The Startup CPG Podcast

Sue Delegan
People ask all the time, how did you get in with some of the largest manufacturing companies that make mainstream broth for humans? And I quite literally just called them and so many people hung up on me. They laughed at me of course that they had to sign an NDA before I could even talk to them. So they were like, they this girl is crazy.

00:33
Grace Kennedy
Hello everyone and welcome back to the Startup CPG podcast. This is Grace and today I'm talking to Kim and Sue, the co founders of Brutus Bone Broth who also happen to be sisters. Brutus Bone Broth creates broth and broth related recipes that are both tasty and nutritional. Brutus Broth is easily digestible, can give dogs added joint and hip protection, and has also been known to help with food sensitivities and allergies. We chat all about why Kim and Sue created this product, how they launched nationwide into Target after only two years in business, and why they're never afraid to negotiate a price. I love chatting to Kim and Sue about all things Brutus Bone Broth and the original Brutus the dog. And I hope you enjoyed this episode and as always, let me know what you think. Hello everyone.

01:32
Grace Kennedy
Today I am interviewing Kim and Sue, the co founders and also real life sisters of Brutus Bone Broth. Welcome to the show guys.

01:42
Sue Delegan
Thanks for having us.

01:43
Grace Kennedy
So excited to have you both here. I'm sure if anybody follows our startup CPG socials they know Kiki who is obsessed with Brutus Bone Broth. And I've also given these products to my family's almost 16 year old dog now and she eats them in 30 seconds second spot. So we're such fans of the product here at Startup cpg. But before we get into all that, I'd love for you both to introduce yourselves and let us know a little bit about who you are and who is Brutus Bone Broth. And sue, why don't we start with you? Sure.

02:17
Sue Delegan
I'm CEO and co founder and as you mentioned, Kim's sister. I oversee manufacturing, product development, operations and just love that you have us here to talk about my favorite subject which is Brutus. He was my pup and I'll let Kim introduce herself but then I'll tell you a little bit about Brutus.

02:38
Kim Hehir
Yes, my name is Kim Hare. I'm co founder and my responsibilities within the company. Although sue and I tend to do almost everything at some point, but I focus mostly on sales, marketing, legal, trademarks, a little bit of finance.

02:54
Grace Kennedy
I love it. I love a family owned brand that the co founders and family Members still like each other and get along. I'm always impressed. But, yes, I'd love Sue to return to you, and you can tell us a little bit about what is Brutus bone broth and who is Brutus?

03:10
Sue Delegan
Yes. So Brutus bone broth is all natural bone broth products. And our mission is to nourish your pet while giving back to the community. So Brutus was my baby. He was my first baby. And as you mentioned, Kim and I are sisters. So growing up, our mother always made bone broth before it was trendy and cool in the 70s and 80s, she was boiling bones and. And so when I got married and had my first baby, Brutus, I started making him bone broth, and he lived a very long and healthy life. He was rescue. He was 135 pounds, and he lived until he was 13 and a half. So I know with big dogs, you know, their lifespan is 8 to 10 years.

03:57
Sue Delegan
And so when he got up in his years and he exceeded those years, people started asking what I was doing for him. And I would say, love and grandma's bone broth, because it was my mother's recipe. So it was Thanksgiving 2016. Our brother, who has been in the CPG world, has owned a food company. He asked me where I was buying this bone broth that was helping Brutus. And I said, I actually make it. And he asked if he could buy it in the store, if he went to the store, if he could find it. And. And at the time, there were probably about three bone broths on the market for dogs, but they were really hard to find. They were expensive, frozen, not shelf stable. And so I called Kim and I said, what do you think of this idea?

04:47
Sue Delegan
Kim's also animal lover. We grew up with dogs and a cat. And so I said, I think we can look at the market, research the market, and bring this to the masses. A high quality infused with supplements, but affordable. So that's kind of when I drew Kim in and got her. She was living in Hawaii at the time, and I was on the East Coast. And so we decided to join forces. And that was in 2017. And we really started researching the marketplace, and I started calling broth manufacturers. People ask all the time, how did you get in with some of the largest manufacturing companies that make mainstream broth for humans? And I quite literally just called them, and so many people hung up on me.

