GARY’S SWEET TEETH
Puppy Cake treats thrill entrepreneur, her dogs
Gary is a lucky dog who goes to work every day with his owner, Kelly Costello. And that is not because of his looks. She said, “He is so ugly, only a mom could love him.”
She is also lucky. Costello has four other dogs and two cats and gets to make cakes, cookies and ice cream
for dogs every day.
Sixteen employees (plus Gary) work in Puppy Cake’s 19,000-square-foot plant in Portersville, Butler County. The 6-yearold Boston terrier-Pomeranian mix tags along because he is well-behaved and good company, Costello said. He and her other dogs are all rescues.
Her lifelong love for dogs inspired her to start the business in 2007. It has been a wild and interesting ride, especially in 2012 when she appeared on “Shark Tank,” a reality television show where entrepreneurs seek investors. She pitched her products, but the “sharks” didn’t bite. She didn’t get a deal.
Mt. Lebanon native Mark Cuban “said I was a ‘wannapreneur’ rather than an entrepreneur,” Costello said with a chuckle. “And he was right. I was running the company part time, and my sales were pitiful.”
About a year after her unsuccessful TV pitch, she quit her marketing and sales job to work full time on Puppy Cake. Sales steadily increased, and when she added ice cream to her menu in 2015, business doubled.
In 2020, Puppy Cake took in $2.7 million, and she expects to exceed that this year. She plans to hire three more employees.
Puppy Cake products are sold online on Amazon and on puppycake.com. They’re also sold in some pet stores, including Healthy Pet Products in McMurray.
Puppy Cake treats are sold as mixes that are assembled by pet owners. The ice cream comes as a powder in a cute container; buyers add water and put the product in the freezer for at least five hours.
Costello’s marketing background shows here. Who wouldn’t want to buy a product called Hoggin’ Dogs ice cream? The colorful containers resemble those of high-end human ice cream.
Puppy Cake products are made in the U.S., and all ingredients are “natural and human-grade,” Costello said. There are no preservatives, and there is an array of choices, including sugar free, wheat free, wheat-based, goat’s milk and cow’s milk.
“None of my dogs will eat fresh blueberries, but they love the blueberry ice cream with goat’s milk,” she said.
The bestselling cake and ice cream flavor is peanut butter,
Ice cream kits range in price from $4.99 to $6.99 or $14.99 for a four-flavor sample pack — cheese, bacon, banana and peanut. Most cake kits cost $6.99, and flavors include birthday cake with sprinkles, carob, red velvet and pumpkin.
Puppy Cake’s treats are among the thousands of products that Amazon is spotlighting during Women’s History Month. More than half of the products purchased on Amazon are sold by smalland medium- sized businesses, and 48% are owned by women, according to an Amazon news release.
“I love this,” Costello said. “It gives Amazon customers the chance to see the person behind the business.”