"Sidewalk Pitch?"

Gabe the Husky lying on a porch

We often hear the term "elevator pitch" thrown around in discussing marketing terms or ideas. Generally, elevator pitch is used to describe a brief, but informative dialogue concerning a product. As I've mentioned, I'm sure countless times at this point, I spend quite a bit of my time at RAWZ's retail partners meeting and discussing RAWZ with pet parents. While I hope my communication concerning animal nutrition is clear and at least improved given the amount of time I've had to work on it, yes, even I must admit, there's always room for improvement 🙂 With this thought in mind, I'd thought I'd use this as an opportunity to do better.

So why do I use the term sidewalk pitch? While I believe the term "elevator pitch" is great in that it implies the brevity of the interaction, with an emphasis on getting to the heart of the matter quickly and concisely. The fact is that most retail locations are single floors, also, I'm most likely out for a walk with Clooney (yes the Silver Fox himself) when I happen to meet other pets and their people; when of course RAWZ always is one of the first things that comes up. None of these interactions take place in an elevator which is where the term sidewalk pitch comes from.

Just last night while walking Clooney through downtown Portsmouth the thought to write this post occurred to me when our path crossed with a couple visiting from Connecticut. As is usually the case, Clooney's handsomeness prompted a conversation about dogs and their own lab at home. Obviously, I wanted to steer the discussion to the benefits of minimally processed nutrition, when as we approached where we would part, I realized my time was limited. I did my best, and while admittedly not completely prepared (ie. sample and product literature in hand, no orange shirt on!), to explain RAWZ's nutritional philosophy and 100% cause basis. Despite my best effort, I felt I could have done better. I thought to myself, and may have said aloud to Cloon, why not write what I should've said in this month's blog post...here goes!

At RAWZ we believe a raw diet when fed correctly is truly the best way to feed a pet; however, feeding raw involves great expense along with food safety issues. Seeing the huge gap between heavily processed dry foods, containing rendered ingredients, available and a raw diet, we saw an opportunity. After working with a team of fantastic animal nutritionists and pet food formulation experts, RAWZ was born! After both Andy and I had been blessed with wonderful recoveries and enriching experiences post life-changing injuries, our family was filled with gratitude. Recognizing how difficult building some semblance of a life after a serious disability can be, we're blessed to be able to donate 100% of RAWZ's profits to our phenomenal non-profit RAWZ FUND partners!

So in one sentence, built on the foundation of a belief in minimally processed nutrition, RAWZ exists to help people and pets live their best lives!