Meet Lauren Sehgal | Dog Treat Baker & Creator

We had the good fortune of connecting with Lauren Sehgal and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Lauren, why did you pursue a creative career?
It was never my intention to have an artistic or creative career. Arts & crafts have always been a passion, and always been a hobby. I never thought I could turn them into something I get to wake up and do everyday.

Turning it into my career is a bit of a long story. I began my business in 2021 after graduating University with my Bachelors in Psychology. My goal at that point in time was to buy time, make some money while the world figured out a new normal, and exercise my creativity, all until I applied for grad school. At that point time I didn’t think my business would take off the way it did. In less than a year, Clover Dog Co., has found itself on shelves of over 15 pet stores nationally with more and more orders pouring in everyday. Up until a few months ago, I thought about going back to school every day. I’ve always wanted to become a psychiatrist. Back in April, I was diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder and all the pieces began to fall together. It was something I had always suspected within myself. I’ve been abundantly creative since I was 3 years old. I could never get enough crayons, markers, sketchbooks and paints to satisfy my need to create. Aside from the social problems we have to navigate, it’s well known people on the spectrum are wildly creative and often very artistic. After being diagnosed, and finally feeling like my complete self, I decided to stop fighting the desire to have a “typical” career. For the longest time it felt like the necessary path, the accepted path, the path I “should” be on. Pursuing an artistic career has given me such an internal freedom. I feel very at peace doing what I do. I have always loved studying, loved school, loved learning, I knew I would make an excellent doctor one day, but nothing compares to how I feel creating. I love working with colour! I love working with my hands! Not a lot of conventional careers lend themselves to those types of wants. I’m truly grateful that small businesses are enjoying their time to shine and it’s made the ability to have an artistic career all the more possible.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
Any small business owner out there has so much to be proud of. Building a business from the ground up is hard work. It’s also a different kind of work. The most notable thing about being a business owner is the time. Since starting my business, I spend every day thinking about it. Thinking about ideas, next steps, what products I can add, what I can improve about my current products, what kind of product has no one created yet, how can I get ahead, how can I reach more people, it’s never ending. But growing a business is a lot like raising a child. There’s a massive amount of nurturing that goes into maintaining the business after it launches. The nurturing and nourishment I’ve put into my business is what I am most proud of today. Even though it’s only been a year, I am truly in awe of where the business is right now.

The most interesting part of it all, is the speed at which it’s grown. I feel like just the other day I was opening the website and posting my first Instagram photos. Every order that has come in up until this point, found me on their own. Same with pet stores and events. When I began last June, I didn’t know how to expand. I just posted a bit on social media. People found me! I have done very little outreach on my own to let people and businesses know about Clover Dog Co. That’s the incredible speed at which word about my dog treats spread. I still have not touched my outreach and business growth to do list since I wrote it back in June. It’s sits on my desk next to my planner, and one day here, maybe when I can catch my breath, I’ll start checking bits off.

The biggest challenge of owning a business where the product is hand made is managing growth. After about 7 months of being open – I hit my physical limit of what I can produce as one person. Processing times are two weeks and growing due to order influxes. Growth is happening exponentially – making it hard to plan ahead. The biggest challenge is when to bring in help. Not just a friend, or in my case my mom, but hiring a team or employees. It’s challenge I am still navigating. But it’s an exciting problem to have as this just means Clover Dog Co. needs to scale up even more.

A few key parts of my brand story would be:

