WOW! What an adventure these past few weeks have been for us at Tanker Tots!
Thanks to customers and fans like you, our business has tripled its volume in just the last month alone. So let's get to this secret sharing business!
Trade Show Time
I made a last minute (like 24 hours before the show opened) decision in March to go to Global Pet Expo in Orlando, FL. That show is the biggest pet trade show in the USA and probably North America. Over 7000 buyers (retailers and people like me) from 80 different countries all converge into the convention center the size of 16 football fields full of vendors. I went with three goals (1) help my previous store in Wyoming find some products that they needed (2) research the market to see if Tanker Tots should go next year (3) gather cool new products and samples to blog about. Well, all three missions were rather successful! But the biggest surprise was the social media during this event. I posted some cool stuff from the show to share with our followers and those posts got national attention from some big brands at the show. It was awesome to see more people find our facebook, twitter, instagram, and website! Meeting all those industry insiders and catching up with old friends during the show was so much fun. I came away so energized and ready to take Tanker Tots to the next level!
Should We Open A Store?
At first I thought the way to do get to the next level was through a retail space. But a barkery would have needed other services such as grooming, doggie daycare, and other supply products. I have some first hand knowledge about how much it takes to start a store from scratch. When I did that before it wasn't just me...I was one person in a team of four. The three others were highly qualified (accountant, lawyer/new venture capitalist, & pet food expert). As much as I loved the idea, it seemed pretty daunting to go about it alone. Not to mention, the area has two well established local pet supply stores (Pssst- Tank's favorite is Pet Craze) and two big box pet supply stores. Finally decided that opening a store was not the right option for us.
Our Little Secret- Home Grown Manufacturing
After a chat with the world's best insurance lady and my Dad, the solution became evident. I needed to focus on the treats rather than develop other services to support the treats. To do that I needed a bigger area to bake tots (the home kitchen just ain't cuttin' it anymore- have I said thank you?), and a commercial oven. So we are going to do this the good old fashioned American way! I've got a space ...but it needs work....alot of work. Our property has a 20'x30' cinderblock building that the previous owner used as a mechanics workshop, complete with water and electricity. Time to fix that up into a bigger kitchen space with a commercial oven! We will be taking this summer and possibly into the fall to fix up the building. Once we get the building finished, the oven will be installed, and Tanker Tots will be ready to expand. My lofty goal is to have our treats go NATIONAL at a pet industry trade show within the next two years. Wish us luck!
This Adventure Won't Be Without Challenges
Already with the large growth this last month, we have experienced challenges. THESE ARE NOT COMPLAINTS! As my father would say: "High Class Problems".
1. We keep running out of product gosh darn it! This really eats at me. I hate it when I have to tell someone to wait for a bag of tots. It is impossible to project our growth and the rate we use ingredients. One large wholesale order can put us out of stock of millet or sweet potato. SOLUTION: Buy ingredients in larger quantities and re-order when get to a minimum level. This is seriously exciting that we are doing enough business to operate this way :-) Just last week I drove 4 hours to pick up over 200 pounds of sweet potato puree. Today we are picking up 100 pounds of millet.
2. Dehydrated Cheese is no longer available in a 1 or 5 pound bag from our supplier. They are only offereng 50 pound bags. Even at our current production rate that would last us 10 years! Maybe one day...but it is not this day. So we went on a search for a new supplier. I have yet to find another one that produces a cheese without soy or artifcial colors. NEVER WILL I SACRIFICE PRODUCT INTEGRITY! I'd rather temporarily discontinue a flavor than slip in an ingredient that is not as advertised. We say no soy or artificial anything, and we mean it!! SOLUTION: Still in progress. I keep looking for a dehydrated cheese. We might try to make it ourself. We might just bite the bullet and buy 50 pounds from our current supplier. Will keep you updated.
3. Suppliers definition of NATURAL will vary so do the homework. We looked at a high quality flavoring company that claims to be all natural and not synthetic. I thought it could be a solution to the cheese issue and we could also add a new bacon flavor. The packaging had "Ingredients: Natural Flavoring". I questioned what was actually in it and was told that it was a trade secret. Not being a good enough answer I said that they needed to tell me if there were possible allergenic ingredients. Found out that there is gluten and soy based items in their flavorings. Again, I will never sacrifice product integrity. SOLUTION: Mark them off my supplier list!
Blessed & Thankful
I'm sure we will experience many other challenges in our journey and all of them will be worth it. Elliott, Tank, & I are so thankful that our business is growing. We are so excited for the many opportunities in our future. It feels really great to be doing so well. THANK YOU to our customers and retailers. THANK YOU for all the words of encouragement over the past month as it is exactly what we needed to hear. I'll keep y'all updated with our progress through the summer.
