Crumps Naturals
This week Michelle Fern chats, with Margot Crump, Founder, Owner and Operator of Crump’s Naturals. Looking for yummy, small-batch treats for your four-legged friend? Check out Crumps Naturals! These no artificial colors, flavors or preservatives treats use single or limited ingredients in their family-owned and operated facility. The treats are available in flavors like sweet potato, chicken, lamb and duck and are available in small training bite sizes (perfectly portioned for any size dog), Naughty Nibbles and dental chews.
Listen to Episode #316 Now:
Transcript:
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Announcer: This is Pet Life Radio.
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Announcer: Let's talk pets.
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Michelle Fern: Hello, pet lovers.
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Michelle Fern: Welcome to Best Bets for Pets.
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Michelle Fern: I'm your host, Michelle Fern.
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Michelle Fern: Today, it's all about the munchies, munchies for your dog.
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Michelle Fern: This product is amazing, and the story behind the brand is just fascinating.
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Michelle Fern: So stay tuned, we'll be right back.
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Announcer: Take a bite out of your competition.
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Announcer: Let's Talk Pets on petliferadio.com.
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Michelle Fern: Welcome back, everyone.
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Michelle Fern: I'd like to welcome Margot Crump of Crumps.
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Michelle Fern: Welcome, Margot.
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Margot Crump: Well, thank you, Michelle.
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Margot Crump: Glad to be here.
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Michelle Fern: So I love your last name Crump, and it sounds like some yummy food.
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Michelle Fern: I don't know.
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Michelle Fern: I have my notes.
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Michelle Fern: I wrote it down, and I thought, that's your last name?
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Michelle Fern: That's a perfect last name for food, and especially for a dog treat, right?
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Michelle Fern: It just lends into that.
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Margot Crump: Yes, it certainly does.
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Margot Crump: Yeah, we were lucky with that.
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Margot Crump: It made for an easy name to come up with.
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Michelle Fern: Right, like mine, Fern, you couldn't do much, unless I was making food for, I don't know, lizards or something, I don't know.
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Michelle Fern: So Crumps has a really interesting story behind it.
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Michelle Fern: So can you share with us the story behind Crumps?
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Margot Crump: Yeah, sure thing, sure.
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Margot Crump: Yeah, so Crumps Naturals brand came about in 2006, and it truly is an entrepreneurial journey.
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Margot Crump: My husband and business partner, Joe Crump, we are the ones that began the brand, and there were several things that happened in 2005 that led to the development of our brand and our company.
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Margot Crump: One was a move back to Canada after living in the US for five years.
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Margot Crump: We had four very young children to support, and I was a former teacher, couldn't find work, and I also wanted the opportunity to do something from home.
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Margot Crump: Both of us were at a crossroads in our careers, and a small business opportunity came our way.
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Margot Crump: There was a tiny pet treat company.
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Margot Crump: He made baked beef liver and catnip, and we got very creative because we had absolutely no money.
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Margot Crump: We got creative and were able to do some trading of goods and pay this gentleman through our first year in sales to purchase his little business, which really we had a handful of customers, our pet specialty customers and some vet offices in Canada, and we got an oven and a fridge and a meat slicer.
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Margot Crump: Fortunately, we were living on a farm at the time.
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Margot Crump: This isn't something you can just start in a subdivision by any means.
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Margot Crump: Our main treat at the time was baked beef liver and boy did it ever smell terrible.
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Margot Crump: So anyway, so we started with that in our garage in 2006.
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Margot Crump: Before we really jumped in though, we did some early validation and that came about through a lot of consumer shows that first year.
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Margot Crump: I would say this really was a grassroots beginnings because we just brought our three products, baked beef liver, baked beef liver with garlic and liver sprinkles to consumer shows where we just talk to people.
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Margot Crump: And it didn't take long for us to realize that dogs loved the stuff.
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Margot Crump: You know, people would walk by our table and say, Oh, he doesn't eat anything.
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Margot Crump: He's so fussy.
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Margot Crump: He doesn't like treats.
