Meet Alice Chen | Dog Mom & Small Business Owner

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

Hi Alice, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
I am a crazy dog mom and I’ve always knew I wanted to start a business that will give back to animal rescues.

I started out as a dog mom customer buying a ton of dog bandanas for my pups from various companies, but often times I wasn’t happy with the sizing, design or price point of the bandanas, so I thought to myself, I want to make quality dog bandanas. I grabbed my sewing machine and a few dog friends and spent a few months doing trial and error on sizing and design, and Cookies & Co. was born.

After reaching out to The Animal Pad rescue here in San Diego, I was able to achieve my goal of donating 10% to the rescue from Cookies & Co. sales which brought me so much joy that I was able to find a way to give back.

Lastly, I also wanted to support other local dog treat vendors, so with every order we also provide a complimentary dog treat from one of our locally sourced dog treat partners!

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
We’re proud to say that we handcraft quality dog bandanas and matching accessories for their owners. Over the years we bought A LOT of bandanas for our dogs and realized that quality and durability is super important (because our dogs play rough) so we made this a priority in our products. We also believe in giving back, I think this sets us a part from a lot of other bandana companies. Being able to donate to local animal rescues with every order is super important to us!

It took a lot for us to get to where we are today business-wise, but having a background in marketing definitely helped a lot. We also had instagram for our dogs for awhile and that helped teach us a lot about the amazing community of dog owners on instagram. It definitely isn’t easy to run a small business, I am an extremely risk adverse person and have trouble asking for help so it led to a lot of sleepless nights just sewing. But after chatting with a lot of other small business owners going through the same challenges, I’ve realized that I’ll never be able to grow and scale this small company if I don’t ask for help.

I want Cookies & Co. to be known as the brand who makes quality handcrafted dog bandanas from San Diego and gives back to local animal rescues. I also want our customers and supporters to know that your feedback, your likes, your comments, and messages on instagram matters and that we read each and every one and it’s what sets us apart from big box companies where that personal touch often gets left out.

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.
There are so many spots in San Diego! Most of our friends have dogs, so I’d often suggest checking out Encinitas dog park is our favorite spot to let the dogs run, Del Mar Dog Beach and Fiesta Island is also on the top of our list. Lastly, we love taking our friends to Liberty Station for a true ambiance of San Diego and its roots, not to mention the food selection at Public Market. While at Liberty Station, I would also suggest checking out the Puppy Picnic Store where they sell a wide selection of locally sourced dog products, including our own Cookies & Co. merch!

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?
Cookies & Co. would not be where it’s at today without my boyfriend and friends who really encouraged me to step out of my comfort zone. Additionally, my amazing dog treat partners Doggie Beer Bones and Biscuit Bentos make partnering so easy! I’ve also got the opportunity to work with Puppy Picnic Co. at Liberty Station where we sell some of our products in their store. Lastly, my dog ambassadors on instagram and all of Cookies & Co. supporters, we would not be where we are today without each and every one of you!

Website: https://cookiesandco.shop/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/the.cookiesandco/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/the.cookiesandco

Image Credits
Erin Wiese Photography