Melbourne’s Wagalot makes $750k a year from dog birthday cakes and treats

A Melbourne couple have taken spoiling that special companion to the next level, selling almost 200,000 of their treats in the last year.

Pampered pooches of Australia have helped one Melbourne couple rake in $750,000 a year as pet owners seek out birthday cakes and cookies for their dogs.

Alice Needham and Philip Chaplin originally ran a food shop in Brighton before transforming their humble beachside store into a dog bakery in 2010 – one of the first in Australia – using their own receipts to create “cute and fun” treats.

“It was a real shop and people used to come in and sit down and get doughnuts, cakes and treats for their dogs,” Ms Needham told news.com.au.

“But people couldn’t get anything to eat or drink – it was just for the dogs.”

As demand soared for the special treats on the back of a trend to celebrate pets, the couple launched their business Wagalot around seven years ago, a premium doggie treat business.

Ms Needham said they were the first to invent and commercially sell doggie birthday cake kits in Australia back in 2013, which allowed people to hand make the cakes and decorate them, including personalising them for theirs pets.

Wagalot’s DIY birthday cake can be made in 2 minutes. Picture: Instagram

People love to spoil their pets. Picture: Supplied

Ms Needham with their golden retriever Monty, who used to greet everyone at the doggie bakery. Picture: Supplied

The DIY product has since evolved into ‘Mix n Zap’ cake kits, which retail for around $13 to $14.

“So they are microwavable and you can make a cake in two minutes without any baking skills – as long as you can mix something in a bowl, you can make your dog a cake,” she explained.

“They come with a compostable baking tin, a candle, sprinkles, the cake mix and icing.”

Mr Chaplin, who is the kitchen whiz, has even created a range of dog cookies that are made with one of Australia’s favourite spreads, Vegemite, which sell for around $12.

The dog bone is a popular treat too. Picture: Instagram

Six million Aussies own a dog. Picture: Instagram

Sales of Wagalot’s doggie treats have skyrocketed with nearly 200,000 packets flying off the shelves in the last year.

“For people who don’t want to bake, we do a birthday in a box for dogs, a bone-shaped coated biscuit with a candle in it, a hat and popcorn and the dogs go mad for it – Phil has trouble keeping up with making those,” Ms Needham added.

“Our new cookies have Vegemite and they are nice and healthy … That is a serious treat as it’s that real beefy flavour and they love the smell because dogs’ sense of smell is so great. It’s a good Aussie treat but they get really excited about it.”

They have sold 200,000 snacks in the last year. Picture: Supplied

Alice Needham and Philip Chaplin launched Wagalot about seven years ago and sell 20,000 of their DIY doggie birthday cakes a year. Picture: Supplied

Wagalot doggie business. Picture: Supplied

The couple have a goal to get their DIY doggie birthday cake mixes stocked in every Woolworths, Coles and IGA in Australia.

The 54-year-old added it's a huge market with six million dogs in Australia – a figure that has grown considerably during the pandemic.

“People are treating their dogs like their kids these days. You wouldn’t not make a cake for your kid so why wouldn’t you make one for your pup? People are wanting to make a special fuss on that day for them,” she said.

“A lot of people don’t necessarily know the date of their dog’s birthday but have a ‘gotcha date’, so the day they adopted them.

“I think people are really treating their dogs like royalty now and well gone are days when you used to throw a bone out the back door and leave a dog to sleep in backyard in the kennel.”

Doggie birthdays are not unusual these days. Picture: Supplied

The business also sells doggie treats. Picture: Instagram

People love spoiling their dogs with DIY doggie cake kits. Picture: Supplied

Over the next three years, the Melbourne couple want to see Wagalot grow to the point where it brings in $5 million a year.

They have launched a Birchal equity crowd-funding campaign, where shares in the company can be bought for as little as $250.

The crowd-funding would help them ramp up production to reach their expansion goal.

Wagalot’s treats are currently stocked in 400 outlets and pet stores around the country.

Originally published as Melbourne’s Wagalot makes $750k a year from dog birthday cakes and treats