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Margot Crump: And inevitably they always came back and said, I don't know what it is, but he loves these treats.
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Margot Crump: And I think consumers really like the fact that we had clear packaging.
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Margot Crump: And that's just because we couldn't afford packaging at the time.
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Margot Crump: And I just put a label on a clear bag to be truthful.
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Margot Crump: They loved that we were one ingredient with no additives, colors, preservatives.
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Margot Crump: We also recognized that year that there was a bit of a white space, at least in the Canadian pet market, in that very few companies were making products like ours.
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Margot Crump: There were some freeze dried products out there and lots of more highly processed products, you know, like biscuits and things.
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Margot Crump: And so we recognized that a dehydrated single ingredient might have some legs.
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Margot Crump: And then I would say the other big factor was in 2007 and 2008, there were melamine pet food recalls happening from products coming in China.
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Margot Crump: And so there was a growing mistrust among consumers and people were really looking for locally made, you know, they loved the fact the ingredients came from Canada or the US.
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Margot Crump: That really resonated and we kind of knew from there that, hey, we might have something here.
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Margot Crump: So we actually incorporated the company in 2006, establishing the Crumps Naturals brand specifically for the Pet Specialty Channel.
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Margot Crump: And we ran our business in our garage for four years.
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Margot Crump: And I'm telling you, Michelle, it was quite a grind.
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Margot Crump: My husband did sales during the day.
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Margot Crump: He drove a transport truck at night to pay the bills.
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Margot Crump: And I recruited some friends and we did everything from source the liver at the abattoir to, you know, slicing it and cooking it and scrubbing pans and packaging.
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Margot Crump: Our family room was our warehouse.
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Margot Crump: The kids would help bring in the 10 by 10 boxes and stack them against the family room wall.
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Margot Crump: It was cooking beef liver day and night.
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Margot Crump: And one quick funny story, Joe would come home often at one in the morning.
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Margot Crump: And there were several times where I would just lean out the window upstairs and say, Joe, you got to change the liver.
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Margot Crump: The next cycle's got to start.
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Margot Crump: So, you know, he and I were all in and we worked for many years following that.
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Margot Crump: That's kind of in a nutshell how we got started.
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Margot Crump: You know, we've come a long way now.
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Margot Crump: We have two facilities, one in Toronto, Canada, and the other one in Nashville, North Carolina.
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Margot Crump: And today we continue to manufacture all of our own products, specializing in dog treats mainly.
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Michelle Fern: That's an amazing story.
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Michelle Fern: Just amazing.
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Michelle Fern: And I love when I hear stories and have founders on Best Bets for Pets where we got this idea and we just started in our house or garage or apartment and just grew and then boom, you have two large warehouses.
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Michelle Fern: I mean, it's under 20 years, which is kind of amazing because it takes a lot.
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Margot Crump: It sure does.
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Margot Crump: Yes.
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Margot Crump: Yes.
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Michelle Fern: So much more than people ever realize.
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Margot Crump: Yeah.
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Margot Crump: And I didn't mention, Michelle, too, that Joe and I were, you know, we always had pets growing up and we both just loved dogs.
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Margot Crump: And that made it very easy for us to say, hey, this business, you know, this is something we can really, really dive into and make it.
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Margot Crump: Well, we never thought at that time that we'd be where we are today, but we were pretty excited about and passionate about the industry in general.
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Michelle Fern: Do you still have the same products that you started with or are very excited about?
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Margot Crump: Yes, yes, we do.
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Margot Crump: I mean, so when we first started, you know, as a former teacher, and Joe was involved in a number of different, he's definitely an entrepreneur and neither of us had any experience.
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Margot Crump: So the core products that we began with were all single ingredient products, the baked beef liver I mentioned.
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Margot Crump: And then in 2009, just from talking to consumers and recognizing, you know, people had some issues with maybe allergies to certain proteins.
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Margot Crump: We saw that maybe there's a need for a product like a sweet potato chew, and that really put us on the map.