05:39
Sue Delegan
They laughed at me, of course, that they had to sign an NDA before I could even talk to them. So they were like, this girl is Crazy. Eventually had one, an amazing manufacturer called me back. We partnered. They actually do. Half their business is hotels and restaurants and the other half is hunger relief. So they make millions of pounds of broth for starving people around the world that are infused with vitamins, supplements and minerals. And that was something Kim and I felt really strongly about, is that we would have a high quality product that was infused with supplements. And so we worked with them for about a year formulating and then we launched into the marketplace.

06:25
Grace Kennedy
So awesome and really exciting. And so like these are our babies, as you said, our animals. And we want them to get the highest quality ingredients. And I know so many people who used to hand make food or different things like broth like you're talking about for their animals. And now it's awesome to see that there are more products like Brutus bone broth coming to the market that you feel really confident about giving to your animals because of the ingredients. So I'm curious a little bit though, when you did launch a year after this development, how were you communicating about Brutus bone broth? Because I feel like even five, six years ago there wasn't. Maybe as I feel like every year people get more and more picky about what they're giving their animals.

07:11
Grace Kennedy
But when you launched, I'm wondering, like, what was the response among retailers and consumers? Like, was it still kind of niche or was there like an immediate like, yes, we want this product.

07:22
Kim Hehir
Yeah, I mean, I could take that. When we started, we really felt strongly about beta testing the product. And this is something I would recommend to everyone because things are never going to go exactly as you think they're going to go. So we actually, as sue mentioned, when were growing up, we had dogs. Our mom used to buy the dog food at the supermarket and we saw that grocery was starting to innovate pet trends, follow human trends. So for example, snacks that you might have only been able to buy in like a Dean and DeLuca were now available at your local grocery store. So from day one, we really wanted to position ourselves as a grocery mass market brand.

08:01
Kim Hehir
So were lucky enough to partner with Wegmans Food Markets and with Big Y two different demographics and again like calling people, you know, sue called the wegmans buyer probably 20 times before he called her back. And the Big Y supermarket family owned as well. So I think similar brand values with Wegmans and Big Wise family owned companies and high quality standards and so forth. So you know, went, met with both buyers and they took a chance on us. So when we Started, it was really trying to gather as much data as we could to find out who was buying our product. We had a really small digital ad campaign that were geotargeting consumers. We spent 2,500 bucks a month, and we're able to gather data like that.

08:50
Kim Hehir
And then also those to buyers were really helpful in telling us about the fact that 65% of the buyers of the customers who are buying Brutus broth were new to the pet aisle. So these were people that were probably baking their own food or buying fresh food or feeding a raw diet. That was at Wegmans, at big wide, more kibble feeders that were looking to enhance the nutrition and palatability of their dog's meal. Broth meat for humans is not safe for dogs because it contains a lot of seasonings, high salt, things that are not good for dogs. So this was really the first bone broth on the market, especially made for dogs and as sue mentioned, fortified with supplements. So as far as, you know, just trying to figure out where was it best merchandised in the aisle, who's buying it?

09:39
Kim Hehir
Is the price point, right? Thank God we did the beta test because our price point was not right. And we had to kind of change that up a little bit because otherwise we would have been losing money. So it's like we do that with all of our new products. We beta test because there are always tweaks. And it's super helpful to start with like a small control audience, just, you know, lack of a better term, instead of just going out to the masses from day one.

10:06
Grace Kennedy
Yeah, that makes a lot of sense and definitely something I've heard from other brands across categories. I'm curious, beyond the price point that you had to adjust, were there any other, like, immediate learnings you found of like, oh, we gotta change that?

