ARLINGTON — Here’s one strategy to launch a multi-million greenback business — take note of what your canine is chewing.
In 2003, Suman Shrestha, who was dwelling in Bellingham, met Nishes Shrestha (no relation) and seen Nishes’ canine, Kaos, was fortunately gnawing on a chunk of dried yak cheese, a conventional snack eaten in Nepal.
Easy to digest, the laborious cheese, often called churpi, is an effective supply of protein.
It was an “a-ha!” second for the 2 buddies.
Both had grown up in Nepal, the place they loved consuming churpi, however had by no means thought-about feeding it to dogs.
Could a yak-and-cow cheese product develop into a substitute for the bone, rubber and rawhide chews that dominated the canine deal with market?
There was just one strategy to discover out.
With $3,000 in startup funds, the 2 20-somethings launched Himalayan Dog Chew 20 years in the past at their kitchen desk.
There have been loads of hurdles, Suman Shrestha mentioned.
Imported Nepalese yak cheese chews in several shades on Thursday, Sept. 21, 2023 in Arlington, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Getting rid of the lactose and fats within the cheese, which may upset a canine’s abdomen, was one.
It took 4 years to provide you with the best formulation, mentioned Suman Shrestha, who has a background in chemistry.
By 2007, they started check advertising their deal with, establishing “shop” at off-leash canine parks and farmers markets within the Bellingham space.
In every case, 100 kilos of their canine chews “sold out in less than two hours,” Suman Shrestha mentioned.
A yr later they included, moved the business to Lake Stevens after which Mukilteo, and added a 3rd associate.
With assist from their mother and father in Nepal, they established a provide chain to buy yak and cow milk from small farmers throughout the Himalayas.
By 2014, their firm had annual income of $6 million.
Today, Himalayan Pet Supply operates one of many nation’s largest Himalayan canine chew factories — and it’s positioned in Snohomish County. Since 2008, they’ve offered 35 million of the laborious cheese chews, Shrestha mentioned.
An worker strikes a number of packing containers of yak cheese chews at Himalayan Dog Chew on Thursday, Sept. 21, 2023 in Arlington, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Twice the scale of a soccer area, the Arlington manufacturing unit produces greater than 20,000 kilos of canine chews a day, mentioned Nate Kredich, the corporate’s new president.
And right here’s a tidbit — again in 2015, the three companions appeared on the TV collection, Shark Tank.
Seeking celeb backers, they requested the Sharks for $750,000 for a 5% stake within the firm.
The Sharks countered, asking for 15% fairness, however the trio turned them down.
Should the Sharks have supplied higher phrases?
The firm’s canine treats are actually offered at greater than 5,000 retailers, together with Petco, PetGood and Amazon.
Himalayan Pet Supply helped set up a $90 million cheese chew market that continues to broaden, in accordance with the corporate.
In 2021, Kinderhook, a non-public funding agency based mostly in New York, acquired Himalayan Pet Supply. The phrases of the deal weren’t disclosed.
Blocks of regionally sourced cheese utilized in a number of Himalayan Dog Chews on Thursday, Sept. 21, 2023 in Arlington, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Zero waste and a social mission
Dozens of rivals have entered the ring because the firm pioneered the laborious cheese chew market in 2008.
Himalayan’s merchandise account for almost all of laborious cheese chews offered within the United States, the corporate mentioned.
That’s an enormous chunk of the cheese.
Americans spend about $1,500 a year on their dogs, according to Forbes Advisor. Now multiply that by the nation’s 70 million dogs.
For years, Himalayan operated three separate manufacturing services in Mukilteo.
Last yr, it consolidated its operations below one roof and relocated to a 120,000-square-foot manufacturing unit in Arlington. The transfer doubled their manufacturing capability, Kredich mentioned.
The Arlington plant employs 160 individuals in two shifts.
Himalayan produces its canine treats with a zero-waste strategy, Kredich mentioned.
A tour of the manufacturing unit proves his level.
Cracked chews, for instance, are floor up into powder and blended with sizzling water and reconstituted in massive rectangular vats.
Workers take turns stirring the combination with metal paddles till it reaches the consistency of bread dough. The combination is then poured into smaller pans and fashioned into particular person canine chews.
Those are stacked on tall metal racks and left to dry for a number of weeks in an enormous drying room. When they’re prepared, they’re hand-packed for distribution.
Magaly Jarquin makes small cheese cubes on Thursday, Sept. 21, 2023 in Arlington, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
The majority of the canine chews are made in Nepal, with milk offered by 1000’s of the area’s farmers. There, “they dry the cheese in the sun,” mentioned Suman Shrestha, who now focuses on product growth. The remainder of the chews are made in Arlington utilizing milk sourced from farmers in Eastern Washington, Kredich mentioned.
The laborious cheese chew trade helps rework Nepal, a small nation within the Himalayan mountains that lies between China and India in South Asia.
Nepal exports greater than $22 million price of churpi to “at least 30 cheese dog-chew companies,” according to The Guardian. “By comparison, tea exports are worth $29 million and carpets $81 million,” The Guardian mentioned.
In Nepal, the corporate’s provide chain distributors assist help the Manaram Foundation, a charitable group aiming to enhance the lives of women and girls and enhance access to training for all. Vendors donate one textbook to the muse for each pound of cheese it purchases from farmers.
Multiple forms of Himalayan Dog Chews sit in a drying room stuffed with followers on Thursday, Sept. 21, 2023 in Arlington, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
To be a provider, “we require farmers to provide access to education for their daughters,” mentioned Suman Shrestha, who sits on the muse’s board.
His mom by no means had the chance to attend college and his father give up college whereas nonetheless a young teenager.
So far, the muse has constructed 135 libraries in Nepal and donated greater than 200,000 books, Suman Shrestha mentioned proudly.
Janice Podsada: 425-339-3097; [email protected];
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