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Margot Crump: And today continues to be one of our top products.
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Margot Crump: We patented the process.
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Margot Crump: We like to think it's the richest, chewiest sweet potato treat on the market.
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Margot Crump: But yeah, we have a whole core lineup of products that are either one ingredient or very few ingredients that are part of the original collection.
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Michelle Fern: That's great to hear.
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Michelle Fern: And these days, it goes off and on being hot, but it's never gotten cold in the pet world about transparency and limited ingredients and products being wholesome.
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Michelle Fern: So that's always the best for your pets.
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Michelle Fern: What would you say, because you're tackling the pet industry, it's a huge industry, it's a growing industry, but it's huge.
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Michelle Fern: And there's so much competition.
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Michelle Fern: What would you say if someone who had never heard of Crumps before, what would you say to them that this is what makes Crumps different than anything else you've ever had or you've ever given your dog?
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Margot Crump: Yeah, and you know, I would say when we first started, I like to look back and say we were a scrappy, disruptive brand because we came to the market with products that people hadn't really seen before, right?
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Margot Crump: So like the baked beef liver was something they hadn't seen before.
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Margot Crump: I think it has to do with the way that we make them.
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Margot Crump: The fact that we do all of our own manufacturing, so we have great controls over our food safety and our quality, but also we can be agile and come up with really neat, innovative types of products.
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Margot Crump: But I would say, you know, when we started, it was different.
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Margot Crump: But today, premium products with no additives, colours, preservatives are kind of the cost of entry into our premium category.
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Margot Crump: So while these remain important principles for pet parents, we've been joined by other brands.
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Margot Crump: And so we've really done a lot in the last couple of years.
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Margot Crump: And we've relaunched our Crumps Naturals brand and began exploring a new evolution of premium pet treats, which I think is going to help us further differentiate ourselves amongst the competition.
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Margot Crump: And, you know, we evolve to meet changing needs of pet parents and pets and just want to continue challenging conventional treats while remaining true to our fundamental values from way back in the garage days.
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Margot Crump: I would say just a couple other things.
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Margot Crump: Today, we're the largest independent pet treat manufacturer in Canada, and we're able to offer such a wide variety of treats, you know, from freeze-dried to the gently dehydrated.
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Margot Crump: And what makes those special is that you preserve the nutritional integrity of the product.
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Margot Crump: So like I mentioned earlier, they're not highly processed.
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Margot Crump: It's very low temperature, low, slow, air dry, which makes them really appealing to the health conscious consumer.
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Margot Crump: And then just to add to that in terms of what's going to be appealing and how do we stay ahead of the competition.
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Margot Crump: We plan to push beyond classical functional benefits to a deeper meaning of what it is to be healthy and nourish the whole dog.
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Margot Crump: And this is a whole new brand strategy where we believe pets are sentient beings with physical, mental and emotional needs.
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Margot Crump: And we want to create products, continue to create products that allow consumers to elevate their pets' lives, treats that feed their potential and fuel their well-being.
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Margot Crump: I can give you a couple of examples.
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Margot Crump: So for example, we understand gut health and how important that is.
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Margot Crump: So many ailments that dogs deal with today, from allergies to inflammation to immune health, even mental health are tied back to the gut.
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Margot Crump: And so in the last part of 2024, we're launching a whole gut health collection we're really excited about.
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Margot Crump: And we think it's cutting edge stuff.
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Margot Crump: We're going to be introducing really neat ingredients, but it's all about keeping the gut in balance so that the pet can lead a healthier life.
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Margot Crump: So it just empowers, it empowers pet parents.
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Margot Crump: That's an example, I think, of how we just continually evolve.
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Margot Crump: We really listen to consumers.
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Margot Crump: That's been our strength, this really great customer service, but listening and asking people whether it's retailers, our distributors, consumers, and continually to come up with what they want to, what they want to see for their pets.
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Margot Crump: And one other quick thing is the importance, I think, of following health trends on the human side, because humans and pets are very similar.