10:20
Sue Delegan
Well, one thing that probably would've pushed everyone over the edge was so, like Kim mentioned, we had started in Wegmans and Big Y, so in the northeast. And something that a lot of people don't know or understand in pet food is that it's regulated state by state. So they go by an overarching organization called aafco, which then each state has to regulate the pet food that's being sold there. We didn't realize that it was kind of like the chicken and the egg. So we had to get the packaging printed at the same time. I do all the regul. I was sending the labels to be approved by each state. And so our packaging came from Sweden. And it was a long lead time so we had like a 12 week lead time with our packaging. I was waiting to hear back from the states.

11:16
Sue Delegan
As our packaging was being printed, the state of New York came back and said, you cannot say with glucosamine, it has to say with added glucosamine. And Kim and I, we bootstrapped this company. This was everything that we had was put into this first production run. A majority of that was packaging coming over from Europe. So for us to have to scrap, that was. It wasn't even possible. We couldn't. And so after I hung up with the state of New York and called Kim in a panic, I said, we have to figure this out. And Kim's like, okay, let's talk about this, let's figure it out. And within probably about 45 minutes, an hour, we're like, we got it.

11:55
Sue Delegan
We're going to put a sticker over the with glucosamine that calls out one of our nonprofit organizations that we work with and that's how we're going to solve the problem. And I called the state of New York back and they said, yep, absolutely, you can do that, no problem. The stickering was a whole nother thing to have warehouse workers sticking little tiny stickers in the exact spot that we needed them to stick. So yeah, that was definitely would have probably pushed a lot of people over the edge, but were problem solvers so we figured it out.

12:26
Grace Kennedy
God, that's crazy. And I had no idea that pet food was regulated state by state. Like, I would never have guessed that. How do you manage all the many different regulations?

12:40
Sue Delegan
Well, with lots of gray hair and wine now, usually you should see my desk. And before when it was just Kim and I, my desk in December and June, because it's usually every six months. Certain states have, it was covered with regulations and I was like, kim, do not call me from December 1st to the 15th because I'm literally in up to my eyeballs and registrations now. We do have a company that we just hired this year. That's all they do. And I can't believe that we now have been able to be at the point where I'm like, okay, take this off my plate. Because it's something that is really. It just bogs you down with the day to day. And that's the thing about, for Kim and I being a startup. It's. We're.

13:26
Sue Delegan
We've always been in the weeds and it's just, we've done it and it's just easier to get it done and rather than pass it off to someone. But at this point we've.

13:35
Kim Hehir
We couldn't afford to pass it off.

13:37
Sue Delegan
Yeah, well, that's the other thing. But I was like, now we need to just hire someone. So this year we hired someone and it's been great. Yeah, that's awesome.

13:45
Grace Kennedy
I'm happy for you that you were able to get that off your plate because that does sound like a bit of a nightmare, you know, for so many reasons. But thinking about, I guess after this beta test, this first production run where you were able to test things out in Wegmans and in blanking on the other store, you said in this moment, big why? What were your next steps after this beta test? Like, where was your next point of attack, if you will?

14:13
Kim Hehir
So we did the beta test through about probably like the summer of 2019. And then once were able to kind of fix some of the things that needed to be fixed and we had actual data about sales velocities, where merchandise the best, what kind of consumers were buying, we then started our national sales efforts. So we started adding some regional retailers, but of course we wanted Target. So went after Target and they said no to us in like probably July. And then in October we found somebody who knew the buyer and like got our product. So he had a dog to try it. And then he's like, oh, I like this product, My dog loves it. And then he said, in October we're going to do a 50 store test. And were like, oh my God, this is amazing.

15:03
Kim Hehir
And then in November he called us and he's like, forgot the 50 stores. And we're like, oh great. And he's like, we're going to bring you guys in nationally, every single store starting in March. And then we're like, woohoo. And then we're like, oh no, how are you going to pay for this? You know, because you know cpg, you got to pay for everything before you get money back. So yeah, that was kind of like a big break for us. That. Yeah, literally real second year of business that we launched nationally in Target. Yeah. But I think just the credibility of also having Wegmans and Big Y and being successful with them and having like real hard data was the key to it. And we have a great product. We have a very high quality product too. So the product speaks for itself.

