In Part 2 of this special series from the Global Pet Expo in Orlando, Christine continues spotlighting Michigan-based pet brands and the passionate people behind them. From innovative hemp wellness products inspired by a rescue cat’s second chance, to durable (and adorable) plush toys designed for real-life chewers, to single-ingredient pet chews made right here in Michigan—this episode is all about local businesses making a big impact in the pet industry. You’ll also hear from the team behind Premier Pet Supply as they share what it’s like sourcing new products, supporting Michigan makers, and staying ahead in a constantly evolving market—all while keeping affordability and quality top of mind for pet parents. This episode highlights the power of shopping local, the creativity driving the pet space, and the shared mission of improving the lives of our animals. Plus, Christine opens the door for listener mail—inviting you to be part of the conversation in future episodes.
Hemp Well:
https://hempwell.com/
Fluff and Tuff:
https://fluffandtuff.com/
Buy online - Nature's Own Pet Chews
https://shop.premierpetsupply.com/products/list/?search=natures+own+pet+chew
Hey friends, welcome to Discussing Dogs in the D podcast where Detroit's dog lovers come together. Hi, I'm Christine and whether you're a rescue volunteer, a pet parent, a shelter supporter, or just someone who can't pass a dog on the street without saying hi, you're in the right place. Let's talk about all things dogs and how they change our lives and how we can possibly change theirs.
00:00:21 Speaker: Welcome back to the show. This is part two of our special series recorded at the Global Pet Expo down in Orlando. I had the chance to connect with some incredible Michigan based exhibitors, and I'm excited to share more of their stories with you. If you caught part one, you already know some of these conversations are inspiring, so let's jump right back into it.
00:00:36 Speaker: Another vendor that we have at the Global Pet Expo is from Michigan. Your hemp. Well, we have Ryan here from hemp. Well, hello. Hello. So I want you to tell us how many years have you been in business? Well, the company has actually been selling products, out of all all hills location since 2018 Okay. The company actually started in 2012 my wife and I had a rescue cat. Ginger. the vet said, hey, you know, started talking about comfort. Let's put her down. I said, hold on a minute. Because I had been dabbling with, hemp since 2010 before, CBD was a big buzzword, right? so what we did is, I told the vet to hold off. We'll just take her home for a couple more days. and to my surprise, my wife surprised things changed instantly for Ginger. I think what that did is it did a couple things for us. I always say hemp's a gateway drug because after that we started looking at the back of food labels, like, what are we putting into our dogs or our cats products? And I think, people's first reaction is, even our own health, they go out of the doctor's or you take your dog to the vet. Oh, I've got a problem. Then we react to it. So CBD is one of those things that folks go to instantly hey, I need an immediate solution. But I think like I said, it's a gateway drug. It turns what it did for my wife and I with our, cat. I think CBD is really doing that for a lot of pet parents out there. Oh, I gotcha. So, inflammation, inflammation. Yeah. You know, and we sell CBD because it's a buzzword. Everybody wants CBD. But the truth is dogs cats can only take so much CBD in their diets. You know, our bodies produce CBD naturally. So when I tell folks that we have two hundred times more hemp in our products. Nobody believes us. Well, the truth is that hemp seed is such an amazing product. Like, so we talk about fish oil. It's a very valuable omega three source, right? Flax, flax oil. Hemp has the optimal the perfect ratio of omega six to omega three fatty acids. So our bodies need inflammation and deflammation at the same time. So it's not always about getting all of that omega three. So anything we could take out of our soft chews and fill that with hemp seed oil, hemp powder we did. So same with our oils. A lot of companies will take like MCT oil or coconut oil. Yes, I've heard this and just put some CBD in there. Well, it's a lot cheaper. And if we know the benefits of the omega of the of the hemp seed oil, why wouldn't we just keep that all together? for now, as long as we're local and you know, you're still talking to the founder, we make a great product. we sell products through independent pet. Yeah. Channels. So independent pet stores, right. And bigger pet stores as well. You know, so we sell to premier, you know, that was one of the first stores I walked into and I so Premier pet supply Metro Detroit. You went in there. Yep. Um we're we're with Pet Supplies Plus, which is another Michigan company. We love them, especially their Grosse Pointe store. so you're out of Auburn Hills, you're in Michigan, but you distribute throughout the US. We do. Okay. you're an all natural kind of pet product. I'm hearing this is a huge part of the market right now. Yes. Do they find you online or is it mostly just stores? Well, really, until Congress has some legislation where they want to actually define hemp and CBD. Okay. So, you know, when you went to the show five years ago, there was about fifty booths selling CBD. Now you only you'll see a handful of them. the biggest issue is They all look at CBD as Were no different than a weed store. Okay, you know, we can't advertise online. So they kind of just lump it all into the same category. Same with marijuana. Yeah. So we're really forbidden. we do direct to