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Margot Crump: And there's a lot to learn there, especially as we think about new innovative ideas around health and wellness.
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Michelle Fern: Thank you for all that.
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Michelle Fern: Before I tell you where my thoughts were going as you were talking, one thing that I think is amazing is that you're not so small, but you're a private small company to where you can pivot easier than some of these larger companies.
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Michelle Fern: That, right, they seem to get lost, and let's just say lost without stepping on toes.
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Michelle Fern: But as you were talking, I thought, I almost had a cartoon running through my head.
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Michelle Fern: Boy, we have come a long way from back in the day, where we just threw our dog a little dry biscuit and said, don't you like it?
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Michelle Fern: And that was it.
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Michelle Fern: But back then, we also didn't call our fur kids, fur babies, fur kids.
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Michelle Fern: We weren't pet parents.
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Michelle Fern: We were dog owners, cat owners and all that.
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Michelle Fern: So it's changed a lot.
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Michelle Fern: It's changed a lot.
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Michelle Fern: I think for the better.
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Michelle Fern: And I think with the more companies like yourself become innovative and look at gut health and dental care and all of these make these great products, our pets can live longer.
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Michelle Fern: It's sick less, which we love you vets, but we'd like to see less of you.
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Michelle Fern: That's for sure.
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Margot Crump: For sure.
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Margot Crump: And that's why the way we think about it, our treats, when we're formulating new recipes, is it's all about protective and preventative health.
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<v SPEAKER_2>Right?
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Margot Crump: So let's not have those big vet bills and let's help our pets live long, great, long lives.
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Michelle Fern: So we're going to take a short break and we'll be right back.
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Michelle Fern: Molly, here's your dinner.
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Michelle Fern: Zeus, that's not your food.
00:14:37.182 --> 00:14:39.202
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00:15:23.616 --> 00:15:24.676
Announcer: On Pet Life Radio.
00:15:24.696 --> 00:15:25.396
Announcer: Pet Life Radio.
00:15:25.936 --> 00:15:28.016
Announcer: Pet Life radio.com.
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Michelle Fern: Welcome back, everyone.
00:15:38.343 --> 00:15:41.263
Michelle Fern: We're talking to Margot Crump of Crumps.
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Michelle Fern: So you were telling us all about Crumps and what sets your product apart from everything else that's out there.
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Michelle Fern: You mentioned sweet potatoes, and on your website, and I was rereading your story, and there's this huge vat of sweet potatoes.
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Michelle Fern: And I know dogs love sweet potatoes.
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Michelle Fern: What is it that's so amazing about sweet potatoes, though?
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Michelle Fern: I know they're healthy for people.
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Margot Crump: Sure.
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Michelle Fern: And they're healthy for our canines because we have them.
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Michelle Fern: They're mentioned a lot in different tweets, but you guys really took it on.
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Michelle Fern: So what did you find so amazing about sweet potatoes?
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Margot Crump: Right.
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Margot Crump: Well, as I mentioned earlier, it actually came from consumers when we're speaking to them.
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Margot Crump: And we just kept hearing over and over that their dogs have allergies, and they're allergic to chicken or they're allergic to beef, whatever it may be.
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Margot Crump: And so we learned pretty quickly that sweet potatoes would be a really nice alternative to a protein based treat.
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Margot Crump: And we didn't see that people, too many people at the time were doing vegetable and fruit based treats at the time.
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Margot Crump: So we thought, well, this could be something pretty novel.
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Margot Crump: We actually established this in our garage.
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Margot Crump: We had a sweet potato peeler that or a potato peeler that Joe launched to the wall in the garage.
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Margot Crump: And we started kind of experimenting back then, but it is, it has lots of beta carotene.
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Margot Crump: And you mentioned like, it's just, it's one of those super foods that has so many nutrients.
00:17:07.343 --> 00:17:09.743
Margot Crump: But the main thing is it's hypoallergenic.
00:17:10.003 --> 00:17:12.943
Margot Crump: So that's a big deal for a lot of pet parents.
