Roastar’s Easy Online Ordering Helps Launch Pet Treat Company

LS: We're a pet product manufacturer, and the idea started from making beef jerky with my dad—and eventually for our dogs, too. During COVID, I was helping my mom, a mobile veterinarian, and often gave those homemade jerky treats to her patients. I noticed something powerful: even dogs who hadn’t eaten in days—often in end-of-life situations—would take my jerky from a stranger’s hand. That moment made me realize I might have something special, and that not all treats are created equal. Dogs, I believe, are far more discerning than we give them credit for.

RS: As a self-taught illustrator with a background in film, I wanted our packaging to feel like storytelling—handmade and personal, even though it's printed. We’ve touched on our origin story a bit, and I just really wanted that narrative to come through. The aesthetic draws inspiration from military MREs, with the bold text and kraft paper packaging, giving the bags a distinctive look that evolved naturally as we developed the design.

LS: We’ve found out that everything in business takes longer than you expect—especially in our industry, where you need a commercial facility just to be legal, which means taking on big risks upfront. We chose to make and manufacture our own products instead of using a co-packer, which definitely added challenges—but also gave us full ownership. Thankfully, the packaging process went smoothly thanks to Rachel’s design skills and artistic talent, which has been a major asset to our team and brand.

LS: Roastar made the packaging process easy from the start. We first found you on Google, but after exploring several packaging sites, we found Roastar’s let us quickly test different sizes, quantities, and pricing without needing to make an account or wait to hear back from anyone. Plus, you let us meet the minimum order quantities while splitting it across multiple designs, which was perfect for launching different product varieties without a huge upfront investment.

RS: Our packaging went through an evolution, too. Our first order with Roastar didn’t include a transparent window, but after getting customer feedback, we learned people wanted one. That insight helped us update our designs for the second batch, and Roastar’s flexibility with multiple art files per minimum order made the upgrade easy. Definitely a packaging glow-up!

RS: Our artwork process actually started with hand-drawn illustrations that I scanned and then refined digitally! I relied heavily on Roastar’s templates, which made it easy to get everything right without needing constant communication. They were seriously game-changing! When I did send in the final files, there were just a couple of minor issues, but Roastar clearly explained how to fix them—and from there, everything moved super smoothly. We were cutting it close getting ready for a trade show, finalizing everything right up to the last week. Thanks to Roastar’s responsiveness, we received our new packaging just five days before the event—just in time to prep inventory and show up with fresh designs. Total sigh of relief.

LS: One thing I really appreciated was how the Roastar team helped us troubleshoot technical issues at the very end, like file sizes and embedding. Our rep handled it smoothly on her end, which was super helpful—especially with things I wasn’t even aware of.

LS: We just opened our retail space last month, which has been a big step for us. It’s not in a super busy shopping mall or anything—foot traffic is pretty minimal—but the space itself is perfect. It used to be a butcher shop, so it’s got all the right infrastructure and power for what we need. After spending our first year doing farmers markets, it feels really good to have our own spot. Being behind a counter instead of just a folding table is definitely a change of pace, but it’s exciting. Looking ahead, our goal is to grow the product line—keep the same ethos, just offer more variety. We’re also starting to gear up our e-commerce side and are getting ready to run some ads soon, which is a whole new adventure in itself.

RS: We live on a little ranch with two horses and a couple of cockatiels, so yeah—we’re definitely animal people through and through. The big dream is to build something that reflects that love across the board.

RS: Awesome, thank you!