consumer. But that's what forced us to go into the brick and mortar route. So it's difficult. I mean it's a difficult to get a great product. And it's with the restrictions on marketing, how do you promote that? How do you tell people about that? So you're relying on your stores to to share about what you guys do, And they do an amazing job in educating their customers. So they can find you at most independents we sell certain products just independent channels. what is your best selling product? So historically in the supplement category, it was hip and joint. You know, dogs get old or slow joints. there's so many more dog owners and we'll talk dogs because that's the number one, you know? calming is a leading. hip and joint is the second. And again, I just think people equate CBD with going to fix everything. are you on socials? Do you have a website? Tell us where you can find you. So hempwell.com I think all of our handles are @hempwell Well, So go find them on. Facebook and Instagram. on Facebook and Instagram. Thank you so much for being on the podcast. I appreciate you I found another Michigan company, which is awesome. And it's women owned. Ellen, you own Fluff and Tuff. Yup. And your plush toys we do are plush, durable dog toys. Okay. And they're, they're pretty durable. They're, they're as good as you can make a plush toy, but it's still a plush toy as disclosure as a consumer of your toys, I can say even with super chewers, they they are somewhat indestructible. Okay, so you have a ritual line and a new line. So talk about all the like you have the oh geez, what is your best selling for the OG? There's anything that someone sees in their yard. So like bunnies and squirrels, raccoons, skunks like that. What about the skunks? You know, people are sort of different about the skunks. Some people, like, love it, and then some people are. I do not want to have a skunk because then my dog is going to go find some outside. So there's there's both sides. I could see that happening. Okay, so I noticed a bunch of like toys I've never even seen before. So tell me about some of your new stuff that you're excited about. I will say we've expanded a bit outside of my personal comfort zone. So we have an xolotl, which I didn't know what that was until I had some, some young people in my life, like children and then like the kids toys. An axolotl is, I think kind of like a And it's only found in Mexico. I think that's pretty cool. So next we have a pufferfish that's really great. It's kind of like a ball toy. That's really fun. we have a chicken Chandler chicken if anyone has any friends fans out there. Oh yeah, we have a chance to check in. We have a new fox that's out. We've expanded our line because there's a lot of dogs that don't like the noise of it, or they want to play with something, but they're, pet parent is on a phone call and they want the speaker. can I just share? We are on the squeakerless line with our new dog, Joshua. It's not because of any of that. Oh, is it because he destroys it and then immediately eats the speaker? So we he he is an ingestion risk. And we fostered didn't adapt him to a family with kids because we knew that he would eat all their toys the minute he dissects the animal. That speaker is gone. So we did the speaker list line for safety. And so without the speaker in it, does that then make him not want to? Oh my gosh, he totally defaced. We got Troy the Beaver I think that was. And he destroyed it still. Yeah, he still wanted it. He shakes it. I mean, he loved it, but I just love one that they are soft too. Super soft. And you can like you can feel them and soft and then like dogs just want them. Well, I think, I think that there's, I mean, the quality is definitely in the fabric. It is, it's more of a very high end, high quality fabric and dogs love it. And some dogs choose not to chew it up because they treat it like their baby let's talk about stores. Are you in mostly independent stores or are you everywhere? We're only in independent stores. Okay, so I love you even more. I didn't think I could love you more. I love you even more because I am a person that solely supports Indies Okay, so you're an independent stores. Premier pet supplies. Pet supplies plus in Michigan and then other counties and other states. Right. So we are yes, one hundred percent. So like in Michigan, I would say we're premier pet for sure. And in other locations, there's some free dog bakeries. There's some like downtown bakery. So any independent not any. I should say that independence we are in, if people want to find you, what are your socials on your website? we're under fluffy and top dog toys. Instagram, Facebook. I should know this if we're on TikTok, I probably are, but that's, that's well, I'll find it. Put it in the show notes. Okay. Don't worry, I'll find all your things and share them with people. Do you have a website that you want to send people to or not? fluffandtuff.com and on there, there is a find a retailer page. So there you go. You can put in your zip code and you can find your retailer. That is most excellent. I really appreciate you taking the time for just just a few minutes. And then I think we've got an episode coming where I'm going to strong arm Ellen into sitting down with me and talking about all the things that she's, you know, how many years have you been in business? I think we're in our sixteenth year. so we have a lot to talk about, I was not in this business before. Okay, so we're episode coming soon. Thank you so much, I appreciate you. Thank you. I found another Michigan company. So we've got nature's own pet chews and I have Arnold here. Say hello, Arnold. Hello. Hey. So