Impact Investment Teaches Dog Treat Bakery New Tricks!

What do you do when you have more orders than capacity allows? Brewhaus Bakery & Dog Bones came to Flywheel. This baker of wholesome, handcrafted, small batch dog treats made with spent grains from local craft breweries was a top finisher in Flywheel’s 2020 Fast Pitch competition. The audience fell in love with their mission. Not only do they bake sustainably, they hire and train individuals with disabilities, providing meaningful, learning & work opportunities.

Following the event, Flywheel offered Brewhaus founder Lisa Graham a series of consulting sessions. Coach Ann Schwister, a retired Procter and Gamble finance leader, partnered with Flywheel’s long-time consultant, Joe Vallo, to help increase the Bakery’s profitability. Ann was impressed by the great prospects and unique proposition. Together, they built a winning financial plan.

Brewhaus Bakery began supplying dog treats for a growing list companies, including Double Dog Restaurant and Bar group operating in three states, Brewdog Great Lakes, Real Estate companies, and dog treats sold by Graeter’s Ice Cream.

Doing the work by hand was straining capacity but buying the professional equipment they needed to meet demand was expensive. Lisa had to piece together funding.

Her former coach, Ann, had faith in the Brewhaus financial plan. She agreed to help with a loan using a unique Impact Investment structure piloted by Flywheel that leveraged her donor advised fund at Greater Cincinnati Foundation.

Brewhaus bought the equipment and was able to scale and grow. If that wasn’t enough, using creative fundraising, including a Bourbon event this past December, Brewhaus paid off the loan more than 3 years ahead of schedule.

This investment not only allowed Brewhaus bakery to scale, it also helped their staff develop a new skill set, running commercial baking machinery.

Flywheel is proud to play a roll in making this opportunity for impact investing happen.

You can find out more about Brewhaus and support their mission by visiting their website here: https://brewhausdogbones.com/home