The Trade Show That Changed Everything

Hi everyone,

Every business has a handful of moments that change everything.

For Pet Releaf, one of those moments happened long before most people had ever heard our name.

But to understand it, I have to take you back to the beginning.

Long before we had customers, we made a decision that felt like a big leap. We rented time in a commercial kitchen.

Not because we had orders waiting. Not because we knew the business would succeed. But because we believed in the mission.

My mom and I would spend the day baking treats from scratch.

When they came out of the oven, we'd load them into buckets, drive everything back to our office, dehydrate them overnight, apply every label by hand - front and back - and package every single bag ourselves.

It wasn't glamorous.

But every bag that left our hands represented exactly what we hoped Pet Releaf would become.

One of my favorite memories from those days is sharing the commercial kitchen (in separate, dedicated areas, of course) with another small business that was just getting started.

They were working on a food truck. Today, they're one of Denver's favorite wing restaurants - King of Wings.

I love that we were all chasing our own versions of the same dream.

Eventually, we decided it was time to take a chance on ourselves.

We signed up for our very first Global Pet Expo.

I still remember what my mom said before my stepdad Steve and I left. "If you don't come back with orders...I'm not sure we can keep doing this."

No pressure, right? Looking back now, it's almost funny. Our booth wasn't fancy.

We had a pixelated backdrop. A couple of folding chairs. And an information sheet I'd made in Microsoft Word.

That was it. No polished displays. No elaborate branding.

Just a family with a mission and products we genuinely believed in.

Walking into that trade show was intimidating. We were surrounded by established brands with beautiful booths, big marketing budgets, and years of experience.

Meanwhile, we were hoping someone would stop long enough to hear our story. And thankfully...They did.

Some of the very first retailers and distributors who believed in Pet Releaf met us at that show.

They took a chance on a brand no one had heard of. On packaging that still had plenty of room to improve. On a category that many people thought was far too risky.

They didn't just place an order. They believed in us.

More than a decade later, many of those relationships still exist today. I've never forgotten that. Because businesses don't grow because of one big moment. They grow because people choose to believe in them before everyone else does.

I'll always be grateful to those first retailers and distributors who gave us a chance. Without them, there's a very good chance Pet Releaf wouldn't be here today.

It's easy to look at companies after they've grown and assume they always looked the way they do now.

The truth is...Most of them started with imperfect booths, homemade information sheets, and people who cared enough to keep showing up.

We certainly did.

And honestly? I wouldn't change a thing.

Until next time,

Chelsea