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

Stephen, appreciate you joining us today. We’d love to have you retell us the story behind how you came up with the idea for your business, I think our audience would really enjoy hearing the backstory.

Since 2004, we’ve been a small company focused on dogs. Our business decisions have always been driven by what is best for our animal companions. Their health and happiness are tied to our own.

We started our first small business in the dog care industry, owning and operating a large dog boarding and daycare facility in Atlanta. We began offering a curated selection of foods, treats, and accessories for our customers, based on our personal research into what we would want for our own pack, and they loved it!

From daycare and boarding, our mission evolved into the retail space, where we owned and operated dog-centered pet retail stores called The Whole Dog Market. Our goal has always been to provide the very best nutritional options and guidance for our fellow dog lovers.

In 2015, a farmer from White Oak Pastures, located in Bluffton, GA, came into one of our stores to discuss developing all-natural treats and chews direct from the farm. We jumped at the chance to work with them, and a relationship was born. We built a bond of trust, honesty, and loyalty.

We found kindred spirits at White Oak Pastures and were awed by their dedication to radically traditional farming. We were inspired and started sourcing and dehydrating products like liver, kidney, heart, and gizzards in our home kitchen, bagging and selling them in The Whole Dog Market. They were a hit with our customers, and we knew there was nothing like them on the market.

From there, Farm Hounds was born. We began to pursue what we found so fulfilling about our partnership with White Oak Pastures: providing pure, transparently sourced products with ingredients and quality that are beyond reproach.

While visiting White Oak Pastures, our first farm partner, we saw their happy “farm hounds” frolicking around their property. We could see that dogs living on these farms are among the most content and well-fed we’ve ever met. They get to do what they were bred to do while having access to fresh, organic protein. We knew we had found our ideal farm partner and a name for our new business, since farm hounds are the luckiest dogs!

With a commitment to transparency, quality, and nutrition, we make products that we can be proud of and that our customers can be confident in — because they know the source and the farmers behind it!

Our treats and chews are unlike anything else available because they are curated directly from the best small family farms. Our customers will know the farm where we sourced the product they are purchasing.

Our partnership with small farms guarantees that our treats are made from 100% farm-fresh ingredients and are completely free of antibiotics, hormones, chemicals, and pesticides.

As our partnerships developed, our goal came into focus: to represent an additional source of revenue for our hard-working, small-farm partners while also providing our customers with products that will help keep their dogs happy, healthy, and spry.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

We do what we do because we love helping the farms we work with. Every product you buy is directly connected to an incredible American farm. With every purchase, you will know exactly which farm we worked with to make that product.

We maintain the connection to the farm through the entire process by placing the farm name on every product.

We source all of our farm-fresh products raw, directly from our farm partners. We take great care in creating the best product possible, not only to maximize nutrition during dehydration but also to honor the hard work of the farmers who humanely raised their livestock.

It all starts with how a farm operates. Our farm partners provide their livestock with a natural environment where they spend their days grazing on open acres and eating a natural, organic diet. Animals that have access to their instinctual drives (such as moving in herds, digging through the earth, and choosing what to eat) are happier and healthier throughout their entire lives. By sourcing from these types of farms, we can provide our customers with a healthier, higher-quality treat.

Small farmers have chosen a path of passion and love of animals and the earth, and it is no easy path. We join those farmers by choosing a path that is more challenging than most manufacturers. We want our customers to know exactly where we sourced the product they are feeding their pets. “Made in USA”, or even “made in GA,” is not good enough for us. Each bag will show where the product originated, for example, White Oak Pastures. We believe there is value in our customers having that level of knowledge and confidence in what they are feeding their best friend.

Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?

We stick to what we know. Profitability always tempts you to downgrade your quality to increase your profits, but we’ve never wavered, and our customers have stuck around because of it. Transparent sourcing and incredibly clean products are what make us stand apart, and that level of integrity from a brand is becoming harder and harder to locate. Customers see brands do it all the time, so when you find something that is real, they will stick with you.

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

Word of mouth remains our top driver for new customers. Friends sharing with friends and neighbors sharing with neighbors. This all connects to sticking to your morals and maintaining a quality product with transparent sourcing and clean ingredients. Once the pet parent sees their pup’s excitement as they engage with our products, the lightbulb moment is undeniable. We love our pets, and they deserve healthy treats and chews that make them happy and show they belong to the family.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://farmhounds.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/farmhoundstreats
• Facebook: https://facebook.com/farmhoundstreats
• Twitter: https://x.com/farmhounds
• Youtube: https://youtube.com/channel/UCIYNXBylTFoDtALdFv7XRrQ