Finley's는 장애가 있는 사람들의 실업률 80% 이상인 현실에 맞서 싸우겠다는 사명을 가지고 천연 반려견 간식을 개발했으며, 전국적으로 제품의 범위를 확장할 3개의 주요 유통 업체와 파트너십을 체결했다.
Finley's는 교실 개념을 바탕으로 2016년 3월에 전 특수교육 교사 Kyle과 Angie Gallus에 의해 만들어졌다. 교실 개념부터 주요 소매 파트너와의 전국 배포에 이르기까지 Finley's는 9,000시간 이상의 유급 업무 경험 기회를 창출하고 현재까지 장애인 고용을 향상시키기 위해 $100,000 이상을 기부했다. 실제로, 순이익의 50%는 장애가 있는 동료 커뮤니티 구성원에게 평생 동안 힘을 실어줄 비판적 사고, 사회적 및 재정적 기술을 배우는 유급업무 경험을 통해 자신감과 독립성을 확보하도록 지원하는데 사용한다.
Finley's, creators of all-natural dog treats with a mission to combat the more than 80% unemployment rate for people with disabilities, today announced partnerships with three major distributors that will expand the reach of their products nationally. Finley's crunchy oven baked biscuits and soft chew trainer bites are now available in-store at select Safeway/Albertson and Tom Thumb/Randalls locations. Select Target locations in the U.S. are now also carrying crunchy oven baked biscuits.
Based on a classroom concept, Finley's was created by former special education teachers Kyle and Angie Gallus in March of 2016. After seeing the potential and talents of two former students who were young adults and unemployed, Angie and Kyle created Finley's as a way to provide skills training, paid work experiences, and a path to independence for individuals with disabilities. The pair started by baking two nights a week and selling products at events and expos, but that soon became unsustainable as demand grew following a social media post from Ashton Kutcher in 2017 that promoted Finley's as "a business anyone can get behind." From classroom concept to national distribution with major retail partners, Finley's has managed to create over 9,000 hours of paid work experience opportunities and contributed over $100,000 to advance the employment of persons with disabilities to date.
The pandemic has caused major disruption to the retail landscape nationwide, but that has not stopped Finley's from doubling their revenue over the last year, in addition to other significant milestones, such as:
- Growing Finley's ambassador network 33% from 2019 to employ 30 individuals with disabilities in Minnesota.
- Hiring a blogging team of ambassadors to share their stories and address disability awareness topics on the Finley's website.
- Launching Soft Chew Training Bites - a new product line that maintains a clean ingredient panel, is low in calories, and is allergen friendly.
- Expanding Finley's regional pet specialty distribution through two new partnerships: Rio Grande, serving AZ, NM, CO, WY and TX, and Prince Corporation serving the Midwest.
"We are thrilled that through our new distribution partners our products reach a wider consumer base nationally. New collaboration opportunities and the expansion of our brand ambassador initiatives will allow more individuals and communities to be positively impacted throughout 2021 and beyond," said Kyle Gallus, CEO + cofounder of Finley's Barkery. "As we move forward into the new year, we are excited to launch our expanded product line with more online partners and retail locations."
Finley's is a premium pet brand making healthy, delicious dog treats that are free of wheat, corn, soy, fillers, and chemical preservatives. Finley's products are all-natural with limited ingredients to make treating with kindness deliciously easy for people and their pets. Finley's products – oven baked biscuits and soft chew trainer bites – are sold throughout the United States in specialty pet stores & premium grocery channels, and online at getfinleys.com, Target.com, Chewy.com and Walmart.com.
About Finley's Barkery
At Finley's, we like to think that we learn a lot from our pets. They love unconditionally, have good intuition and give everyone an equal opportunity to be a companion. That simple lesson has become our greater purpose. We make our pet treats with just a few all-natural ingredients and a whole lot of kindness. In fact, 50% of our net-profits go to help fellow community members with disabilities gain confidence and independence through paid work experiences learning critical thinking, social and financial skills that will empower them for a lifetime. Serving pets and supporting others is truly a rewarding treat. To learn more about Finley's products and mission, please visit www.getfinleys.com or follow us on Facebook and Instagram.
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