00:17:13.243 --> 00:17:16.943
Margot Crump: And, you know, we even talked about how with teething puppies, right?
00:17:16.963 --> 00:17:18.903
Margot Crump: It's a great long lasting chew.
00:17:19.103 --> 00:17:23.203
Margot Crump: Gives them something other than your couch to sink their teeth into.
00:17:23.223 --> 00:17:26.603
Margot Crump: So yeah, it just resonated with our customers.
00:17:26.623 --> 00:17:35.303
Margot Crump: And we went on to make sweet potato french fries and sweet potato with liver sprinkles and our dental chews have a lot of sweet potato in them as well.
00:17:35.363 --> 00:17:39.363
Margot Crump: So it's just kind of one of those products that just really took off for us.
00:17:39.723 --> 00:17:40.983
Michelle Fern: Do you have a favorite?
00:17:41.903 --> 00:17:51.223
Margot Crump: Yes, I will say our sweet potato chews is one of my favorite products and our baked beef liver just because it was our first product.
00:17:51.303 --> 00:17:54.223
Margot Crump: So I'm a little partial to maybe sentimental reasons.
00:17:54.243 --> 00:17:59.703
Margot Crump: But yeah, I think I love actually, and I'll just say one more, is our beef tender sticks.
00:17:59.723 --> 00:18:01.863
Margot Crump: That is up there with our sweet potatoes.
00:18:01.983 --> 00:18:06.103
Margot Crump: And that is just, it's dried in a flat stick shape.
00:18:06.203 --> 00:18:09.583
Margot Crump: And it's really good because older dogs can handle it well.
00:18:09.603 --> 00:18:11.843
Margot Crump: If they don't have a lot of teeth, it's a little bit softer.
00:18:12.243 --> 00:18:15.483
Margot Crump: But young dogs, and it's so palatable because it's one ingredient.
00:18:15.503 --> 00:18:17.563
Margot Crump: So I would say that's up there too.
00:18:17.823 --> 00:18:19.123
Michelle Fern: Okay, that's good to know.
00:18:19.463 --> 00:18:27.263
Michelle Fern: So I have to tell you, so my tester is Tilly, and that's actually a friend's dog because both my dogs have gone to doggy heaven.
00:18:27.483 --> 00:18:28.963
Michelle Fern: And right now I have cats.
00:18:29.403 --> 00:18:33.883
Michelle Fern: So I will be asking if you have cat treats coming on Crumps anytime soon.
00:18:33.903 --> 00:18:36.583
Michelle Fern: But Tilly, I thought she would have a favorite.
00:18:36.823 --> 00:18:39.843
Michelle Fern: And she's a two-year-old rescue.
00:18:39.863 --> 00:18:42.943
Michelle Fern: And she's just full of energy is all I could say.
00:18:42.963 --> 00:18:44.263
Michelle Fern: She flies through the air.
00:18:44.603 --> 00:18:47.463
Michelle Fern: So I thought she would just take one, gobble it and go away.
00:18:47.743 --> 00:18:48.843
Michelle Fern: She couldn't decide.
00:18:48.863 --> 00:18:52.243
Michelle Fern: She opened all the samples and put them all in piles.
00:18:52.263 --> 00:18:53.143
Michelle Fern: She went nuts.
00:18:53.483 --> 00:18:58.623
Michelle Fern: I think she thought she was at the gourmet buffet of her life or something, but she went crazy.
00:18:58.903 --> 00:19:03.143
Michelle Fern: I can't tell you which was her favorite because she would try everything and loved them.
00:19:03.483 --> 00:19:03.883
Margot Crump: Right.
00:19:04.143 --> 00:19:09.323
Michelle Fern: Is that common or is Tilly's just like, maybe she should do commercials for you or something.
00:19:10.183 --> 00:19:11.123
Margot Crump: Maybe a bit of both.
00:19:11.283 --> 00:19:19.303
Margot Crump: Yeah, no, I would say it's common, especially with our one ingredient treats or even just a few ingredients because they're so palatable.
