Alexis and Aubrey Gray are pretty proud of themselves. Over the past five years, the entrepreneurial-minded sisters, who are 15 and 12, respectively, have built a successful business selling homemade dog treats and snuffle mats to neighbors and even a handful of retailers.
They’ve been invited to markets and trade shows, caught the attention of local organizations, and developed a modest following on social media. And when baking days get hectic, a few friends are always ready to help knock out a few extra batches.
But if there’s one winner in all of this, it’s their adorable 6-year-old cockapoo, Kopi—the best-fed dog in all of Lantana.
“There have been plenty of baking days when we’ll get to the end of the day, and he won’t want to eat his dog food because he has already eaten so many treats,” Aubrey said. “If we drop something on accident, he’s become quite quick on his feet.”
Alexis agreed, adding, “It took a lot of research to figure out the right ingredients. We had to make sure everything was healthy for him.”
Thankfully, Kopi, in his own way, has been more than happy to share these treats with other dogs near and far. That’s how Kopi Treats got its name, and what started as a fun side project for two sisters quickly grew into a bona fide small business with lots of inventory, equipment, all-natural ingredients, licensing requirements, and customers that extend well beyond their Lantana neighborhood.
It all started five years ago, when Alexis received a dog treat cookbook for Christmas. The family took part in an annual garage sale soon after, so she and Aubrey thought it might be a good idea to make coffee and hand out dog treats as neighbors made their way through, hoping to find a few hidden gems. The idea was a hit, so much so that a few people who happened to be there began posting online about the dog treats they’d stumbled upon. One customer led to three … then four, five, and so on.
Then came a call from the Lantana Ladies League in 2021. They wanted Alexis and Aubrey to be part of their upcoming dog show.
“They weren’t even an official business at that point,” their mother, Ashley Gray, said. “When it all first started, my husband, Matt, and I were really just trying to support the girls. We thought, ‘OK, great. It’s a great little hobby.’ But the girls remembered how much fun they had with the dog show, and they wanted to keep doing it. We sat down as a family and thought, ‘What would this even look like?’ The next thing we knew, we had invested in starting an LLC in 2024, and we made plans to see this through.
“They continue to come up with cool stuff that’s honestly beyond Matt and my wildest dreams. Social media, scripting what they say to customers, cold calls … their personalities really shine through. It’s a blessing—God’s hand has been in this endeavor the entire time.”
Kopi Treats currently has four flavors: bacon, peanut butter, carrot, and pumpkin. Each bag contains 20 treats, and all ingredients are carefully sourced with an emphasis on natural, wholesome ingredients that are safe and nutritious for dogs.
Alexis said they send each recipe to a local laboratory that specializes in pet-food testing. The treats undergo a rigorous analysis to determine nutritional content and establish the guaranteed analysis required for licensing. To date, all that extra work has helped them get their treats into eight retailers, including Pet Wants in Roanoke and Plano and Little Joe’s Farmstead in Argyle.
“Our treats are even in Dusty Roads Bicycles, which is a bike shop,” Aubrey said with a laugh.
Alexis agreed, adding that they also sell at various local markets every Saturday.
“Believe it or not, there is more licensing involved in selling dog treats in Texas than there is to sell human food,” Alexis said. “We have a 10-quart mixer, and we have baking days every other month on Saturdays and sometimes Sundays. It takes us all day, but depending on what we have left in inventory, we can do three or four batches at a time.”
Beyond making delicious dog treats and having plenty of fun, Alexis and Aubrey both see Kopi Treats as a launching pad for a future in business. Alexis, now a sophomore at Guyer, is already taking two business classes and plans to major in business in college. Aubrey sees a future for herself in animal nutrition, with a minor in business management.
“We’ve spent so much of our childhood doing this, and we love it,” Aubrey said. “It’s great to watch the business grow.”
Even if a few important snacks end up in Kopi’s mouth and spoil his dinner plans.
To learn more about Kopi Treats, visit kopi-treats.square.site. You can also find Kopi Treats on Facebook at facebook.com/kopi.treats2 and Instagram at @kopi.treats1.