15:47
Sue Delegan
Yeah.

15:48
Grace Kennedy
How did you pay for your launch nationwide into Target or like how did you navigate?

15:55
Kim Hehir
Well, we ended up doing a small friends and family round. We raised about $375,000 just with some friends that kind of had been on the journey with us for the last two years, and at that time, were putting together a board. So we had some board members that wanted to kick in, and we did a convertible note, and that's how we paid for that production run.

16:17
Sue Delegan
And I also have to say, I just want to add to that is that, you know, Kim and I are very scrappy. We always say we're lean and scrappy. We were barely paying ourselves. We're like, every dollar counted. And it's interesting because I meet a lot of founders and startups that are quite literally paying themselves a CEO salary. And it's like, you're not going to get anywhere when you're putting all your money back into yourself. Like, for Kim and I, it was about putting money back into the business. And so that's really how we grew.

16:49
Kim Hehir
Yeah, I think a lot of founders feel like they always have to be ra money as well. We've seen this instances where people raise money, and then once you have that money, you have to put it to work, but you also don't want to raise so little that you have to go raise again in six to 12 months. So, I mean, for us, we've always looked at alternate ways to try to help finance the business. Whether it's getting, like, a credit card that has no fee for the year or negotiating absolutely everything. There's nothing that we do not negotiate. I mean, we've been able to get marketing programs from some of our retailers that the sticker price is $50,000 and we get it for 2,500 bucks. So we literally negotiate everything.

17:31
Kim Hehir
So there's a lot of things that you can do to stretch your dollar.

17:36
Sue Delegan
Yeah.

17:36
Grace Kennedy
I'm curious, maybe for people who might feel, like, intimidated or nervous about negotiating for every dollar, like you're saying, do you have any advice or any, like, strategies you use in those negotiation processes that. That help you both win the negotiation? I guess, if you will, but also, like, feel confident enough to even ask to negotiate.

17:59
Kim Hehir
Yeah, I mean, my whole viewpoint is the worst they can say is no, and then you're no worse off. And I think, you know, if you have a really good product and, you know, people are going to know, like, you're a startup, you don't have infinite funds. You're not Procter and Gamble. You know, you just say, like, I'm a startup, I don't have that much money, I can afford this. And then see where it goes. And a lot of times the retailers really do want to have, like, innovation and really cool Buzzy brands to be part of their programs. Like, for us, it's like, they don't want to always just have Purina and those types of brands that you see over and over again. They want interesting things, and that's what's bringing new people into their. The ped aisle, and that's what they want.

18:44
Kim Hehir
So for us, it's just always asking and seeing, how can you be creative? And. And it's just. I don't know, I think for us, we just always are thinking out of the box, and we're always just doing fun things. We're doing things that people can get excited about.

19:00
Sue Delegan
Yeah. I think just to add to that, like Kim said, thinking outside the box. But going into those meetings with creative ideas of we can't do X, Y, and Z, but we can do this and having suggestions and being very collaborative. Like one of the things that Kim and I say all the time, relationships matter. They're so important. And for us to be collaborative with all of our customers, people realize that, and they know that we're trying to be good partners. And so people are willing to lean into you a little more when you show that you're willing to be a good partner.

19:37
Grace Kennedy
Yeah, I love that. I do think relationships are so important in any business. And cpg, though, it feels even more important to really strengthen your relationships, both with your customers and also your partners, like you said. I'm curious, too, thinking about just the pet food channel in general. Like, with food. Right. So often people say, like, once you get into retail, what matters is, like, you go and you do sampling, and, you know, that way people can try it and then they can love it and they can buy it. But with pet food, it feels like you kind of have to buy it and then have your pet try it and then wait a little while and see if they like it.

