A dog bakery sells treats and celebration cakes to people who spoil their dogs, and the ingredients are cheap: oat flour, peanut butter, pumpkin, carob. A bag of a dozen biscuits costs about $1.70 to make and sells for $9. Dog treats are pet food, which brings its own rules: most states register pet food products or license the maker, and the label follows pet food labeling, with a guaranteed analysis. The plan turns on a small storefront, markets and pet store wholesale, and dog birthday cakes, the highest-margin item on the menu. In the example, an Asheville dog bakery starts with $44,600, ends its first year about $9,900 ahead before the owner's pay, and makes about $4,000 a month at full speed. Below is each part of the plan, the first year month by month, the startup budget, and a free template.
The short version
- Describe the bakery in a paragraph: the shop, the dog owners nearby, the goals.
- Cost each item: flour, peanut butter, pumpkin, the bag and label, the card fee.
- Plan sales by product: treat bags, dog cakes, pupcakes and pet store wholesale.
- Register as your state requires; dog treats are pet food.
- Label with a guaranteed analysis and ingredients.
- Budget working cash for the slow first months, and check it against the lowest cash point.
- TaroStack makes each treat a recipe, so its true cost follows the price of what's in it. More below.
Part 1: the business description
Good Boy Bakery, a made-up dog bakery in Asheville, North Carolina, writes:
Good Boy Bakery is a small dog bakery in a walkable neighborhood, baking biscuits, pupcakes and birthday cakes for dogs, selling at the shop and two markets, and wholesale to four pet stores. In its first year it aims to reach $13,750 of sales a month.
Part 2: what a treat costs
| Item | Ingredients | Bag, box or label | Card fee | Cost | Price | Cost share |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bag of 12 peanut butter biscuits | $1.10 | $0.33 | $0.27 | $1.70 | $9.00 | 18.9% |
| Dog birthday cake, 6 inch | $3.20 | $1.10 | $1.05 | $5.35 | $35.00 | 15.3% |
Peanut butter and oat flour are the cost; the bag and label are almost a third of a biscuit bag. The rules for selling treats are in pet food license.
Part 3: customers and schedule
Weekends are the shop's days, with birthday cakes ordered ahead. Two markets on Saturday and Sunday. Pet stores order biscuits by the case every two weeks.
Part 4: what each product earns
| Product | Price | Variable cost | Contribution | Margin | Units a month at full speed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Treat bag | $9.00 | $1.70 | $7.30 | 81.1% | 700 |
| Dog birthday cake | $35.00 | $5.35 | $29.65 | 84.7% | 90 |
| Pupcakes, four-pack | $14.00 | $2.60 | $11.40 | 81.4% | 150 |
| Wholesale treat bag | $5.50 | $1.43 | $4.07 | 74% | 400 |
At full speed the business sells $13,750 a month and keeps $11,116.50, 80.8%; treat bags bring $5,110 of it.
Part 5: the first year, month by month
Fixed costs are $7,150 every month: rent ($1,800), wages ($3,800), utilities ($400), insurance ($200), market fees ($300), registrations and testing ($100), register and software ($80), ads ($250), and other costs ($220). Sales start at 35% of full speed:
| Month | Sales | Profit | Cash, year to date |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $4,802 | −$3,268 | −$3,268 |
| 2 | $5,782 | −$2,475 | −$5,743 |
| 3 | $6,741 | −$1,700 | −$7,444 |
| 4 | $7,686 | −$937 | −$8,380 |
| 5 | $8,680 | −$132 | −$8,512 |
| 6 | $9,625 | $632 | −$7,881 |
| 7 | $10,584 | $1,407 | −$6,474 |
| 8 | $11,564 | $2,200 | −$4,275 |
| 9 | $12,375 | $2,855 | −$1,420 |
| 10 | $13,087 | $3,431 | $2,012 |
| 11 | $13,750 | $3,966 | $5,978 |
| 12 | $13,750 | $3,966 | $9,945 |
The year's sales are $118,426, and the business ends it $9,945 ahead, before the owner's pay. It breaks even at about $8,840 of sales a month, in the sixth month. The lowest cash point, −$8,512 in month 5, is covered by the $12,000 of working cash with about $3,500 to spare. Dog birthday cakes are 90 a month but bring $2,669 of contribution; the shop's weekends are the business.
Part 6: the startup budget
| Item | Example |
|---|---|
| Build-out and signs | $15,000 |
| Ovens and mixer | $6,000 |
| Display and refrigeration | $4,000 |
| Lease deposit and first month | $3,600 |
| Market tent and setup | $1,500 |
| Opening inventory | $1,200 |
| Licenses and registrations | $800 |
| Register | $500 |
| Working cash | $12,000 |
| Total to start | $44,600 |
The $32,600 before working cash is earned back in about 8 months at full speed. Pricing treats is in how to price homemade dog treats, and a treat business without a shop in dog treat business plan.
Get the template
Download the dog bakery business plan workbook. Four sheets: your products, each with its price, variable cost and units a month at full speed; the first year, month by month, with sales ramping up, profit, cash, the first profitable month, the lowest cash point and whether the working cash covers it; your fixed costs; and the startup budget. It's an ordinary Excel file with no macros, and it works in Google Sheets, LibreOffice and Numbers.
Where this stops working
The plan uses one cost a bag. The bakery buys peanut butter and flour at moving prices, and a pet store asking which batch was in a bag needs a lot number on it.
How TaroStack does it
TaroStack makes each treat a recipe and each bake a lot, so a pet store's question about a bag has an answer.
Treats as recipes. Each treat is a recipe by weight, costed from what its ingredients cost.
Batches by lot. Each bake records which ingredient lots it used and how many bags it filled.
Recalls. If an ingredient lot is recalled, one report shows every pet store and customer who got it.
| The job | Notebook | In TaroStack |
|---|---|---|
| What a bag costs this month | Worked out once | True cost from the recipe |
| Which peanut butter went into a bake | Not recorded | Batches by lot |
| Which pet stores got a lot | Invoices | One recall report |
Recipes, batches and recalls are on every plan, from $49 a month. The first 30 days are free, with no credit card. If you'd like a hand setting up, ask, and we'll do it with you.