With unsold bread from Toulouse bakeries, a Gers resident creates organic dog treats

Why should the doggies not also have the right to eat healthy and organic? This idea crossed the mind of Piers Garnham, a Briton living in the Gers, several years ago. A former miller, passionate about bakery, he decided to start designing organic dog treats two years ago. But not with just any product.

One of the bases of his recipe is none other than bread. “On average, nearly 10% of bakery production is unsold, instead of throwing it away you have to do something with it, that’s the very idea of ​​anti-waste. So I collect the bread from the bakeries. It is sliced, dried, I make breadcrumbs that we include in a recipe. The sweets are then made in an artisanal biscuit factory, for humans, in Dordogne, ”assures the founder of the Scraps brand – leftovers in French – Gourmet, who tested the products on himself and on his dog Frida before marketing them.

Natural ingredients

Today, in the spirit of the circular economy, they are on sale for 4.90 euros per pack in the organic artisan bakeries of the Chapelier Brothers, where he collects around 40 kilos of bread once a month. “For us, the important thing was to find outlets for our unsold products because we don’t bake bread to throw it away. So when Piers came to present the project to us, we immediately saw the potential, ”explains Yannig Chapelier.

Until now, part of the production of its three stores was either transformed or donated to associations. But depending on the season, the Covid or the holidays, there are fluctuations in the sale and the inability to guarantee regular unsold costs for associations. “We are therefore always looking for opportunities and Scraps is a time of development that does not ask us anything. It’s also a way of supporting a project that carries organic values, it’s not just greenwashing, ”continues the baker, who has installed displays for his customers.

Dog owners are won over by the originality of the product, but above all by this aspect of recycling non-wasted raw material. Today Piers Garnham markets four flavors of organic sweets, from tomato-cheese to spinach-kelp for greenery lovers. All made from natural ingredients, including at least 30% recycled bread, without additives or preservatives.

“There is nothing horrible in it,” jokes Piers who is “anti-kibble” because of their composition. He’s adapting his treats to cats and horses. And he is already thinking about creating real meals for our four-legged friends. And why not in the spirit of the South-West, a version of the adapted cassoulet.

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