Michelle Pennington is an elementary school teacher turned president of a pet treat company.
HOPKINS, Minn. — A Hopkins-based pet treat company is known for its products, but it's also the people who work there that make its story unique.
Stasios was founded in 2019, with Michelle Pennington, a former elementary school teacher, as its president.
“The pet industry is predominantly male-dominated, but the fact that we are female-owned and female-run is very unique, and we manufacture everything in-house. That means we are a female-owned pet company. Not only is there a manufacturing company that's owned by a woman, which is really rare,” Pennington said.
So Pennington enlisted Amy Carruth, a longtime friend from elementary school. The two first bonded over their love for dogs. Mr. Carruth currently serves as Stasios' sales manager.
“It's great to be able to work together at a dog treat company after all these years. It's kind of an interesting full circle,” Carruth said.
Stasios has 14 employees, many of whom are women.
“Most of our production staff are women, many of whom we found through Facebook mom groups and things like that,” Pennington said. “It's just moms…they were stay-at-home moms, and now their kids are in elementary school and they're looking for a lot of flexibility during the school day.”
Stashios is focused on developing innovative products that make pet parenting easier.
“It's fun to see a product from start to finish and see what customers think about it,” said Katie Iverson, vice president of operations and strategy.
The company's products include wrap-ups that help pets take their medications.
“You can actually wrap it around a pill and give it as a treat,” Carruth says.
Another popular product is the Soothing Saucer, a patented design that encourages licking to reduce feelings of stress and anxiety. Can be used with soothing sauces containing natural calming ingredients such as ashwagandha, magnolia bark, and lavender.
“We really wanted to focus on limited ingredients and healthy ingredients,” Carruth said. “People these days treat their pets like family members and children, and want the best for them.”
All products can be given to dogs, and many also include cats. You can find Stasios in our store locator or online.
Do you know a local business that should be featured in our Behind the Business segment? Email Heidi Wigdahl hwigdahl@kare11.com.
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