10/21/2026
💚🐾 RYAN THE NERD: This One Hurt My Heart a Little. 💔🤓
Today, someone came into the store and mentioned that a $10 bag of treats was too expensive. And honestly, that comment stuck with me and made me a bit sick to my stomach. Heads up, this is a rare, rare, rare instance where the 1's and 0's spreadsheet nerd is going to reveal some emotion.
My stomach was sick, not because they were wrong. I understand how expensive everything has gotten. We're all feeling it. But it made my heart hurt a little because I wish people knew just how hard I've been trying.
I've spent countless nights analyzing our sales, comparing vendor costs, adjusting prices, and trying to find ways to keep things affordable for our customers.
And I want to share something with you.
📊 Our numbers from the last three months tell an interesting story.
We're selling more. We're serving more customers. But we're actually making LESS profit.
📈 Increased sales volume: +$1,809
📉 Customer shift toward lower-margin products (not buying as many treats or toys): -$6,157
📉 Shrinking profit margins within categories: -$13,277
That's a reduction of approximately $17,625 in gross profit from these changes over just three months. Some of that is because customers are buying fewer higher-margin products like toys and treats. But a significant part is also coming from shrinking margins, where we've been trying to absorb rising costs instead of passing them along to our customers. I've made several posts about this before.
Here's something you might not know. I looked at six of our Fromm dog foods. Every single one has a LOWER regular price in 2026 than it did in 2025.
For example:
Whitefish & Potato: $72.99 → $68.99
Pork & Applesauce: $68.99 → $65.99
Gold Adult: $63.99 → $60.99
And those price reductions weren't accidents. We intentionally lowered those prices because we care. We care about the family feeding multiple dogs. We care about the customer on a fixed income. We care about making sure people can continue feeding their pets quality food without feeling like they're being priced out.
And on top of lowering regular prices, we're discounting many products MORE frequently than last year.
For example, Pork & Applesauce went from 29% of sales being discounted to 37%, and Trout & Whitefish went from 11% to 29%.
All while our costs of shipping, labor, and doing business continue to rise. We've been absorbing costs, lowering prices, and giving more discounts because we genuinely care about the people who walk through our doors.
And those decisions have real consequences for our little business. We've postponed improvements we wanted to make for our employees, including upgrades to the grooming salon and fixing the temperature in our feed room. These aren't extravagant things. They're improvements that would make our employees' jobs a little easier and more comfortable.
And as a family-owned business, what the store earns is also what supports Jess and me. When we choose to absorb higher costs instead of passing them along, that affects our family too. But we've made those decisions because we care about this community, and because we know we're not the only family feeling the pressure of rising costs.
That doesn't mean we can keep doing it forever. We're going to have to find a better balance. But I hope people understand why we've been trying.
💔 And I think that's why that $10 bag of treats hurt a little. Because behind that price tag are hours of work that nobody sees. Hours spent trying to save our customers a few dollars here and there. Hours spent figuring out how to make less on certain products so our customers don't have to pay more.
And sometimes I wonder if people realize just how much I care about getting it right. I'm not asking for sympathy. We're a business, and we need to make a profit to keep our doors open and take care of our employees. And we're not always going to have the lowest price. I know that, but it doesn't stop me from trying.
I'm usually much more comfortable with numbers than emotions. A spreadsheet makes sense to me. People and feelings? That's a little more complicated. 😂 I went back and forth about even writing this because I don't want anyone to misunderstand my intentions.
I'm not upset with the customer who thought the treats were expensive. I understand completely. I just wish there were an easy way to show people how much thought, effort, and genuine care goes into the prices they see on our shelves.
But I never want someone to walk into our store and think we don't care about what things cost them. Because I do. A whole lot.
We just celebrated five years of Paw of the Family, and I want to be here for another five, ten, or twenty. I know we have to find a healthier balance between keeping prices affordable and keeping our business healthy.
And I'm working on it. Every single day.
I guess I just wanted everyone to know that behind these prices is a small business owner who really, genuinely is trying. 💚
Thank you for continuing to support our little store.
Ryan the Nerd 🤓
P.S. If anyone needs me, I'll be staring at another spreadsheet trying to figure out how to make dog food cheaper without putting myself out of business. 😂
