At A Glance

Adam Baker is the Founder and CEO of SodaPup, a pet enrichment company that creates a broad range of tools designed to stimulate dogs mentally and slow them down while eating. With products that range from nylon chew toys and rubber treat holders for fun, slow feeder dog bowls for health, and target sticks for training, SodaPup definitely seems like it’s ‘doing it all’ in the pet product space. 

Who is Adam Baker? 

Meet Adam Baker, founder and CEO of SodaPup.

About SodaPup

SodaPup launched in 2012, though the first product wasn’t actually produced until 2013. That rubber treat dispenser and chew toy was only the start, and the company soon expanded into more chew toys, lick mats, and more. The products are designed to help stimulate the natural foraging instincts that dogs have, which are definitely not stimulated by traditional dog food bowls. 

‍Adam’s Journey

Adam started his career in the Coast Guard before returning home to complete his MBA. From there, he entered the corporate world, working with Nike for a decade, followed by four years at Under Armour. While there he even had the unique opportunity to watch the company go public. 

From there, he traveled across the country again to join Crocs as VP of product management and licensing. But all the travel, both international and domestic, and all those years in the corporate sector was draining and Adam decided to retire. Still, he wasn’t sure if being retired when his children were so young was a good idea and decided to start up a hobby business in his basement to teach his kids about business and to show them the importance of an honest days’ work.

14 years later, the company is being sold in 48 countries, primarily through distributors that pass it on to retailers, but there are some consumer direct sales as well. Selling on sites like Fair, Chewy, Target, Amazon, and Walmart have allowed SodaPup to venture into countries in Western Europe, Asia, Australia, and New Zealand, as well as the United States. 

Understanding the Team At SodaPup

What does the team look like at a small business that’s definitely not a start-up anymore? It looks like Adam and his wife as well as a finance person and seven additional people in the fulfilment center. 

That means the team is somewhat hybrid, with the fulfillment center team and Adam himself working in the warehouse and the finance person and Adam’s wife, who serves as a special projects person, working from home. 

There’s no marketing department and no sales force. Just their small team of 10 and AI being leveraged for as many tasks as possible to reduce the number of general processes that would otherwise have to be done manually. 

Business Growth and Revenue Strategies

E-Commerce has helped grow a number of businesses, and that’s true for SodaPup too. The company launched back in 2012 but they had the opportunity to really grow their market during the pandemic. With so many people at home taking better care of their pets than ever, SodaPup was able to capitalize on the design aspect of their business. They were able to provide products that not only helped dogs but also looked great while doing it. 

By doing so, they managed to drive international demand, and it was all fueled by social media marketing and their Instagram and TikTok shops. The end result? Global awareness that helped SodaPup get their products in front of even more dogs, and also created a whole new product concept, fashion and design in dog food. 

Using AI to the Best

There are plenty of ways that AI can and does help businesses, and at SodaPup, AI is being used as much as possible. That means when it comes to logistics and the data tasks that would otherwise take a whole lot of time to handle manually. Adam even managed to use ChatGPT to fill out the massive addition form for Chewy.com that would have otherwise taken days when he’s adding over 100 SKU’s all at once. And all it took was a similar dataset from Shopify, the blank addition spreadsheet from Chewy and the right instructions. 

Leveraging that kind of work through AI definitely makes everything run more smoothly and efficiently and it’s part of the reason that SodaPup can continue with such a small team.

SodaPup’s CX Philosophy

The customer experience at SodaPup is simple. Adam wants customers to fall in love with the product and the brand and he knows that in order for that to happen he needs to create a brand that really resonates with those customers. A brand that’s made in the USA, with FDA compliant materials, and high quality designs and colors. Something that ships fast and provides a good value. The totality of the customer experience, after all, is not just the product that’s being made but what the company really stands for. 

And speaking of what the company stands for, one thing that makes SodaPup unique is actually their pallets. Each one is piled high with products and then wrapped. But SodaPup’s fulfillment team doesn’t just send those products out with a boring wrap. They personalize each one with images related to the product, notes directly for the end consumer, and a whole lot more. It creates something unique and fun for not only the fulfillment team, but the end consumer as well. 

Innovating with a Plan

When it comes to innovation there’s a great deal that SodaPup does that’s not like others. For one thing, their products are all produced in the United States, where most other dog toys are made in Vietnam or China.

For another, they offer a wide product offering because being made in the US gives them the advantage of shallow inventory and the opportunity to produce quickly and be more precise. That way, they can offer exactly what their customers are looking for.

Another difference? They create molds so they can be used again. Rather than creating a whole new mold for each product, SodaPup creates an exterior mold and then creates inserts to help prolong the life and usability of the mold itself, since they're expensive and time consuming to make.  

Focusing on What Matters

So, what really matters to Adam and SodaPup right now? Adam’s changed his mind on a few things. The main one being that he originally wanted to keep SodaPup small and more of a hobby business. Something that he might spend a great deal of time on but he wanted to grow more organically and in line with the cash flow. 

But now he’s thinking about expanding. Looking at expanding distribution and all of the challenges that could come along with that.