The brand was born out of the need for east to digest biscuits for dogs with sensitive tummies. 2020 was a rough year for my mini aussie Belle. She contracted a tummy bacteria that ravaged her digestive tract for 5 months. Thankfully our vet put her on a Chinese herb remedy that finally knocked it out. But while she was on the herbs for 2 months, not a lot of dog treats sat right with her. We tried liver treats, simple treats like Bocce’s Bakery (which I still love to do this day for their minimal ingredient treats), but nothing with a softer texture and more than 10 ingredients sat right. I began baking for Belle. I figured I could easily make what I couldn’t find on shelves, and I got to work. The first batches of treats used applesauce instead of banana. I also wanted to be able to make her decorated treats with the same minimal ingredients. Lots of shelf stable decorated dog treats have over 50 ingredients with food colours and other chemicals. All of our treats have under 12 ingredients. Sometimes more for our extra coloured ones due to all the fruit and vegetable powders used. But we make everything we can in house. We dehydrate our own fruits and vegetables, only certain fruits we buy freeze dried. Our icing is our secret recipe – and yes it is 100% tapioca. I spent a lot of time in the kitchen figuring out how to manipulate starch. Tapioca starch and water does not mix – it’s very pastry and gets to the point of being unusable. Icing mixes on the market contain a lot of fillers to break down the starch and make it usable. We do not. Our icing mix involves cooking, dehydrating and combing tapioca in multiple solid and liquid states. One day we hope to patent our method and make ready to go mixes for other dog treat makers on the market looking to produce natural treats.

As a business owner, it’s imperative to stay original and hone in on a few key values. A lot of what we do is all-natural dog treats. However another hallmark of Clover Dog Co. is our eco friendly mission. The last thing I wanted to do when starting a business was add waste and plastic to our planet. Our packaging is made from plants and 100% biodegradable. Whether you compost or throw it in the trash, there is no impact to the planet. Our treat bags are rice paper, our ties are raffia paper, and our labels are made from recycled cardstock. Anytime we use cellophane, it is compostable and made from plants. Being eco friendly is an expensive investment up front, but I am beyond proud that we did it. With thousands of orders being filled this year, it’s good to know our impact is minimal. I designed our packaging to also stand out, aside from not being plastic like other dog treat bags, our natural hand drawn look ties it all together. Each piece of detail on the labels are drawn by me and unique to the brand. My packaging was inspired from oriental soap brands I saw across from Pinterest page one day. The biggest lesson I’ve learned as a business owner is to look for inspiration in unlikely places. I spent very little time looking at other dog treat brands when creating mine. I looked towards home goods, soaps, body products, beauty products, condiments, spices and human food products for inspiration.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
The Denver Art Museum is one of my all time favourite spots. I absolutely adore art museums and always have to go to whatever is local when I myself are travelling.

Food & Drink: I adore Adrift, it’s this tiki style bar place, the vibes are amazing, the drinks are even better! Such a fun night out spot whether you are drinking cocktails or mocktails! My friend Deviny at Black Knife Bakery makes the best macarons, I would have to have an order ready for any friends coming from out of town but it’s entirely worth it. Yayah’s Mediterranean Grill & Pastries is another amazing food staple I would highly recommend. The food is simple and absolute perfection.

Honestly my favourite spots are outside the city. I love to visit Red Rocks, Garden if Gods and various hiking found deeper in our mountains. At this time I don’t spend a lot of time in the city itself as I live in the suburbs and then like to venture outside when I can!

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
My parents deserve the biggest shoutout for helping my achieve what I have. Both of my parents have done nothing but love, support and accept all my career ambitions (I’ve gone back and forth between lawyer and doctor for years).

Note: my parents are divorced but both prominent in my life.

After graduating university, I moved in with my mom. The goal was to ride out the pandemic and save money by not having to pay rent. There was never any pressure on me to hop right back into grad school, both my parents were accepting of me taking some time to recover from burnout and decide my next steps. My mom had a very unconventional 20’s and 30’s herself. She had a volleyball scholarship after high school and tried to make it work but didn’t finish university at the time. She owned a clothing store in her early twenties, then between her second attempt at university, owned a shoe store. Finally she did her undergrad after trying again many years. When my brother and I were little, our parents both did their MBA’s in the evenings. She’s always been my biggest support about not following the typical life path of a twentysomething.

When I began my business, my mom helped pay for start up expenses and cheered me on. As I’ve gotten busier over the months, she lends a hand in the baking and packaging process. Honestly – she’s way more efficient at pumping out mini bone biscuits than me! She’s been there every step of the way. She’s listened to me celebrate little successes, cry about not feeling good enough and overwhelmed, and been a constant sounding board for ideas and next steps.

Website: www.cloverdogco.com

Instagram: www.Instagram.com/cloverdogco

Image Credits
Maryann Craddock – only the photos of me – product photos were shot by me and not her.