00:19:19.303 --> 00:19:24.443
Margot Crump: I mean, it's just straight beef liver or beef lung or, you know, whatever sweet potato.
00:19:24.803 --> 00:19:26.623
Margot Crump: I think that's the difference, right?
00:19:26.643 --> 00:19:30.403
Margot Crump: There aren't a lot of other ingredients in there, so it's a no brainer.
00:19:30.423 --> 00:19:40.943
Margot Crump: And just funny, so when we did this big show in Canada, it was actually in Toronto for years called Wolf Stock, and it was over 150,000 people and their dogs over two days.
00:19:40.983 --> 00:19:47.303
Margot Crump: And I'm not kidding you, we had dogs lining up at our table under our tent.
00:19:47.903 --> 00:19:55.403
Margot Crump: And we've had dogs that are table height, you know, the big Great Danes, and they would come and just gobble up the samples in our bowls.
00:19:55.843 --> 00:20:01.383
Margot Crump: We've ended shows with our tablecloths covered in paw prints and slobber.
00:20:01.383 --> 00:20:07.423
Margot Crump: And I mean, they resoundingly, I have to say, are quite enthusiastic about the product.
00:20:07.443 --> 00:20:11.943
Margot Crump: So yes, it's a common response to answer your question.
00:20:12.623 --> 00:20:13.703
Michelle Fern: And a good response.
00:20:13.923 --> 00:20:17.043
Michelle Fern: You're coming out with more products that are better for gut health.
00:20:17.643 --> 00:20:21.603
Michelle Fern: Do you see any cat treats for Crumps in the near future?
00:20:21.843 --> 00:20:24.643
Margot Crump: Yeah, we do get asked that quite a bit.
00:20:25.223 --> 00:20:27.963
Margot Crump: So yes, I do see them in our future for sure.
00:20:28.263 --> 00:20:33.143
Margot Crump: You know, I think it's just because right now we've always been focused on dog treats.
00:20:33.143 --> 00:20:37.343
Margot Crump: And I think we all know that cats can be a little finicky.
00:20:37.463 --> 00:20:45.883
Margot Crump: We have two cats ourselves and they're very sensitive to texture and size.
00:20:45.883 --> 00:20:49.903
Margot Crump: And so we have a great R&D team with an animal nutritionist on site.
00:20:49.983 --> 00:20:52.963
Margot Crump: And they are currently working on some prototypes.
00:20:52.983 --> 00:20:56.023
Margot Crump: So yeah, you can expect to see some cat treats in the near future.
00:20:56.603 --> 00:20:58.143
Michelle Fern: That's really good to know.
00:20:58.243 --> 00:21:01.803
Michelle Fern: Do you have any great customer stories that you want to share?
00:21:01.963 --> 00:21:10.043
Margot Crump: Well, I like to tell the story about the shows, you know, just because we had, especially in those early years where people just said, no, he doesn't eat anything.
00:21:10.063 --> 00:21:14.403
Margot Crump: And just how enthusiastic the dogs were when they came by our booth.
00:21:14.483 --> 00:21:17.603
Margot Crump: Of course, we have tons of office dogs that come to work every day.
00:21:17.803 --> 00:21:20.963
Margot Crump: And there's one of our employees who has a whole drawer full of treats.
00:21:20.983 --> 00:21:28.083
Margot Crump: And so it's quite funny because every morning when they first come in, they immediately go over to her desk and wait for their treat for sure.
00:21:28.483 --> 00:21:46.143
Margot Crump: We do have tons of customer testimonials, and we really get heartwarming emails and posts from so many different customers, you know, how it's changed their dog's life or just how much they, you know, the plaque busters really work and remove the plaque and all kinds of really nice stories like that.
00:21:46.243 --> 00:21:49.823
Margot Crump: But there are probably too many to tell in this time we have.
00:21:50.063 --> 00:21:51.023
Michelle Fern: That's good to hear.
00:21:51.043 --> 00:21:51.983
Michelle Fern: I can imagine.