you have it. Looks to me I'm looking around here, and we've got the camera on it. Are these one ingredient pet chews Most of these are single ingredient, except for our flavored cow ears Those are two ingredient. Okay, wait a minute. You just said I'm looking at flavor cow ears Tell us about those. Yeah. We have flavored carriers of ten different flavors. regular smoked peanut butter, vanilla, blueberry, cherry, maple bacon, apple, cinnamon, pumpkin spice and mint. Okay. You said maple bacon. And that sounds like a flavor I wanted. Right? It smells fantastic. It really does. So most of them are single ingredients. And you are you dehydrated or are you just you're baking. What do you do to prepare them a little bit? Dehydrating a little bit of baking. It just depends on the product. We smoke the bones, we dehydrate the bully sticks, the cow ears are baked. Okay. And you're out of what city in Michigan? Mount Morris. Okay, so they're out of Mount Morris, Michigan. And what what is your best selling item? Best selling item is probably the cow ears Okay, just as far as overall quantity, the cow ears are by far the best seller. Okay. And probably anything that's made in the chew Okay. Oh, okay. for people that are listening, where can they find you? So do you have social media and website? Tell us about where they can find you online. Uh, we don't have any social media. They don't have a website. We don't sell online. Okay, so you're not online at all. So that means you're finding you at retail stores? Yes. Yes. We're only available at independent retail stores. This is. Sorry, Arnold. This is music to my ears. I only support independence, so I work out of pet supply stores in metro Detroit. But like the Pet Supplies Plus in Michigan, they're locally owned and independently owned. So what are what's your biggest like independent that you out of Michigan that you work with? That's actually probably our biggest customer. Oh, seriously? Yes. Oh that's okay. I'm so excited that you said that. I wasn't sure if you were out of that store. And they're one of my favorites. They're a partner of mine, too. I love that they have fourteen locations. Are you in any pet supplies classes? Yes, we are. Right now. We sell new supplies plus, but we are sold in fifty states, Puerto Rico and the Bahamas. look for your stuff in your local independent pet store. Okay, I love that. I appreciate you. I just this couple of minutes for me. I just want to share, like all things local for me. Even though you're throughout the U.S., you're a Michigan company and I just love it that you're local to our Metro Detroit family. So thank you very much for being on the show, I appreciate it. Thank you for stopping by. Hey, guys, we're wrapping up at the Global Pet Expo. With the actual expo in session, you've got all these products, all these things that you guys have seen. Today. I am here with three of the four, actually, I should say three of the five owners of Premier Pet Supply. So we have Jeff say hello, Jeff. Hi, we have Mike. Hey, guys. And Steve. Hello. Hey, I'm so grateful for you guys to be on. Just a short snippet for the podcast. So I have been interviewing different Michigan companies today, and I'm really happy to say all of them sell within your stores. How does that make you feel? It's great. So we have probably between twenty five and thirty Michigan either owned or made brands in our stores. Say that again, twenty five to thirty Michigan made or owned brands in our stores, which we're really proud of. That's a, that's actually a lot that sounds like a lot to me that these are Michigan companies and you're supporting local. So okay, so one of them, let's go with nature's own. They're out of Mount Morris. his name is Arnold. he has these, like what? One ingredient traits. Is that what they are? Sure. Primarily natural body parts. Yeah. Okay. Oh, is that what you call it? Okay. Yeah. So, so and then there was the Great Lakes Tree Company. You know them? Oh, yeah. I think they know you. And I think his name is Matt. And it's the same kind of concept as nature's own. It's an animal part company. Yeah. You see, they call it one ingredient. One ingredient, single ingredient. Single ingredient. That's what they call it. Yeah. So so so, Jeff, how many years have you been coming to this expo? A couple. No, actually, this is great. People are going to be like, people are gonna be like, Jeff is that funny guy. I've been coming for ten years. On and off. Okay, so how long have you been a store owner with Premier Pet Supply? Ten years. So ten years. You started with the Rochester store, right? Yes. Rochester Hills. Okay. so for Steve, how long have you been an owner with Premier Pets? Ten years. Ten years. And what was your first store? Livonia. I always call it the crazy store because your customers love you and you're always there like, like on the microphone talking. Oh yeah. Yeah, yeah. Well, we'll have some fun on DJ Steve days. I know you've been in a lot of meetings. Anything. So I'm gonna start with you, Jeff. Anything exciting that you have found today that you didn't know about? I'm probably going to steal Mike's thunder, but there was some, bone broth bones that we found. and those were really cool. Was that Fido or. No, no, it was a company called, I believe it was bra, bra, bra, bra or broth. I love the name alone. Okay, so you okay, so I so I like those. They seem the most innovative. Something new that we haven't seen before. So I did like those it's bringing into the fold potentially at the stores. Okay, okay. So Steve, what's your favorite thing so far? I don't know if I have a favorite. I just like to take