It might be hard to believe, but Long Island’s rapidly growing Natural Hounds dog food company was founded by a couple of teenagers.
But these were not your typical teens.
Richard Orlandi was at UCONN, in the middle of his first semester, when he decided he wanted to head home and get cracking on building a business with his buddy from Smithtown East High School.
Conor Wooley was enrolled at Suffolk at the time.
The two had already hatched a plan after high school graduation for a company they called Natural Hounds, through which they would develop, cook, sell and deliver fresh and homemade dog food to homes across Long Island.
And they couldn’t get it off their minds.
Nothing was going to stop them — not even some cautious parents.
“My mom really wanted me to remain at school and get the full college experience,” Orlandi said. “But I ended up transferring back home to Stony Brook University. I didn’t even tell her, I just did it.”
Still, he said, she quickly understood and was completely supportive.
“She was behind us every step of the way.”
So there might be something to trusting your kid’s instincts — especially if your kid is anything like Orlandi or Wooley.
These two hustlers have made quite the names for themselves, first by setting up at farmers markets and street festivals across Nassau and Suffolk, where they would give away free product in an effort to develop a subscription base, starting in 2017.
Then by opening their first storefront in Port Jefferson Village in April of 2021.
Then by opening a Babylon Village storefront in January 2023.
Now, the doggie duo will be expanding into downtown Huntington.
Their third location, which is being built in the former Salon 44 space at 44 Gerard Street is expected to open in May.
Before you go, know this:
McDonald’s founder Ray Kroc preached about QSC, an acronym for Quality, Service and Cleanliness. The owners and staff at Natural Hounds also rise each day with a three-word mantra in mind: Quality, Simplicity and Value.
And QSV is what’s fueling their success.
Scroll down to keep reading.
‘Gap in the market’
To be sure, Natural Hounds bills itself as the opposite of McDonald’s — as far as dog food goes.
The way the owners see it, processed food from a bag or a can is exactly that — McDonald’s or Taco Bell — and not something a dog should eat every day.
Yet ordering frozen, human-grade cooked and prepared canine food from comparable online companies gets expensive because of shipping costs.
And cooking at home for your dog (or dogs) is time-consuming and not exactly cheap.
“There was just a major gap in this market,” Orlandi said.
In stepped Natural Hounds.
It’s fresh and local, comparatively affordable and the dogs love it.
“You shouldn’t have to decide between wiping out your bank account or giving your dog a high-quality food diet that helps them thrive and live a healthy, comfortable and happy life,” Orlandi said.
“When we eat poor quality food, we don’t feel comfortable or our best,” he continued. “It’s the same for dogs. It’s just sad because they can’t tell you.”
And at Natural Hounds, they cook it all in an open kitchen — no matter the location.
You can watch and learn how to do it yourself if you’re so inclined, because there are no secrets. The ingredients are simple, and listed.
But Natural Hounds is trying to save you time, as well as money.
“The amount of time it would take to do this in your own kitchen would just be awful,” Wooley said. “I mean, you have to feed your own family and yourself. You have to go to work. Go to the gym. Now you also have to cook for your dog?
“Not only that, you’ll know what we make for your dog is certified complete and balanced by AAFCO standards.”
All about the dogs
Natural Hounds likes operating in downtowns.
They’re dog people, after all — and for many dog walkers, Natural Hounds is a favorite stop for biscuits or bully sticks, be it in Babylon or Port Jeff.
“We get to know all the local dogs,” Orlandi said. “Some people will joke and say they try to avoid our store if it’s too early and we’re not open because their dog will just stand at the door and demand a treat.”
“But we love being part of the dog community,” he added.
Indeed, the whole idea for the company came out of Wooley’s own experiences with his bulldog, Biscuit.
Biscuit was suffering from allergies and skin rashes, tear stains, and other discomforts when an uncle suggested Wooley cook the dog’s food.
Looking back, that’s really when the research and product development began — in his mom’s kitchen in St. James — because whatever he was doing for Biscuit was working. That, and his picky bulldog was eating it.
Biscuit loved it, and her issues cleared up. And Wooley’s mom was gracious enough to lend her kitchen to the fledgling businessmen so they could experiment, and then cook for their farmers markets.
That went on for some four years before Port Jeff opened, once they had the customer base in place. (And, they outgrew the home kitchen.)
But the goal all along— and no matter what, no matter how much the company expands — remains the same. That is, help local dogs be happy and healthy through high quality, human-grade nutrition.
Just like they did with Biscuit.
What’s in store
Scroll down for more photos from Natural Hounds in Babylon Village.
