Meet Nicole VandeBoom | Dog Treat Baker & Chef

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

Hi Nicole, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
When my sons were tiny, I spent years making their baby food. I really enjoyed doing that for, and sometimes, with them. When we adopted our first puppy, Duke, in September 2020, I felt the pull to cook for him, just like I had for my human sons. Dogs are family we care for, not objects we own.

I devoured book after book about making dog food. I quickly started making his meals from scratch. Soon after, I began baking treats for him too. He gobbled it all up greedily.

For that first holiday season, I gifted pup family members with bags of homemade treats. They also loved what I made! As the year ticked by, I took to Instagram to share the meals and treats I was making for Duke. The whole process of developing, baking, experimenting, and sharing, was entirely enjoyable. I received a lot of positive feedback about his diet and treats, as well as interest in what my recipes were. I felt there was a little need out there for me to share what I love to do with more doggos than just my singleton pup. My business brainstorming began late summer 2021. I built a website, branding, logos, and names for treats entirely myself. I put it out to my friends and family. The orders came fast!

September approached and we came across a rescue pup named Bosco in Telluride through the Telluride Humane Society. The day before we left Snowmass to meet and adopt him, I was sending out my very first round of online orders. My packaging on those first orders was very rough! Think ziplock baggies in brown paper lunch bags with a cute sticker slapped on. I’m forever grateful to all of my customers, but especially those first friends and family who were guinea pigs for my little dog bakery business. These days, my process is streamlined and packaging is professional.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
My background is in writing and comms. I believe that stories make the world a better place. It was important to me to include that in Very Good Dog. I decided each treat will be named after a dog I know or someone I know takes care of. I prefer alliteration, but will stray from that if it doesnt fit the treat or dog. In addition to that naming honor, I write each dog’s story. This is shared on my dog blog and each bag of treats comes with a card sharing that pup’s picture and story.

I feel like so many dog treat companies focus on the founder’s one dog that inspired their journey and yes, I too was inspired by Duke, and then Bosco, but every customer loves their dog as much as a founder loves theirs. We all think our pup is the best pup in the world. So, to give my customers, family, and friends, an opportunity to share their beloved fur child’s story and picture, is something I adore doing. The more we share love and happiness, the better place this world will be. Dogs are everything good with the world: unconditional love, affection, loyalty, slobbery kisses, and snuggles. To put those stories into the world, spreading joy and happiness, I feel like Very Good Dog is doing its part to make this a better world for humans and dogs.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
We live in the Aspen/Snowmass area, not Denver. I hail from Chicago before moving to Colorado. We spent a couple years in Snowmass before moving to Aspen “proper” but we have a deep love for the Snowmass area and I believe it is underrated compared to Aspen. We have two favorite restaurants that we always tell people about if it’s “in-season” (a term you have to be familiar with in a tourist ski town) Venga Venga, a great casual family friendly chill Mexican restaurant in the Snowmass Mall. Slice is our favorite pizza place to either order from or go to. It is also casual but feels slightly “fancier” as my mountain kids will say.

We take family and friends on a favorite hike in Snowmass every time someone visits: Ditch Trail, Government Trail, and Campground Connector. We took Bosco on his first family hike on this trail a few days after we rescued him! It’s just so pretty and moderate enough that any skill level can do some of it at least. As an active mountain person, it’s important to remember to cater to your visitors when it comes to skill levels on outdoor activities like this. We’ve done this with our kids, both sets of grandparents, dogs, and even friends that have done ultra-marathons. It’s a good trail that isn’t often overcrowded and everyone can enjoy. People love The Pass hikes or other more challenging ones, but there’s something about my snowmass hike that is charming and serene, it’s truly a hidden gem.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I have two sons, they’re 11 and 8. They are my number one fans, supporters, and promo crew. They go out of their way to bring up to people that “my mom has a dog treat business!” They’re very proud of what I do and often have helped me mix dough, roll out treats, and fill bags for orders. They gave input on logo design and treat names. My oldest taste tests each new treat type, because all of my treats are made with all natural human grade ingredients. Sometimes they randomly ask if I have any new orders. They love to show off all things Very Good Dog, including the kitchen space I was recently able to build out that is just for making dog food and treats.

My husband founded and runs a global tech company. He travels almost weekly and works nearly 24/7, but he is always available to help me with anything techy that I may need some help with. He took it upon himself to set me up as an LLC and tackle the background work for things like that so I could focus on the creative and baking aspects of Very Good Dog. He always supports any career or business choices I make.

I think that is so important for a female that is running a business and a family. I don’t employ a nanny and I’m the first person to tackle any and all things with my children. When you’re doing that as well as single-handedly running a one-woman business, you need to make sure your partner and children are 100% in your corner. And you must be that for them too. It’s teamwork through and through. There’s that fallacy of “women can have it all” simply put, we cannot. I don’t buy into that and I work hard to not put that pressure on myself. We can’t be expected to do it all without a support system. Some things will suffer, big or small, in many ways if we put that pressure on ourselves. Having my husband and my kids be so invested and supportive of what I’m building makes it possible for me to build my dream business.

Website: https://verygooddogtreats.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/verygooddogtreats/

Image Credits
VandeBoom Family