20:12
Grace Kennedy
And so I'm curious, like, how you do approach getting people to make that first purchase, since it is something that might take a little bit longer to test out with their animal.

20:22
Kim Hehir
Yeah, I mean, the learning curve for us is really steep because some people don't even know what bone broth is, let alone, why feed it to your dog. So it's really just getting out there. We do sampling and field marketing is the biggest part of our marketing budget. And it's really getting out there and talking to pet parents and talking about why bone broth. I mean, bone broth has so many great benefits, whether it's from the digestive benefits. It helps prevent fatty tumors because it helps Prevent leaky gut syndrome, which causes fatty tumors in dogs. We fortify it with supplements. And so then you have the hip and joint. We actually just finished our clinical trials on mobility, so we know it works, but it is also a lot of just, here's a coupon and here's a little sample. We have these little.

21:12
Kim Hehir
It's like a liquid IV of the powdered instant bone broth so they can go home and try it. And everyone's like, once I start feeding it to my dog, they won't eat without it. So we know it's a high quality product. We know it's a product that works, but it is a lot of just education.

21:29
Grace Kennedy
Yeah, that's really interesting. I mean, I brought the food to the broth to my parents house to give to our family dog who is 15 or 16 years old. And my parents were like, what is that? Like, she's not gonna eat that. Like, she's old. She likes what she likes. And I gave it to her. And at first she was like, sniffing, was like, I don't know what this is. And then I turn away. And like, I think literally, like, the next time I turned around, it was gone. I was like, but she messed so fast. My parents were like, oh, I guess there's still new things that she'll try. It was so funny to see. And so it is, like really enjoyed by these dogs. Right? It's not just like something that you're.

22:03
Kim Hehir
Giving to them, almost like medicine.

22:05
Grace Kennedy
And yeah, she was a huge fan and she's a Labrador, so the fact that she's still kicking is also impressive. And I definitely think Brutus bone broth is helping her out with her old girl joints. Thinking about also the pet category in general, where you guys are doing so much education, though. Where do you see this category going on, the trends as a whole? And how do you see Brutus bone broth fitting into that?

22:29
Sue Delegan
Yeah, I think we both can answer this because this has been our life. But, you know, it's interesting. A lot of people have said that we've really kind of created this topper category, which is very humbling. I think it's amazing. We always see it as a great way to get nutraceuticals to your pet. So we see this as an expansion of not only Toppers, but having those functional products. So we just launched a goat milk, which is really exciting as another topper. It's great for digestion, but I'm working. I had a call earlier today with our product development team about developing a functional Goat milk line. So, you know, there's so much that we can do with the toppers, but also the functional benefits. And I don't know if Cam, if you want to add to that.

23:23
Kim Hehir
Yeah, I mean, pet. Like I said earlier, pet trends follow human trends. So functional foods is huge. All natural is huge. You know, you're seeing people that are spending more money on their pets food than their children's food. And that's like, statistically speaking, that is true. So. And you see a lot of millennials, they just want to have a dog. They're not going to have kids right now, so they're doing everything they can to feed their dog the best. So there's definitely that trend. But given the current economy, you also see people who have to cut back. So we've been very lucky to kind of straddle both demographics because we are at an affordable price point. So we have a great product that's all natural and has great functionality, but we also are a product that.

24:08
Kim Hehir
Where people who've had to cut back on the main meal for their dog wants to add those extra nutrients. So it's like giving your dog a multivitamin by just easily adding Brutus broth to their meal.

24:20
Grace Kennedy
And how have you been able to straddle that world with such a high quality product? And keeping the price point affordable for people, I imagine, is quite a tightrope to walk. And I'm curious how you guys have managed, you know, to keep your cost at a point that feels attainable for people.

24:36
Kim Hehir
Yeah, I mean, a big part of it is just the moqs for our broth are extremely high. So it's 250,000 units a run. So when we first started, weren't doing that kind of volume. We were paying much, like a lot extra to do smaller volumes. But now those are the minimum runs on the aseptic machines, which is the technology we use to package our bra. So that's part of it. I don't know. Sue does more of the ingredient sourcing and product formulation. I know we've talked a lot about, like, how can we make it less expensive? And we always reject all those formulations. So.

