Edina teens land organic dog treats on Lunds & Byerlys shelves

Inside Wooden Ship Brewing Co. in Minneapolis, adults move to and from a bar, beverage in hand, chatting with each other.

In the corner stand four teenagers, waiting for their opportunity to pitch their business to the next passerby, or even better, make a sale.

Since 2017, five friends from Edina — twin sisters Kate and Elli Johnson, Lauren Seim, Emery Engelsma and Rylie Nelson — have operated an organic dog treat business, Luca's Dog Boutique. They sell the treats under the Luca & the Five Girls brand.

What started as a small stand with baggies of homemade dog treats has blossomed — with the help of parents and other family members — into a business with wholesale clients, a co-manufacturing and packaging partner, with a growing list of customers as far as France.

In addition to local farmers markets and dog events in the Twin Cities, the treats are now sold and available in nearly two dozen Lunds & Byerlys stores, Jerry's Foods, County Markets, Bone Marche and select Ace Hardware stores.

This could be a substantial year for the business, with orders in the first quarter already exceeding full-year revenue in 2022. Revenue is going toward college savings and back into the business to fund growth.

"We've learned a lot about business, [things] most people wouldn't have the opportunity to learn," Lauren said. "A lot of things that will stay with us."

Having experienced the life of entrepreneurs, some of the teens say they might start other businesses one day.

"I can see that in my future," Lauren added.

"I think it's good to have experience about business to see if that's what we're interested in," Elli said.

Luca & the Five Girls started with a peanut butter-pumpkin-flavored treat based on recipes they discovered on Pinterest during an art camp. Initially, the five girls sold a combination of dog treats, dog leashes and dog-themed charm bracelets.

They eventually decided to focus on treats, and with the help of Elli and Kate's aunt, Susan Johnson, the Edina High School sophomores started giving samples to people walking their dogs in the neighborhood. That led to doing pop-ups and sample sales at France 44, the wine and cheese store in Minneapolis.

When they needed to expand production in 2018, they sought the help of retirees to do the baking.

That same year, the business was officially registered with the state as Luca's Boutique LLC.

"As they continued to progress, it was obvious they needed to become an LLC," Susan Johnson said. "It was obvious they needed sales tax and needed to [file] proper corporate papers."

By 2019, the teens' online store was fully functional and they had added two new flavors, beef and chicken. In 2021, they committed to Lunds & Byerlys, their largest order to date, and this year updated packaging to be fully recyclable. They started selling on the East Coast.

"As they grew through those years, they got very clear about what was selling and what wasn't," Susan Johnson said.

In 2020, however, Luca & the Five Girls encountered challenges, like most small businesses. Finding ingredients and packaging supplies during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic was a challenge.

"It was hard to get all of the things we need to make our treats due to supply-chain issues," Kate said.

But they made adjustments. To stay in communication about the business, the teens used video conferencing platforms.

The friends want to grow the dog treat business, with a goal of handing over management to others while maintaining equity.

"I think we'd all like to see this business go further, whether we take it on full-time or keep it part-time how it is right now," Kate said. "We want to make it even bigger."