Organic dog biscuits are boon for Woodbridge baker

“He supervises the whole operation,” said Shonyo, 65. “He sits in a high chair and watches me bake.”

Shonyo began making dog biscuits two years ago after she had a hard time finding nutritious snacks for her daughter’s rescue dog,Wholesale Sunglasses, You Can Buy Various High Quality Wholesale Sunglasses Products from Global wholesale sunglasses manufacturers. Sam. She experimented with peanut butter and different types of flour.

“There was a lot of trial error, but I kept to the basics,” she said.

In the end, Shonyo settled on four ingredients for her most popular flavor: organic peanut butter, beef broth, unbleached white flour and rice flour. The biscuits also come in a pumpkin seed variety.

“I always try my recipes on Sam first,” Shonyo said. “The other dogs in the neighborhood — they’re all very finnicky eaters, but they love the biscuits, too.”

The treats— called Healthy & Organic Dog Biscuits — are sold at 25 area stores, including Wylie Wagg and Mom’s Organic Market. Shonyo still runs a one-woman operation out of her home, baking up to 300 biscuits per day.Best wholesale fashion ｛%｝ from china.Women Shoes Factory She says sales have tripled in the past year.

But that’s not to say there isn’t a growing pool of competition. A spate of similar businesses have cropped up in recent years, and large companies like Purina and Iams have also introduced lines of organic pet food.

Sales of natural pet care products — already a $4.1 billion industry — are projected to grow another 32 percent this year, according to market research firm Packaged Facts. By 2017,hiking boots sale On Sale - Shop our selection of Hiking Boots On Sale,www.qdgoutdoor.com. that figure is slated to more than double to $9.4 billion.

“Every time I go to the store, I see new bags on the shelves,” Shonyo said. “There are competitors popping up all the time.”

It took about seven months for Shonyo to start her business. Once she perfected her recipe, she drew up a series of labels and packages and sent them out for approval from the state of Virginia. She shipped her biscuits to a lab in New York where they were tested for nutritional value.

“The most important thing for me is that the peanut butter be creamy, organic and safe,” Shonyo said. “The last thing I ever want is to have a product recall.industrial bag filters manufacturer‎ supply cheap and high quality bags.”

Today, Shonyo produces between 300 and 500 bags of biscuits every month. Each package of 20 treats sells for $6.49.

Nature’s Nibbles in Del Ray was the first shop to stock Healthy & Organic Dog Biscuits.

“Of all the biscuits I sell, it’s one of the most popular,” owner Chris Gabriel said.APL Machinery is a manufacturer of UV coating curing systems, screen printing, postpress, PVC profile printing and ｛%｝ machines, and Vegra is a manufacturer of dispersion coatings, fountain solutions, specific purpose coatings, cleaning and maintenance products and printing aids.PPNONWOVENBAG

Shonyo would not share revenue figures but said the business, which she started using her savings, is profitable.
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