25:17
Sue Delegan
Yeah. I mean, taste everything. Yeah. You know, like Kim mentioned, I work really closely with our manufacturer, and they're incredible partners. They're based in Minnesota. They do a really good job at sourcing ingredients. So they were always talking price with them and how can we get this ingredient at a cheaper price? And they might be making, you know, like I mentioned at the onset of the call is that they work with hunger relief. And so there might be an ingredient that they're using in hunger relief for millions of pounds that they say, oh, we can swap this into your product for this ingredient. Doesn't change your ingredient panel or your guaranteed analysis, but that we're getting a better break on it because we're ordering higher quantities. So, you know, we're always looking at that and making sure that our prices aren't affected.

26:11
Sue Delegan
And we know, especially in this current economic situation with the tariffs, people are so worried about that. And we're really lucky because everything's sourced in the US So our supplements do come from Europe. That's the only thing that comes from Europe. But we are really lucky to be manufactured in the U.S. we know some pet companies that they source all in China and they're dying right now as a small company. That's really tough.

26:36
Grace Kennedy
Yeah, I can't. It's lucky or maybe intentional that you guys have all your sourcing in the US and, you know, like you said, particularly in this moment. But it's interesting, I think, of this tight rope up that you're talking or that we're talking about, of straddling between keeping the cost low and the quality really high. And I imagine there's so many elements at play. And I'm also thinking about the fact that your product is shelf stable, which feels really important. And I'm curious, was that a very intentional choice in the beginning because of cost?

27:06
Sue Delegan
Yeah, I think there were a couple reasons for it. So one was it is the gold standard of packaging. And we looked at every type of packaging. When we first started, I talked to a glass packaging company out of Canada. I was like, that's a nightmare. We don't want to be shipping glass across the US but one of the reasons was the humanization of Pat. So a lot of people tend to be drawn to things that they know and understand. And so it looks like a human broth. And so we felt really strongly about that. But, yeah, the long shelf life really helped us, especially with COVID We launched the week we launched in Target was the week that the stay at home orders for Covid hit. And that moment was, okay, people are walking into Target looking for bleach and toilet paper.

27:52
Sue Delegan
They're not necessarily looking for a new cool dog food brand. And it really did help us. I mean, it was to our advantage that we had a long shelf life and people were picking it up and bringing it home.

28:05
Kim Hehir
Pet foods that actually stayed in stock too, because a lot of them the shelves were empty for a long time. But because we had such big production runs, so were lucky because people were buying our product and were able to replenish it because we had a long shelf life and we had big production runs.

28:24
Grace Kennedy
So seriously. Wow, that is very lucky. I'm curious thinking about the time of COVID and how so many people started just like ordering things online. Just thinking about if you guys do any DTC operations. I know so many pet owners go on just like subscription models for the food they get for their dogs or any animal they have. And I'm curious what your approach. I know you're in so many different retailers, but what has been your DTC approach?

28:49
Kim Hehir
Yeah, so we started in bricks and mortar and our product really was developed to be a bricks and mortar product because it's heavy to ship, like 2 pounds per box. Because it's liquid. You're shipping water basically.

29:01
Grace Kennedy
Right.

29:02
Kim Hehir
And we've only just launched our D2C effort this year and so far it's going really well. So we have a really cute, like the intro box comes with a plastic shaker bottle that kind of looks like our box of broth. It's like a box shaker. And our megapacks. So our megapacks are the instant bone broth powder. It's the same formulation as the liquid but without the water. So it's infused with the supplements. Each little pouch makes 130 ounces of broth. So it's a huge value. But it's also, you know, people can make it as they go. They can use the powder as a dry top or they can mix it in with the shaker with water and use it as the liquid. So we just launched that in January and it's going really well so far. So we're excited about that.

