover WeFunder's platform fee. |
$250,000 | 25% will be used to immediately resume and maintain all production, fulfillment, and distribution activities. 32.5% is budgeted to cover all operations costs, including the resolution of any COVID19 related matters that we may experience, as well as hiring a full-time bakery assistant and part-time laborers. 35% will be used for our new strategic digital marketing and brand support campaign, and the remaining 7.5% will cover WeFunder's platform fee. |
Class of Security | Securities (or Amount) Authorized |
Securities (or Amount) Outstanding |
Voting Rights |
---|---|---|---|
Common Units | 1,000,000 | 1,000,000 | Yes |
The Securities and Exchange Commission hosts the official Form C on their EDGAR web site.
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