Inspired by his grandmother, who instilled in him the value of never wasting food, founder Eric Adams is redefining how the pet food industry thinks about sustainability. Dog & Whistle is a carbon-neutral pet food company that rescues surplus food from distributors and restaurant partners and transforms it into nutritious, eco-conscious pet meals.
Combining his culinary background and a focus on sustainability with insights into pets’ rising health issues, Eric created Dog & Whistle to improve both animal health and the planet’s health. He has created meals, treats, and toppers to improve canine diets, with more ingredient transparency and appealing offerings than traditional dog foods.
The Role of Digital Payments
Digital payments power nearly 90% of Dog & Whistle’s transactions across direct-to-consumer subscriptions, B2B partnerships with pet boarding facilities, wholesale, e-commerce, and DoorDash. Eric relies on trusted tools including PayPal checkout, Quickbooks, LinkedIn, Instagram, Youtube and Amazon to reach customers and emphasises the importance of simple, reliable integration to assist first-time founders like him.
Delivering his products fresh to his customer’s door is part of Dog & Whistle’s appeal. This model is convenient for the customer, and guarantees freshness without the possibility of stock sitting on the shelf. Digital tools are central to this model, allowing Dog & Whistle to offer nationwide shipping through digital payments and a customized nutrition plan based on an online food calculator.
Quick settlements that come from digital payments are also essential for a bootstrapped founder. “We can’t wait 48 hours or a week,” explains Eric, “as a small business, we don’t always have a cushion.” Traditional financial systems often take much longer to settle transactions than digital payment systems. Faster settlements have helped Dog & Whistle expedite future orders, keeping true to their promise of fast delivery of high-grade products.
An Innovative Outlook
U.S. consumers are just catching up to sustainability trends already mainstream abroad. Dog & Whistle wants to spread their business globally, and Eric is focused on building dehydrated meals to expand beyond the U.S. market. His vision also extends beyond meals, looking to “become a dog brand, not just a dog food brand.”
Eric is also intrigued by blockchain’s potential to build trust with younger customers. He hopes to tie the technology to his business, and harness other new tools to help Dog & Whistle achieve its potential. Speaking about his journey with entrepreneurship and digital technologies, Eric says “persistence and today’s tools make learning and growth possible.”