00:21:52.003 --> 00:21:58.203
Michelle Fern: I'm trying to picture your booth and having a great game just come and just, you know, dogs, if they want it, they're going to get it.
00:21:58.223 --> 00:22:00.543
Michelle Fern: And if they can reach it and they'll just grab it.
00:22:00.563 --> 00:22:03.363
Michelle Fern: So I could just imagine how funny that must be.
00:22:03.503 --> 00:22:10.043
Margot Crump: It was because there were, you know, muddy dog prints all over our table covers and bowls turned over.
00:22:10.103 --> 00:22:12.383
Margot Crump: And, you know, it is quite fun to see them.
00:22:12.403 --> 00:22:17.743
Margot Crump: And that is one of the most rewarding parts of what we do is just to see the dogs' response.
00:22:17.963 --> 00:22:20.103
Margot Crump: So there are a lot of great stories.
00:22:20.683 --> 00:22:23.183
Michelle Fern: So Margot, Crumps is such a great company.
00:22:23.283 --> 00:22:25.943
Michelle Fern: And I know a lot of companies are into giving back.
00:22:26.043 --> 00:22:27.183
Michelle Fern: Does Crumps do that?
00:22:27.483 --> 00:22:27.923
Margot Crump: Oh, yes.
00:22:27.943 --> 00:22:33.503
Margot Crump: That's been something that's been part of our core values since the very beginning days.
00:22:33.783 --> 00:22:46.083
Margot Crump: We realized pretty soon after launching our sweet potatoes, because we were bringing in so many loads of sweet potatoes from North Carolina, that we should leverage our buying power and do something a little more with other than making the dog treats.
00:22:46.423 --> 00:22:55.903
Margot Crump: And so since back in 2009, we have been donating tens of thousands of pounds of sweet potatoes every year to Feed Ontario.
00:22:56.623 --> 00:23:01.103
Margot Crump: And these sweet potatoes then get distributed to food banks all across Ontario.
00:23:01.123 --> 00:23:03.103
Margot Crump: And we do that every year.
00:23:03.123 --> 00:23:05.743
Margot Crump: That's something near and dear to our hearts for sure.
00:23:05.763 --> 00:23:10.603
Margot Crump: And of course, we help out with all kinds of different rescues and a lot of requests that come our way.
00:23:10.623 --> 00:23:13.063
Margot Crump: We tend to help wherever we can.
00:23:13.363 --> 00:23:16.663
Margot Crump: But I also wanted to talk about our sustainability a little bit, if I could.
00:23:16.683 --> 00:23:21.563
Michelle Fern: Sure, because sustainability is important now, where everybody's so environmentally conscious.
00:23:21.923 --> 00:23:26.783
Michelle Fern: And not only, you know, us humans have to think about it for our four-legons, you know.
00:23:27.323 --> 00:23:29.503
Michelle Fern: So tell us about your sustainability.
00:23:29.823 --> 00:23:34.383
Margot Crump: Yeah, so this is, we put together a green team about a year and a half ago.
00:23:34.543 --> 00:23:40.163
Margot Crump: And we've actually been part of a Colorado-based Pet Sustainability Coalition for over five years.
00:23:40.683 --> 00:23:47.003
Margot Crump: So one of our big accomplishments for this year is switching all of our packaging over to recycle-ready packaging.
00:23:47.263 --> 00:23:49.283
Margot Crump: So that was a pretty significant initiative.
00:23:49.603 --> 00:24:05.063
Margot Crump: And then we've got a team and we're working on all kinds of initiatives just around our carbon emissions and looking at our supply chain, but also being very thoughtful about the ingredients, how they're sourced, where they're coming from, looking at regenerative farming.
00:24:05.603 --> 00:24:14.143
Margot Crump: And one other example, let's say, is typically we might have used salmon in the past or salmon oil, and we know what a strain there is on the whole salmon industry.
00:24:14.463 --> 00:24:19.323
Margot Crump: So looking at things like microalgae as an alternative for your omega-3 sources.
