We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Ashley Randolph. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Ashley below.

Ashley, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Let’s jump to the end – what do you want to be remembered for?

I’m hoping to build a legacy that reminds people of the quality of product we offer; treats that are handmade with love, and custom pieces that have sentimental value for the recipient. As a pet bakery, we hope to be remembered as a company that offers the freshest baked treats for pets to live healthy lifestyles.

Ashley, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

My name is Ashley, and I had started Alfonzo’s Astonishing Treats in August 2023. When I was a young girl, I had always told my parents and teachers that I was going to help animals; we had always assumed I would go to college to be a Veterinarian; however after I got my Veterinary Technician degree I decided animal nutrition felt more right. While working in Veterinary Medicine, we would see the pets that were overweight and could benefit from healthy treats, but the pets just weren’t always fond of their fruits and veggies. Being a pet owner myself, I had started researching different treats to see which ones were ‘healthy’ and that is when I had realized that all the mass produced treats weren’t that healthy with all the preservatives that were added with their high calorie content. That is when I knew that pets needed more healthy options.

When we initially started in 2023, we had 4 recipes that had been fully tested for their guaranteed analysis and then licensed under our Pet Feed License with the State of Michigan Department of Agriculture. Since then we have added 9 more treat options, with more additions in the years to come. We offer items for our feline friends, from catnip pillows to large and small jars of homegrown catnip. We also appeal to pet parents by offering custom cutting boards and slate board sets for their pets, or slate memorial pieces. We have paired up with another small business, Come to Your Effin Senses, and collaborated to create pet odor eliminating candles – available in Lemongrass, Fresh Linen and Warm Vanilla Sugar.

We are based out of Jackson, Michigan – but can ship treats within the State, and also ship other items anywhere! We do local events/markets that you can stop out to and support all the other small businesses also.

What’s been the best source of new clients for you?

We have been expanding our market outreach and applying for newer events to help get our name and brand out into the world.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

When the business was just starting out and I was still getting all my ducks in a row, I had met with a CNA to make sure I had my tax information correct and to discuss my business accounting needs – I had flat out been told that this is not a profitable business and that my business will fail within 6 months; which was then followed by being told I should just close my business before we even began.

I was so upset that I was speechless and walked out of the office in tears.

Now, one and a half years later – the business is doing amazing and we have had so much growth due to all the community support. We now have a new accountant that has the cutest office Yorkie – Chloe – that believes in our business and has been nothing short of amazing to assist us with the growth we are striving for.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/alfonzosastonishingtreats/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AlfonzosAstonishingTreatsLLC
• Other: Email: [email protected]

Image Credits

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