In 2014, Kat began to explore all-natural ways to support her dogs using ingredients she trusted, like those in her own pantry. The homemade hemp biscuits that came out of her kitchen were so effective neighbors started asking her to share... word spread, and Austin and Kat was born!
From humble beginnings at a Saturday farmer’s market in Maine, Kat’s products can now be found in over 1,000 independent pet shops across the US.
Austin and Brady: our original recipe testers
Like a lot of great origin stories, I started Austin and Kat as a homemade science project. Okay, not exactly, but it did start in my home kitchen as an all-natural CBD remedy for my two dogs, Austin and Brady. Austin could be a little hyper and Brady had all the aches and pains that came with being a senior dog. I searched high and low for something that could help both of them and, after experimenting with hemp, herbal ingredients, and complementary botanicals, I came up with our very first batch of tail-thumpingly good biscuits.
from triathlons to… test kitchens?
After seeing the dramatic difference it made for Austin and Brady, I shared a few batches with my friends, neighbors, and triathlon teammates to see if it could help their dogs too. Pretty soon, I was busy hand-delivering boxes out of the back of my station wagon, with Austin in tow of course, and getting a first-hand look at the difference that CBD could have on other pets. The orders were coming in faster than I could write them down so, in November, I got to work creating our very first website. I pressed publish just in time to see…
our first big milestone
After a few years of building our community, connecting with pet owners, and hearing about their journeys with CBD, we made it onto the shelves of our very first store in the Pacific Northwest: Seattle’s All the Best. If you’ve had the chance to stop by, or live in the PNW, you know just what a pinch-me moment it was to see Austin and Kat’s purple packaging on those shelves.
Austin and Kat starts taking over the country
Back in 2017, I set myself a pretty big goal: I wanted to see Austin and Kat in 100 stores. I spent hours cold-calling around the country, and got hung up on a lot, but working my way up to 100 stores meant that I forged some pretty great relationships along the way. Honestly, it felt like winning the lottery every time we landed a new store. It legitimized what I knew already: that we were making amazing products and people (and their pets!) we re seeing the benefits.
finding a new place to call home
Our reputation spread as we made our way into more stores across the country, which gave us the opportunity to talk to customers and find out exactly what their pets needed for a better quality of life. As we added products and grew as a company, we started searching for a bigger, better HQ for Austin and Kat. We’d already moved from Maine to Seattle back in 2017, and in the fall of 2021 we found a new home that gives us plenty of room to experiment with ingredients and formulate products while being in complete control of everything we create.
We’ve come a long way since those first batches in my kitchen, but Austin and Kat has always been, and always will be, inspired by the pets in our lives that encourage us to try new things and learn from every experience.
Every dog in my life had a different need, which is why every Austin and Kat product is named after the pet they’ve helped. No matter what comes next in our journey, our commitment to offering every pet a new approach to wellness, along with honest ingredients, will always remain as steadfast as Austin’s love of belly rubs.
