Barkery Oven Makes Treats for Your Tykes

Can you share with us a bit about yourself? What were you busy with prior to setting up the Barkery Oven? 

Before I decided to become a baker and founder of Barkery Oven, I was running my family trading business. Prior to that, I was working in both consumer and trade marketing industry that focused on research. Baking has always been an interest of mine.

How did you come up with the idea of creating wonderful dog treats? 

The idea for Barkery Oven started when I was doing research on what brand of dog food to buy for my dog, and I came across many articles on pet food recall in the States. At the same time, I found many gourmet pet bakeries all over the States, which was something quite unheard of in Malaysia.

This research into pet food is also the reason that started me on my journey / quest to educate pet owners about the importance of pet nutrition. I have many friends that are either professional bakers or home bakers and they were my role models that encouraged me to start this.

During the formative years of Barkery Oven, were there any challenges? If so, what are these? And how did you cope? 

The main challenge was in sourcing of ingredients. During my early years of research, the organic movement that we now see wasn’t so popular yet. A lot of the ingredients that I use took a lot of effort to locate. The second challenge was in experimenting with recipes.

How is the local competition for pet treats like? 

The market is still in its early stages. However, having said that, there are many home bakers and even students that bake treats to sell as a side income. I see new comers every few months.

So how's Barkery Oven doing these days? How many employees do you have currently? 

Barkery Oven is growing at quite a tremendous rate. I have tripled my sales since the day I decided focus on this full time (since late 2014). I have one helper that assists me with the baking. But most of the work is still done by me.

What can your customers expect from the Barkery Oven for the next few months/years? 

We will be launching some new treats soon. There will also be the seasonal CNY treats for 2016. As for distributors, we always welcome new distributors to contact us.

What's so great about your job as a baker for dog treats? And what's the uncool side of it? 

Another great thing is the respect and awe for people that rescues strays and rehabilitates strays. I work quite closely with some animal shelters and the work they do is simply amazing.

As for the uncool side, apart from the long hours spent baking everything (all treats are handmade fresh to order), I really can’t see any downside to what I’m doing. It is indeed true that when you do something you enjoy, it makes everything all worth it.

What advice can you give to students who may want to set up business in this industry? 

You have to love pets. Period.