Building a brand: Gaines Family Farmstead

Dewar Gaines has always had an entrepreneurial spirit. 

He remembers selling lemonade when he was six years old, then moved on to a grass cutting business in ninth grade, which he continued through high school. 

“There's been a lifetime dream of owning a business and building a brand,” Gaines said. “The journey has been that I have always wanted to be an entrepreneur. It’s ingrained in my blood, it's just the way I function.”

Gaines, a Crestline Park resident who attended Mountain Brook schools from first through ninth grades, spent several years owning and working for marketing firms. He realized the potential of the pet industry and saw a competitive advantage. 

“We’ve always been a dog family, and it felt like it was a great way to enter the market for something I cared about,” he said.

Gaines convinced his brother, Paden, to join him on the venture, and in late 2017 Gaines Family Farmstead made its debut as a dog-treat company. 

After their original manufacturer went out of business, Gaines and his family began handling their own manufacturing out of a 1,200-square-foot garage in Hueytown. They would go to a farmers market every morning and buy around 270 pounds of raw sweet potatoes. The potatoes were then hand-sliced and dehydrated to make 45 pounds of finished treats daily. 

“After our manufacturing partner closed, we raised money, bought equipment to manufacture and packaged it on our own,” he said. “We cooked 20 hours a day, seven days a week for a year and a half. It was a true family thing.”

There were some tough times during the pandemic, Gaines said. “The business functioned out of dining rooms, basements, barns,” he said. “We shut down the office in 2020 because of COVID and ran everything out of my farm in Trussville. When I sold the farm, we started working out of my basement. Because we decided to be an American-made company, we had a product when most of our competition did not [during the pandemic].”

Those days of 270 pounds of sweet potatoes have now increased to over 350,000.

Why sweet potatoes? “Some people say it's a superfood for dogs,” Gaines said. 

The products include sweet potato dog treats and chews that are 100% American-made products with all natural, healthy ingredients. Options include bones, fries, filets, treats, chews and chips. The treats are grain-free, soy-free and salt-free and contain no preservatives, sweeteners or artificial flavors. They are suitable for all breeds and sizes.

“We created single-ingredient treats six years ago, and that's now the biggest driving portion of the pet market,” Gaines said.

Gaines has come a long way from knocking on doors of retailers and participating in six farmers markets each week. The business had already eclipsed its 2022 numbers by April 2023. 

Within the last year, Gaines Family Farmstead has been featured on Amazon’s Holiday Gift Guide, launched at Costco and chewy.com and still sold at around 1,500 mom-and-pop shops around the country. 

“Amazon put us on their gift list,” he said. “They put me through an interview process and the next thing I know, I’m in Seattle at a photoshoot. The video Amazon created went viral on TikTok and was viewed 22 million times in 72 hours. Then we sold out nationwide on Nov. 12, 2022, and have just recently caught up on inventory.”

Big things are still ahead for Gaines Family Farmstead. They are in the process of launching a new product line entirely designed for Walmart that Gaines said will be their biggest partnership yet. The business is also moving into a new warehouse this month. 

After getting married in July 2020, Gaines and his wife have a 21-month-old son and finally took a long overdue honeymoon in April. 

As for the future, Gaines said, “Give me a few more years. I plan on making our brand a household name.” 

For more information, visit gainesfamilyfarmstead.com.