00:24:19.323 --> 00:24:36.263
Margot Crump: So yet this is something again that we're really focused on as a company, auditing our suppliers, making sure, you know, ethical sourcing, child labour and a lot of other important areas that we're really devoting energies to improving and making sure we're doing our very best.
00:24:36.383 --> 00:24:42.243
Michelle Fern: I'm glad to hear that because we have to be thinking about all of those things, especially sustainability.
00:24:42.763 --> 00:24:47.023
Michelle Fern: I mean, people that say that there's no global warming or know this.
00:24:47.043 --> 00:24:49.023
Michelle Fern: Look at all the craziness that happens in the weather.
00:24:49.183 --> 00:24:52.343
Michelle Fern: So, I mean, for one, right, that's something so obvious.
00:24:52.803 --> 00:24:54.583
Michelle Fern: So thank you for doing that.
00:24:54.843 --> 00:24:57.243
Margot Crump: Oh, gosh, I think it's just part of doing business.
00:24:57.263 --> 00:24:59.123
Margot Crump: You really were happy to.
00:24:59.203 --> 00:25:01.403
Margot Crump: We're happy to really focus on that for sure.
00:25:01.663 --> 00:25:04.443
Michelle Fern: So let's talk about where can people buy Crumps.
00:25:04.883 --> 00:25:18.503
Margot Crump: OK, so in the US, our website is crumpsnaturals.com, but you can also find us on Amazon, chewy.com, and a whole bunch of pet specialty retailers across the United States.
00:25:18.783 --> 00:25:21.863
Margot Crump: And then in Canada, you can find us on crumps.ca.
00:25:22.243 --> 00:25:28.163
Margot Crump: And then we're in a lot of the stores such as PetSmart, PetValue, and of course, Amazon.
00:25:28.383 --> 00:25:33.063
Margot Crump: And I believe Chewy's come to Canada and a whole bunch of independent pet specialty retailers.
00:25:33.783 --> 00:25:35.663
Michelle Fern: This has been such a fun show.
00:25:35.703 --> 00:25:38.963
Michelle Fern: Thank you so much for coming on Best Bets for Pets, Margot.
00:25:39.243 --> 00:25:41.523
Margot Crump: Oh, I really appreciated your time today.
00:25:41.523 --> 00:25:43.163
Margot Crump: It was great chatting with you, Michelle.
00:25:43.183 --> 00:25:43.583
Margot Crump: Thank you.
00:25:44.283 --> 00:25:46.043
Michelle Fern: I hope you all enjoyed this show.
00:25:46.143 --> 00:25:48.023
Michelle Fern: It was so nice talking to Margot.
00:25:48.363 --> 00:25:53.563
Michelle Fern: So remember, all of this info will also be on the show page for this episode.
00:25:53.883 --> 00:25:56.263
Michelle Fern: I want to thank Tilly, my tester.
00:25:56.283 --> 00:25:59.243
Michelle Fern: She did a great job and she loved Crumps.
00:25:59.603 --> 00:26:01.963
Michelle Fern: Thanks to everyone listening to Best Bets for Pets.
00:26:02.023 --> 00:26:03.763
Michelle Fern: I appreciate it so much.
00:26:04.123 --> 00:26:10.283
Michelle Fern: Thanks to my crew who watched Tilly and thought, wow, I wish I could have some of that maybe soon.
00:26:10.303 --> 00:26:11.743
Michelle Fern: That's my cat crew.
00:26:11.763 --> 00:26:13.683
Michelle Fern: That's Dennis, Charlotte and Molly.
00:26:14.123 --> 00:26:22.423
Michelle Fern: And of course, this show would not be the same without the magic that my producer, Mark Winter, works.
00:26:22.443 --> 00:26:23.703
Michelle Fern: So thank you so much.
00:26:23.803 --> 00:26:25.763
Michelle Fern: And remember, keep listening.
00:26:25.783 --> 00:26:28.963
Michelle Fern: You never know what we're going to have next on Best Bets for Pets.
00:26:29.763 --> 00:26:32.643
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