SCORE Names Love Your Pet Bakery an American Small Business Champion

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Love Your Pet Bakery has been named a winner of The 2018 American Small Business Championship by SCORE, the nation’s largest network of volunteer, expert business mentors. The Championship awarded this title to 102 entrepreneurs for their dedication to the success of their small businesses, awarding them an all-expense-paid trip to a training and networking event, SCORE mentoring and publicity throughout the year, and a chance to win one of three $15,000 grand prizes, made possible with the support of Sam’s Club.

Love Your Pet Bakery earned the title of American Small Business Champion by submitting an online application describing what makes its business one of the best small businesses in their community and how they plan to use the prizes to grow their business. Nominations that garnered at least 100 votes were then presented to a judging panel of small business experts that determined 102 winners including Love Your Pet Bakery.

“Nearly 30 years ago, we had a very sick dog, Jackson. He was accidentally poisoned at only 2 years old. He lost 2/3 of his body weight and nearly died,” the company stated in a press release. “Determined to save our beloved family member, we researched high quality nutrition and decided to try preparing a raw, fresh food diet. Jackson immediately started to gain weight and thrive. He lived a long, healthy 16 more years!

“At that time, there were no raw pet foods or quality pet supplements on the market. Inspired by Jackson’s recovery, Love Your Pet Bakery was born! To this day we are committed to providing unparalleled nutrition for pets in all life stages.”

“We are so grateful to receive this recognition for the commitment we have had to pet nutrition. Thank you to our wonderful community both locally and online for supporting us and helping us succeed. This would not have been possible without you,” said Valarie Kamdar, owner and founder of Love Your Pet Bakery.

“SCORE congratulates and celebrates these 102 American Small Business Champions, who represent some of the best small businesses in America,” SCORE CEO Ken Yancey said. “We are proud to reward these passionate and hardworking entrepreneurs with business mentoring, publicity and additional networking and training opportunities, and we look forward to watching them utilize these tools to further grow their business success.”

“Supporting entrepreneurs has been a part of who we are for nearly 35 years,” said Tracey D. Brown, senior vice president of Operations and chief experience officer at Sam’s Club. “Many of our members own a small business and we appreciate having the opportunity to help them as they find creative solutions to problems they face on a day to day basis. The 102 winners celebrated through the American Small Business Championship are excellent examples of how innovation, persistence and knowing your customers can help an entrepreneur overcome obstacles and we congratulate them on their accomplishments.”

Love Your Pet Bakery is also eligible to win one of three additional $15,000 grand prizes by being named Grand Champion. A judging panel of small business experts will select three Grand Champions from the group of small business champions this summer. Selection will be based on how effectively Champions utilize their prizes to grow business revenue or operations, as well as how effectively the winners promoted the Championship in the media and social media.