it all in. There's just so much stuff to see here. Are you here for the people? People watching? We do a little bit of that for sure. It's kind of hard not to. Well, there's a lot of influencers here. The dog. The dog watching alone. Like people dress up their dogs more than they dress them themselves. This is a true statement. I saw like a total tie dye like poodle earlier. Yeah. So? So, Mike, how long have you been in the pet like scenery? How many years? Uh, it'll be thirty two years this year. Sabrina and I touched on it in our podcast episode that we aired about Premier Pet Supply. You started stocking. Is that how you started at Premier? I did, yeah, I was a stock boy at the Beverly Hills store. I started working for my uncle right out of high school. So that was thirty two years ago. And now you run. But now you're here. And what is the most exciting thing so far that you've seen? So it's been quite honestly, it's been tough to find something that's more like innovative and, it, it's been a struggle the past few years because there's not much that people have come up with or come out with that has gotten us crazy excited. Like the woof products have been some of our best sellers and we found them here. we do really well with those. You know, Jeff mentioned the broth bones. Those look pretty cool. It's only been one day, but what is cool, they have a new product showcase and they also have an area for some of the smaller companies that can't afford the big booths. It's called the startup startup. Yeah. Startup nation or something like that. So, um, we like visiting those areas and that's where we can get some ideas. We can find some brands that are pretty great at Superzoo, which is a show in Las Vegas that Steve and I went to back in August. There's a company called puzzler and they make interactive puzzles, and we brought those into the stores and they've actually done really well for us. Oh that's exciting. Yeah. So Mandy, my camera girl here, she's been talking about Superzoo. She's like, we need to go to that one too. It's big though, isn't it? It's big. It's a little bigger than this show. This show? Seriously? Yeah. This is a huge show. Um, a lot more West Coast companies. It's easier. It's closer. Oh, okay, I got you. Got you. It's more retail focused. We're here. This one is. But they primarily are catering to some of the larger companies. Much larger than us. Yeah, I still hear I heard a lot that these companies really want to stay only in independent stores. And that's exciting for me because I support you guys, but like also the small guys and keeping it small, you know, which is really cool. So any big plans for tomorrow or are you just going to come and enjoy? Oh, we got a slate of meetings and then okay, back on the grind, you know, it's a bit of a, a carbon copy. So I mean, our meetings start early. We have breakfast meetings. Our first meeting this morning was seven thirty. It's gone all day. The show ends at six. And then we have dinner meetings at night. So it's literally like a fifteen hour day of meetings. And then we try in between those meetings to walk the aisles, just like we said, to find some products that we can bring back to our stores that our customers will absolutely love. So you guys, you're looking for something new. Is that what you're looking for too? Yeah, absolutely. You want we need we need innovation in our stores. We want to find new products. That's the whole name of the game when it's coming here. Or if we're looking for specific types of products that we need to fill a void in. I think strollers is one of them. We're looking for inexpensive strollers. Oh gosh, they're so expensive too, aren't they? Yeah. Like you're talking like one hundred dollars just to even start on one of those, right? Yeah. But anything for affordability, right? For even one hundred bucks now might be might be a bargain. But some of the ones that we've seen. So it's just one of those things where we're getting in that season, we don't have a supplier, so we're just trying to find something to kind of fill that gap. So in general, the, you know, the, the, the hope is that we find new products, we work out some deals with the brands and the manufacturers that we are working with now. we try to find products that actually fit, you know, people's budgets these days because, you know, money's tight and people are looking for alternatives to what they're currently buying. So they're not negating the, you know, the things that their pets are used to. But also saving some money as well. It's important. That's incredible that even in this. You're like, no, I need I know my clients, my customers, they want affordability. That's So forward thinking. Are you going to run for Congress? Probably not. Start as mayor first. Hey. Oh, or state senator, I don't know. Anyway, but I appreciate you guys. I will wrap up, but I'm really grateful that you guys took the time to talk with me. I appreciate it. Thanks. Thank you.
00:19:43 Speaker: that wraps up on part two of our vendor series of the Global Pet Expo. I hope you enjoyed hearing from these Michigan based businesses as much as I loved connecting with them. But before you go, I'd love to hear from you. Send me your questions, your stories, or anything pet related you want me to talk about on the show. Listener mail is now open and I want to start featuring more of your stories here. You can reach out on social media, send us messages, or you can email me at Christine at net.org. Thank you so much for being here and I'll catch you in the next episode.
00:20:11 Speaker: And until next time, stay kind, stay curious, and give your dog a cookie for me.