Is 3" Too Large for a Custom Horse Treat?

That’s what I was thinking - I have no illusions that these would be a weekly purchase :slight_smile:

Thanks for your input.

I see a lot of people give a horse an apple and the horse just bites off a piece. Are the treats easy to break in half?
for me I like the idea of a smaller treat because I stick them in my pocket, back pocket, front, jacket whichever and a 3 in treat might be hard to do that. But then these look like hello or end of day treat.
So. darn. cute!

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They’re awfully cute. As noted above, my horse would not appreciate the presentation :wink: and would put the whole thing in his face at once before I got the cute photo. The case where I would become your customer is something like, I’m in charge of the prizes and I want to give the champions something besides their ribbon. I want something that feels thoughtful but not too expensive. Your cookies are pretty, the winners will love them (horse and human,) and they fit the budget. But one cookie, even a 3" one, feels like less of an award than three smaller cookies. (And because three is more than one, I’m also prepared to spend a little more for this.)

You’re not required to make me your customer here- I’m pointing out areas where you might consider expanding as you grow your business.

Best of luck!

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Thanks! I’m setting up a booth at a local event in a couple weeks, so I’m sure the market will let me know … yay capitalism!

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They are easy to break :). And I see many people’s points with the smaller treats, but at the prices I’d have to charge for smaller treats (it’s the same amount of time to decorate them), I just know they’d never sell.

Hearing everyone’s thoughts is super helpful, though.
I feel like I’m not going into this blind.

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I have no idea how decorating works but could you do smaller ones in a single complementary colour?

So a single pack that contains 1 large cookie with the pretty designs and three small cookies that are just “dipped” or something in a single colour? For purposes of easy math, let’s say a single large fully decorated cookie is $5, then a package with one large fully decorated and 3 small in a single colour could be $10… or one large fully decorated and 3 small with no icing is $7.

I think there’s some options to consider if you want to incorporate smaller cookies.

Since you plan on trying some local markets this would be a great chance to try out some various combinations to see how they sell.

Very cute cookies!

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I DO have sets planned, in addition to mix & match singles - thank you!

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Come back and update us with how it goes. Seems like a fun idea.

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I will! I feel like like any information I get helps me to create a more appealing product - even if people say things that go against my initial ideas, it makes me think and deliberate, and sometimes re-calibrate. Obviously, I don’t know everything, so hearing (or reading) others suggestions is super helpful. Like, I 'm not going into this with the idea that these are training treats for example, but reading all the responses makes me consider a “snap off” treat idea (something I’ve done with human cookies), and a friend suggested offering a “pony & me” set - something I would not have thought to do, but ended up being super cute.

It takes a village :). So what I’m saying is, yes, I’ll give an update after the show. I want to honor the input everyone here has given. and it may help someone else in the future, the way I’ve found some answers on other message boards about pet food regulations, you know?

Hoping to come back with good news - but even if it doesn’t turnout great I will have learned a lot.

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I feel like at a show is where I’d buy something like this, or as a holiday/gotacha-day treat. I’d probably snap a quick mooching face photo with the cookie, then break it up for a job well done at a horse show. I absolutely do not think 3" is too big, that seems about in line with the Snacks 5th etc type treats.

While I’m probably slightly older than your target market, I would absolutely special-occasion purchase something like this and not think about the size.

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I buy treats like this all the time. I either break them into pieces before feeding or hold it and my horse will just bite off one chunk at a time. There are a few companies local to me that make them and they are all extremely popular, so I wouldn’t worry about the size!

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My horses’ favorite treats are considerably larger than 3":


(https://www.facebook.com/simplynoblesequineconfections for photo/treat source)

I buy these for holidays, birthdays, and other special occasions. (Yes, I’m that horse owner…) They even make me a separate version for the one horse who doesn’t like peppermints. :smiley: It usually takes about 3-4 bites per cone.

I’d be your target market for sure. Lol.

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as a distribution idea, make up bulk packages that can be sold at a discount to fund raisers such as youth groups

I was a regional youth director for one of the major breeds, there was one of my youth groups that raised over $13,000 doing projects, the funds were used as scholarship fund for them, these kids worked on some interesting projects but also ran a treat booth at the breed’s fund shows

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If I were still on the board of the local show association I’d be emailing you for your info to buy 20 of those as qualifier prizes for the pony medal finals. That’s a great idea.

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Thanks!
(I mean, who doesn’t love validation?) :slightly_smiling_face:

I’ll post more as I figure out packaging and designs.
Again, this is new for me, so a lot of things to iron out.
Ands I know things won’t be perfect in two weeks, but I think they’ll be good enough to get an idea if I should move forward.