We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Erin Anthony a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, Erin thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Let’s kick things off with your mission – what is it and what’s the story behind why it’s your mission?
Red Dog Coffee Roasters is definitely a mission based company, albeit not in the traditional, clearly defined mission statement sense. At our core, we are a small-batch coffee roaster with the mission of providing high quality, freshly roasted coffee at a decent price. This is obtained through quality control and being as self-sufficient as possible. I not only roast the coffee, but do all the design work, screen print t shirts, pour candles, and social media relations. This is just the base of our mission, though.
As a brand based on a specific breed of dog, the Vizsla, I have the unique opportunity to use our brand as a platform to help in several unique ways. Not only do I donate a portion of sales to both Vizsla rescue and Vizsla health and welfare, I also use our brand as somewhat of a source to educate about the breed. Vizslas are unique and not for everyone. Those who are drawn to the breed are typically very actively involved in outdoor-based sports, such as endurance sports (running, mountain biking, hiking, etc.) or hunting. As a former professional mountain biker, I felt it was important to give back to the cycling community and donate a portion of sales to organizations, both local and national, who maintain trails. Similarly, as an upland hunter, I also donate to the Ruffed Grouse Society to help conservation efforts.
Being involved with the Vizsla community is also important. I support as many Vizsla events as possible (national dog show, field trials, etc). I have also hosted several large gatherings of the breed, an event dubbed Vizslapalooza. Vizsla Adventure Co, which is an offshoot brand of Red Dog Coffee Roasters, was created with the intent to encourage Vizsla owners to be active with their pups.
As you can see, we are definitely a mission based company, although it may be hard to summarize our mission into a traditional mission statement.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.
My name is Erin Anthony and I am the owner of Red Dog Coffee Roasters. Located in Buchanan, MI, we are a small batch coffee roastery conceived from a love of all things coffee and Vizslas. We provide fresh roasted coffee as well as branded merchandise. I not only roast the coffee, but do all the design work, print our t shirts, and pour the candles.
We’d love to hear about how you met your business partner.
I might quite possibly have the most unique cofounder/business partner story in existence, as my cofounder is my dog, Roo. Red Dog Coffee Roasters was created by the idea that no human can possibly keep up with a Vizsla unless highly caffeinated. I’m convinced Roo is the sole reason we sell anything. She is definitely the soul of our company.
Okay – so how did you figure out the manufacturing part? Did you have prior experience?
I manufacture as many of our products as possible. Our main product, coffee was of course the first offering for Red Dog Coffee Roasters. I taught myself how to roast on a small, one pound batch roaster. I also taught myself screen printing and candle making. My husband assisted with teaching me design work. The main lesson I have learned about manufacturing any product is to not give up and be patient.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.reddogcoffeeroasters.com
- Instagram: @reddogcoffeeroasters
- Facebook: @reddogcoffeeroasters