Exceeding expectations is all the rage at Comox Valley’s Pet Treat Bakery. Not only do dogs get treated to a great assortment of locally sourced snacks, but the more snacks that Pet Treat Bakery produces, the more paid work is created for individuals with disabilities. This successful bakery, owned by the Beaufort Association for the Mentally Handicapped, now supplies a number of local pet food retailers and vet clinics. But this is only the beginning. In fact, on Vancouver Island alone, over 130 potential new customers have been identified. And as Pet Treat Bakery’s Susan Bunn puts it: “We anticipate that with the addition of 11 new retailers on board, our sales will reach $250,000 by 2017, creating an additional eight jobs in the process.”

Pet Treat Bakery Competes in Social Enterprise Heroes

Inspired by the CBC hit TV show Dragon’s Den, which aims to recognize and support Canadian entrepreneurs, Social Enterprise Heroes is an annual celebration hosted by the Enterprising Non-Profits program. Pet Treat Bakery was approved for entry in 2014 when they identified the existence of a key challenge: they simply couldn’t keep up with the demand for their product. Susan was coached by Vancity Community Foundation team members leading up to the big event. Our support helped boost the company’s confidence, especially when it came to overall business acumen. “We found Susan already had a lot of answers in her head,” said her Vancity Community Foundation staff coach. “She just needed a bit of advice and support to be able to focus on where her business was going.” The eight hours in business consulting paid off. And Pet Treat Bakery’s presentation was awarded $15,000 in grant funding; a boost that has been put to good use given the organization’s need for machinery that will better help them keep up with that overwhelming customer demand.

• Watch Pet Treat Bakery make their pitch to the Social Enterprise Heroes judges in this 3-part mini series produced by Telus Optik Local TV, called "Good Business" (YouTube)