Today we’d like to introduce you to Kim & Charles Saso
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
We started out homebrewing, and wanted to find a way to reuse the spent beer grain (leftover barley mainly, with possible rye, oats, and wheat). We knew the grains still had so much flavor and nutrition in them, so it felt like a waste to just throw them out. We did some research on different things to do with the spent grains, and one of those things was making them into dog treats. Well, our dogs LOVED them – they even acted differently with these treats, than they had any other treats before. So we decided to give them out to our family and friends, and their dogs loved the treats too. We wondered if it was possible for us to turn this into a little business. After some research and trial and error, we decided to give it a shot a little over 7 years ago. We wanted to work with all the amazing local independent craft breweries, so one by one we started to form partnerships with them. We have had the pleasure of collaborating with so many different breweries around St. Louis, St. Charles, and Illinois. We think it’s important to know where the grains came from, so we keep them separated specifically by brewery, as well as the type of beer the grains originally made. This gives the treats a color variation – they actually look like the same color as the original beer itself. Our beer grain dog treats are sold at the breweries we partner with, in retail stores, online, and are sold by us personally at many festivals & markets in the area.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
We are a home-based business, so that comes with a unique set of challenges. Our biggest one is just trying to produce enough to keep up with demand. We have made continuous changes to our recipe, equipment, and methods to help with this. For example, we had to change the shape of our small treats to allow for a more efficient production process. It is definitely a work in progress. We are currently trying to figure out what are next step is to take our business to the next level.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about The Crafted Bone?
We are a small, local, home based business, owned by a husband and wife – Charles and Kim. We do it all – bake the treats, package the treats, sell the treats, marketing, the finances, it’s just the 2 of us. We are the only business in the St Louis metro area who is producing dog treats made from the spent grains of local breweries. We love being unique and special – we know when we go to an event, that there will be nobody there who does what we do.
We also love the idea of repurposing. The grains we use from the breweries often get thrown away, or as feed for livestock. It’s fun to take those grains and repurpose them into something fun for people and dogs. Our treats have just 4 human grade ingredients – spent grains, natural peanut butter, flour and eggs – so they are healthy too. No artificial anything, you always know what is in them.
We are most proud of how this business has grown. It started with just an idea, and from scratch we have built this into something people love and seek out when they come to our events.
Look for us at the Lake St. Louis Farmers Market, Brew in the Lou, at your favorite brewery, and on our website – www.thecraftedbone.com. Also follow us on Facebook and Instagram for all our updates and upcoming event info.
Do you have any advice for those just starting out?
Be prepared for your idea to become popular. During our meeting with our very first brewery partner, the owner asked us “what are you going to do when this idea takes off”? We never really thought that it would blow up the way it did, and we were not prepared – physically or mentally, to handle such an overwhelming response and demand at first. We wish we would have thought about his question more, and better prepared ourselves. We learned we definitely need to be flexible and adapt to changes all the time. Most importantly believe in yourself!
Pricing:
- 1 bag – $8.00
- 2 bags – $15.00
- Dog Sprinkles – $5.00
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.thecraftedbone.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thecraftedbone
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thecraftedbone
