Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Pukar Pyakurel. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Alright, Pukar thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Getting that first client is always an exciting milestone. Can you talk to us about how you got your first customer who wasn’t a friend, family, or acquaintance?

When we kicked off our business venture, I made it a point to courageously cold-call pet stores across the country. Picture me on the phone, pitching Yak9 products and how they were like nothing else on the market. I’d chat up on the call, letting everyone in on the scoop about our unique flavor offerings and how they could be a game-changer for their customers and their adorable furry friends. It definitely was not a walk in the park, considering yak chews, especially flavored ones, were not common in the industry yet.

But guess what? With some serious elbow grease, I finally landed our first deal with a new retail store in Tampa, FL called The Modern Paws (TMP). And that was just the beginning! We still work with Ben and Lisa, the owners of TMP, and we are so grateful to have partnerships with retailers who have become like family. It’s been one heck of a ride, starting from scratch and watching our brand grow by leaps and bounds. The support and excitement from pet stores, big and small, have been off the charts. We’re stoked to keep bringing top-notch products and experiences to pet owners everywhere.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

At Yak9 Chews, we’re all about providing the best for our furry friends. We’ve crafted a line of premium flavored cheese chews, using nothing but wholesome, all-natural ingredients. Our commitment to quality means that our chews are human grade and smoke-dried to perfection in small batches by our talented artisans. We believe in keeping things close to nature, which is why our yaks and cows graze naturally on the earth’s offerings. We’re big on sustainability too. Our chews come packaged in reusable burlap bags that we recycle, doing our part to reduce waste and make a positive impact on the environment.

Innovation is at the heart of what we do. Since 2015, we’ve introduced an impressive lineup of seven unique flavors to the industry. From turmeric to honey, coconut to flaxseed, blueberry to pumpkin, and strawberry, we’ve got a chew for every taste preference. And here’s the best part: our chews have minimal ingredients. We only use high-quality milk and natural flavors. You won’t find any artificial flavors, preservatives, or chemicals in our manufacturing process, and we remain committed to maintaining this practice as we continue to create new and exciting flavors for your beloved pups.

Can you tell us the story behind how you met your business partner?

It all started in 2015, three months after I graduated from college, I was set to start a corporate job at a fortune 500 company in Houston. After moving to the US with my family, I had not been back home to Nepal in over 2 decades. So, I decided to take a long awaited trekking trip to Nepal.
In an unexpected turn of events,  I fell in love on the first day I got to Nepal – I met Shristi, who is now my wife and business partner. A few weeks later on April 25, 2015, my world got rocked twice in one day – first when Shristi agreed to be my official girlfriend and second when the 7.8 magnitude earthquake hit Kathmandu an hour later. With over 9000 casualties and thousands of buildings destroyed in the city, Shristi and I knew that fate had given us a chance to survive and do good in the world.

The next week, Shristi and I volunteered to go on a relief effort to disaster affected areas of Nepal. That is when we met Milan Sherpa, a dairy farmer who took us to his farm and introduced us to his family and farmers’ community. After talking to the community, we learned that middlemen were paying farmers way below the market price for the chews in order to increase their own margins. We then decided to take this opportunity to help farmers like Milan get the fair share of their hard work and start our own pet company, Yak-9 Chews. Since then, we have worked with over 800 farmers like Milan, who provide us with ethically sourced milk, eliminating middlemen with our farm-to-market “Farmed to Chew” model.

Looking back now, it all feels like it was meant to be. I’m a strong believer that everything happens for a reason, and I am so grateful for the wonderful path life has led me on. I get to work with the love of my life everyday doing what we both are passionate about, how can I complain?

Do you have any stories of times when you almost missed payroll or any other near death experiences for your business?

This question instantly takes me back to a memorable moment, the first time Shristi and I attended the Global Pet Expo (GPE) in Orlando. It’s the ultimate pet product event in the market, and let me tell you, it was quite an adventure. We were in March 2020, a period Shristi jokingly refers to as “rock bottom,” and it was undoubtedly a challenging time for us.

We arrived at the event with a mere $35 in our bank account. But despite the anxiety, we were determined to work our magic. We had managed to secure a tiny portion of a 10×20 booth that we shared with two other vendors and as luck would have it, I happened to run into a contractor who was working on a booth nearby. I mustered up the courage to ask for his assistance in setting up our section but panic settled in when he revealed his hourly rate—$30 per hour! To make matters worse, he had already spent more than an hour working his craft when I asked the question. We were in a predicament, to say the least.
Meanwhile, Shristi was on the phone with her internship, desperately asking them to expedite her payroll. And there I was, racking my brain to come up with a plan B. It felt like a whirlwind of stress and uncertainty, but we were determined to make things work.

Fast forward to the present, and it’s astonishing to see how everything has come full circle for us. During GPE 2023, we had our very own 10×20 booth, a far cry from the shared section we had back in 2020. And guess what? Our strawberry cheese chews even won not just once, but twice in the New Product Showcase Awards! We’ve always had the desire to win big at GPE, and now we’re finally making strides towards that goal. It just goes to show that with perseverance and a little bit of luck, even the most challenging times can lead to incredible opportunities.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.yak9chews.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yak9chews/?hl=en
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/yak9chews/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/yak9chews
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@yak9chews

Image Credits
Julian Martinez