10-year-old operates small business baking and selling dog treats in St. Cloud area
Right now, there's one thing standing between Brayden Vossen and a ticket to Japan: dog treat sales.
In the spirit of full disclosure, he might use the proceeds from sales to for a trip to New York to see the Statue of Liberty. Time will tell.
Vossen, 10, is the face — and baker — behind Brayden's PAWfect Treats. His mom, Kayla Goebel, and her fiancé Keshia Wiechmann work alongside Brayden to help him bake, decorate and package homemade dog treats. Goebel also applied for the cottage food license the business operates under, which allows people to bake certain things out of their homes if they meet certain training requirements. Dog and cat treats were recently added to the list of items allowable to produce out of a home kitchen under this license.
More:Minnesota's cottage food producers are increasing in numbers, including in St. Cloud
Brayden's PAWfect Treats sells bags of peanut butter treats, bone treats and cupcakes for dogs. He likes to bake, but he says his mom is the one who got him started baking treats for dogs.
"My mom just randomly woke up and thought about it," he said.
They had three dogs of their own at the time. Goebel said they started handing the treats out to neighbors and friends.
"All of a sudden, everyone wanted to buy them," Goebel said. "So, we're like, if you want to keep baking, I guess that's what we'll do!"
According to Goebel, Vossen has been diagnosed with autism, ADHD, anxiety and an adjustment disorder. She said his business has helped him learn social skills and a way to focus on tasks.
"He used to not do eye contact at all," she said.
It's also a great way to meet dogs, which Vossen is a fan of because they are soft and fluffy, he said.
After an event, any leftover treats get donated to an animal rescue or the humane society. Vossen has also donated money from treat sales to Minnesota-based nonprofit Simply Love International.
You can find Brayden's PAWfect Treats on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/groups/braydenspawfecttreats/.
This article originally appeared on St. Cloud Times: Behind Brayden's PAWfect Treats is a 10-year-old in the kitchen
