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Doggy snacks go upscale

By Farnoosh Torabi | Special to amNewYork

January 15, 2007

Man's best friend has taken on new meaning these days with pet owners quick to splurge on the finest of fine for Fifi and Fido.

From doggie day spas to cashmere sweaters, 'pet-icures' and Burberry dish bowls, the pet care market is ripe for clever, new entrants.

Take Brooklyn-based ScooterFood, an all-natural, homegrown line of canine cuisine, which for the past three years has grown steadily in the $11 billion pet food industry.

ScooterFood, the brainchild of Brooklynite Michelle Lewis, started with a small $500 grant from Trickle Up, a nonprofit that support entrepreneurs.

The microwavable meals are now carried in about six retail stores throughout the city, including Whiskers on the Lower East Side (235 E. 9th St.) and Who's Your Doggie in Brooklyn (197 Adelphi St.). The meals are also served at The Benjamin Hotel in midtown.

More retailers, either through word-of-mouth, direct marketing or visits to scooterfood.com, are in the works. Demand, Lewis said, is not only driven by the nothing's-too-good-for-my-pet sentiment, but also people wanting to eat healthy.

"Whenever a human trend starts, it trickles down to our pets," said Lewis, 43, a self-described organic fan. She's a proud owner of 11-year-old Gwen, part rottweiler, part 'hairy dog' and 1-year-old Ben, a border collie. Gwen and Ben act as ScooterFood's prime taste testers.

Starting the food line, Lewis said, was also an act of her cultural upbringing.

"My mother is French," she said. "I was raised with food being a very important part of the family."

Lewis, a former art gallery creative director, had the epiphany to start ScooterFood after cooking homemade meals for her 16-year-old dog Scooter, who died last summer. One day her friend asked why she didn't sell Scooter's tofu with vegetables meal or liver with vegetable and quinoa dish.

"A light bulb went off in my head," she said.

Her business has recently took second place and $5,000 in the annual PowerUp Competition, a contest for small business owners in Brooklyn. Lewis plans to use the money as seed capital for more loans.

"This is the year when I'm making sure I can supply larger stores," she said.

Farnoosh Torabi is a video correspondent for thestreet.com. Reach her at amSmallBusiness@gmail.com.