Interview with Chris Roberts, Barkwheats Dog Biscuits

by: Dennis Salazar

29 Sep 2009

We are consistently impressed and often times surprised by the wide variety of products our customers and friends sell and manufacture for the green and health markets and one we have come to know well is Barkwheats Dog Biscuits of Maine. Our mixed beagle, Gateway loves the product and we have enjoyed getting to know Chris Roberts, this co-founder of this unique company.

Barkwheats Dog Treats Ready to Ship in Globe Guard Boxes

DS: Chris, it seems every green entrepreneur has a story and I am sure our readers would love to hear yours. Please give us some idea on your background and how you wound up in the dog biscuit business.

CR: My family has always been in the food business, and I was the first to venture outside when I attended Berklee College of Music and went on to work in Nashville in recording studios. I found my way back to Maine, and back to the kitchen with two dogs at my feet, and began baking for them. I found no other products in a $28B industry that took the care in ingredient sourcing that I wanted to have in a dog biscuit, so I made it happen myself!

DS: Let’s talk about the product itself. At first glance your product name might indicate your product is made of grain (wheat) but in fact the opposite is true. Please explain to us the reason you chose to make a grain free product and why that is better for dogs.

barkwheats-product CR: We chose to make a grain-free biscuit for dogs because throughout evolution, canine’s weren’t eating grains as a staple of their diet. Not until fairly recently (60 years or so) were dog foods being bulked up with grains to increase the protein and weight of food. This has caused many dogs to become afflicted with grain allergies, so we wanted to make something that was safe for all dogs.

DS: I will admit I had no idea buckwheat is a berry not a grain. Can you give us an idea on how and why you started using that particular ingredient in your product.

CR: We started using buckwheat because we knew it was easy to grow in Maine, easy to grow organically, and was treated as a grain would be, ie; used as a flour. It made perfect sense for us.

DS: You are very committed to using locally grown (Maine) ingredients with the exception of your ginger which comes from Belize. Please explain to our readers why ginger is good ingredient for your product and how you connected with farmers in Belize.

CR: Ginger helps to tame inflammation in the body, both in the joints and the intestine. It’s one of the most miraculous herbs in existence. We use it for to maintain healthy joints in dogs, and as a side-benefit it’s been helping alleviate gas problems with many, many dogs.

Our connection to Sustainable Harvest International (SHI) is a unique one. Their mission is to help farming families in Central America overcome poverty and restore our world’s tropical rainforests. Both of our missions are perfectly aligned, and we decided we wanted to help their program participants diversify their crop income by providing them a market for a crop that is easily grown in Belize. It’s a win-win-win for everyone! You can learn more about SHI at their website.

DS: Another unique ingredient is “sea vegetables”. Please explain to a city guy from the Midwest what that is.

CR: Seaweed! In the cold Atlantic waters where we are, a common sight along the beaches is a seaweed that has lots of “bubbles” in the leaves, or “bladders”. It’s a nutrient dense food that we eat ourselves, and wanted dogs to share in the benefits of food from our waters.

DS: You are one of the most ‘eco-consistent” companies we’ve met and your packaging is as earth friendly as your products are dog friendly. Tell us why this is important to you.

CR: It’s commonplace for companies to do some great things, but miss a lot of the details like the secondary packaging or even the primary packaging. It’s important to us that we cover every basis from knowing our farmers and the ground ingredients are grown in, to having a compostable packaging which gets customers involved with growing their own food. We would love to see more companies giving it 100% when it comes to their dedication to society and the earth.

DS: Chris, I know you are a fellow Green America company but I also noticed you are a “B Corporation”. Please tell us more about that.

CR: B Corporations are a new breed of corporations. We understand the power that business has in societies around the globe, and use that power to help solve today’s social and environmental issues. We are required to amend our corporate charter to take into account ALL stakeholders with each decision we make, from ingredient purchasing all the way to liquidity events. We’re excited to be the first pet products company to achieve a B Corporation certification. You can learn more at the B corporation website.

DS: Chris, your passion for what you are doing is encouraging to all of us. Thank you for taking the time to share your knowledge and insights. I encourage our readers to visit your web store www.barkwheats.com and order a box of your treats for their favorite four legged friend.

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