Out of the Kitchen and into the Market

It wasn't long before Elizabeth Kane moved out of her kitchen and into a test kitchen, which is part of the reason why her ingredients for GumBits are of such high quality and fit for human consumption. “In a test kitchen, you must use ingredients that are of high quality and suitable for humans. You couldn’t make a dog food product in a facility that makes food for humans.”

As she progressed, she began to realize that she was on to something and a concept for a new business venture began to emerge. “I had no idea it would come to this,” Kane said. “I just wanted something for my horses, but then Shereen Fuqua joined me as a business partner and as we talked about it, we realized that we might be able to get someone to manufacture it for us.”

And so, the pair went to work coming up with a logo design and labels. “We figured it out step by step because initially, we had no clue of where we were going. We just kept moving forward,” Kane said. “At one point we decided we needed business colors, so we went to the mall and looked at colors. We’d drink Starbucks and talk ideas. So, bit by bit, we went from the recipe to producing the product to coming up with packaging to figuring out every aspect of this business.”

Kane said it’s been a fun journey. In turning her idea into a business, her first goal is to help other horses. Making a lot of money has actually been rather low on the goal list. “I never imagined this as a way to make money, if we break even, that’ll be good. For me personally, it’s just a way to share my passion for horses with people.”