Imagine you overheard this conversation between two friends:
Friend 1: Hey, let’s sell chhurpies to Americans
Friend 2: I don’t think they will eat them.
Friend 1: They won’t; their dogs will.
Friend 2: Yes, let’s do it.
What would be your reaction after hearing this conversation? Most probably, you would think it’s a silly idea. But guess what, it’s actually more than a million dollar idea.
Two friends Nishes Shrestha and Suman Shrestha had a similar kind of conversation back in 2003 while they were dining. It was when Suman saw Nishes’ dog chewing on chhurpi/durkhuwa (hard cheese) and the idea hit him. The two talked about it and tried the cheese on dogs of their families and friends. They recieved positive responses and started researching. After four years of extensive research; on September 2, 2007; they sold their first ever product named Himalayan Dog Chew at a dog fair show in
Bellingham, Washington and that’s how their successful venture started.
The hard chew they’ve created let dogs work on it for hours, softening it into small parts. Through their four years of research, they perfected how to make cheese at the perfect hardness for it to last a long time. Their goals were also to eliminate lactose and make it a low- calorie K9 food.
The company is located in Mukilteo, Washington and they distribute their products to over 5,000 retailers. They have employed around 3,000 farmers in Nepal for the manufacture of the dog chews. The business that was started with the capital of USD 2,000 is now worth millions of dollars. The company sold their products including pet foods and toys worth $5.6 million in 2014 and their target for this year is to increase it to $8 million.
The three founders Nishes Shrestha, Sujan Shrestha and Suman Shrestha had recently taken part in an American television reality show called ‘Shark Tank’ in which a panel of potential
investors, called “sharks” consider offers from aspiring entrepreneurs seeking investments for their business or product. Watch the full episode below.
Buy Himalayan Dog Chew HERE