29:53
Grace Kennedy
Yeah, that's awesome. That's very exciting and makes sense for there to be. There are like the powdered broth is for humans as well, so. So I love that. And I know yours come in those little like, they almost remind me of the little like electrolyte pouches. Did one of you say that already? Yeah, yeah. But it's like the electrolyte for your little animal. See, while you're both traveling, you can bring your nutrients for both of you. Wow, it's so cool to hear of pet brand that is really innovating in so many ways and it's exciting.

30:22
Grace Kennedy
And I'm also curious, you know, since you guys have been in business now for a couple years and you've seen a lot of the ups and downs that have come with COVID and just like the economy, how do you guys manage over these many years the ups and downs of bringing such an innovative product to a sometimes rocky world, like working with your sisters. How do you guys manage just like the emotional ups and downs of running a new brand?

30:51
Kim Hehir
I feel like that is a question for every entrepreneur because it is literally like one day you're like, woohoo, we're like the best. And the next year you're like we should just close our doors. Yeah. I mean, it's a roller coaster. I think every entrepreneurial journey is a roller coaster for us. Sue mentioned in the beginning, our mission is to nourish your pet while giving back to the community. So we have a really robust philanthropic platform. And we get letters, not just from our shelters that we work with, but a lot of customers about how our broth has changed. Their dog was given a week to live and that was three years ago. Or their dog was going to be put down because they had such bad hip issues. And then they felt found our product and said, I'll just try it.

31:33
Kim Hehir
And now they're running up and down the stairs. So stuff like that is what really keeps us going. And it's kind of cool to say like, hey, we had this idea and we brought it to the market and it's helping a lot of dogs. So. And we work with a lot of amazing people, a fantastic team. We're small but mighty. But, you know, when we started this company, we basically said, we have a no jerk policy. We want to work with people we like and fun people. And we do really have an amazing team too. And that makes such a huge joke difference. I don't know if you want to add, Sue.

32:05
Sue Delegan
Yeah, I think, you know, we get this question a lot about how it is working with your sister. And we used to joke at the beginning when Kim worked when she was living in Hawaii, that it works really great when you're 5,000 miles apart. But it actually did work really well because we literally would be working like 24 hours to start get this off the ground because of the time difference. So I would be working and sending Kim emails. So when she woke up she would have everything and then vice versa, she would be working into the night and when I woke up I would have everything from her. So that really worked. But I think also for us, it's the entrepreneurial spirit is really ingrained in us. Our father, who was our chairman, who passed away two years ago.

32:47
Sue Delegan
He had just recently sold his business when we started this. So we pulled him in, was way too bored. He needed to work more. So we're like, all right, dad, you need to work. So we pulled him in. But we grew up with our father building businesses and it's just something that were born with. So we definitely have the mentality of like, we need to get things done and things get hard and you have hard conversations. But that's business and that's what you have to do. And Kim and I have always said that we work really well together because her strengths are my weaknesses and vice versa. And so we know that we have an end goal and we've been really strong and convicted in building this company and making it a household name.

33:32
Sue Delegan
I mean, really, that's kind of what our mission has been.

33:36
Grace Kennedy
So it's so exciting. And like I said, I have heard from Kiki about how it's changed her dog's hips. And you know, I know that it really does impact dogs lives and by that de facto their parents lives, their human parents. So it must be really meaningful to have that feedback. But I'm thinking about just the future for Brutus Bone Broth, like what is to come in the next, you know, the second half of this year and also in the years to come. What's on the docket?

34:03
Kim Hehir
Well, we have some new retailers that will be launching in coming up that is very exciting. So Attractor Supply and Whole Foods, finally we have a new line that will be launching with them, which is exciting. And we also will have some cat products launching. And I feel like there's a lot of ideas. We have our crazy idea notebook and it's just a matter of figuring out how to pay for the product development of all of these ideas and still keep the wheels on the bus with everything else going on. Eventually we'd love to expand internationally. So right now we just pretty much operate in the US but we've had a lot of international interest as well. So it really comes down to bandwidth. Yeah, I don't know if you want to add anything, Sue.

34:46
Sue Delegan
Yeah, I mean, I think it's funny and mentions a crazy idea notebook. It quite literally is a notebook with like scribblings. And Kim would call me and say, put this in the crazy idea notebook. And now it's like the evolution of our company has now from Kim calling me and saying put this in the notebook to we actually have product development calls with about 10 people and a spreadsheet with the crazy idea notebook has become a spreadsheet. So it's pretty incredible to see how far we've come since we first launched, you know, our first box of broth in 2018. But there are so many things that we are excited about in the future and just expanding the Brutus brand. The Brutus name.

35:27
Sue Delegan
I love sitting at my daughter's lacrosse game last night and I was talking to a woman and she asked me what I did. I told her, she's like, I know your product. I buy your product. And that, I mean, that is such a cool feeling to have people say, I buy your product. I love it. My dog can't live without it.

35:44
Grace Kennedy
So that's so special. Well, as we wrap up, I always like to ask, how can the startup CBG community and our listeners support Brutus Bronbroth and learn more and follow along on the journey.

35:57
Kim Hehir
Yeah, feel free to email us. I'm in the Slack channel as well. I always love talking to other founders. I feel like there's so much value, especially with the startup CPG community, of just sharing best practices because it's really hard. And if you can talk to someone who could save you like a few months of research, you know, that is invaluable. So we've really found a lot of value of the founder community and just being able to share best practices, make warm intros. And one of the tips I will give that I just found this company called 1Q. I don't know if you've heard of it. It's amazing. You basically can ask any question to focus groups and you pick the demographics.

36:40
Kim Hehir
So we're doing a product for Sam's Club, so I was able to say people who shopped in Sam's in the last 90 days that owned a dog that were in these regions. And you can ask, like, we're doing flavor varieties. Which flavors would you buy? And it ranks and it's a dollar a question person. So I surveyed 200 people. It cost me 200 bucks and I got all the results in 15 minutes. And it's like all the demographic breakdown, like, everything from like religion to household income to education level, like, everything. So stuff like that, as someone introduced us to, I'm like, this just saved us so much time and. And also like the trial and error. So stuff like that I think is great. But yeah, like, we are always willing to help out. So.

37:23
Kim Hehir
And if you have a dog or if you know people who have dogs, just tell them that they need a Brutus bra. So we're in over 15,000 stores nationwide now. So if you just don't want to buy it and you want a free sample first, just send me a note. We'll send you free samples.

37:37
Grace Kennedy
I love it. Yes, just mention you're in the Startup CPG community. And also yeah, they are in like literally every major store you would buy your pet food in. So you could definitely find it and maybe you'd catch them doing some sampling too. So yeah, could work out there too.

37:51
Kim Hehir
We make cappuccinos and bark robitas all the time.

37:55
Grace Kennedy
I love that.

37:55
Kim Hehir
That is ours.

37:57
Grace Kennedy
That's so cute. Oh my God. Well it was so much fun to chat with you both and to learn more about Brutus bone broth. And everybody should check it out and either buy it for your dog if you have one, or tell your dog loving friends to buy them. And yeah, I can't wait to see what you guys do next. And good luck with everything.

38:17
Kim Hehir
Yeah, thanks for having us.

38:21
Grace Kennedy
All right everyone, thank you so much for listening. If you enjoyed this episode, it would help us out so much if you left a five star review on ratethispodcast.com startup cpg I am Grace Kennedy, the host of the Founder Feature series. So feel free to add me on LinkedIn or reach out to me on Slack. I'm always on the hunt for new and exciting brands to feature and if you're a potential sponsor who would like to appear on the podcast, Please email partnerships startupcpg.com and finally, as a reminder for anyone listening, if you haven't already, we would love for you to join our community on Slack. You can sign up via our website startupcpg.com on.