Waggies by Maggie & Friends

What Waggies by Maggie & Friends does

Waggies by Maggie and Friends, Inc. is a Wilmington, Delaware-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in November 2007 by Leigh Corrigan and Mary Ann Nolan, along with their daughters Maggie and Elizabeth. Its dual mission is to employ persons with intellectual disabilities and to produce all-natural, vet-approved dog treats. The company manufactures bone-shaped biscuits and smaller WaggieBits kibble in Peanut Butter, Chicken-Flavored, and Sweet Potato varieties using premium all-American ingredients with no preservatives, and ships products the same day they are baked. Production runs out of a permanent kitchen at Elks Lodge #307 in Wilmington, supplemented historically by church and partner sites, and involves approximately 16+ bakers, many of whom have long tenure since the founding period.

The business model combines product sales, corporate promotional distribution, tax-deductible donations, and grants. Products are sold direct-to-consumer via the shop.waggies.org e-commerce storefront (shipping nationally and internationally) and through 30+ wholesale retail partners across Delaware, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey, including pet stores, veterinary clinics, bakeries, gift shops, and farm markets. Service-business partners (Burns & McBride, Hillside Heating and Cooling, NaturaLawn of Wilmington) distribute treat two-packs as customer giveaways, and donations are facilitated via United Way of Delaware (code 12591) and direct giving. Grant funding comes from the Longwood Foundation, Delaware Community Foundation, Brandywine Rotary Club, and others. Sub-brands include 'Dog Bark' (a co-product with Dogfish Head Craft Brewed Ales using spent brewery grains, launched 2017) and 'Dog Works' (with Wilmington Brew Works, launched 2019).

Reported revenue was approximately $3.0M in FY2024 per IRS Form 990. The organization has no proprietary software technology, no patents, and no app or API products; its competitive position rests on its mission-driven workforce, community ecosystem (donors, volunteers, corporate partners, grant funders), regional brand recognition (Delaware Today 'Best of Delaware' 2015, Governor's Outstanding Volunteer Award 2013, Gannett Community Thrives Challenge 2021), and multi-channel distribution. The company is governed by a Board of Directors led by President Ann Grunert and Treasurer Kate White, with founder Mary Ann Nolan remaining involved. The model has been formally replicated by Holy Bones in Franklin Lakes, NJ, indicating potential franchiseability of the disability-employment bakery concept.

Name

Waggies by Maggie & Friends

Legal name

Waggies by Maggie and Friends, Inc.

Website

https://waggies.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2007

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Waggies by Maggie and Friends is a Wilmington, Delaware nonprofit that bakes and sells all-natural dog treats while employing persons with intellectual disabilities, distributing via e-commerce and 30+ retail partners across Delaware, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Wilmington

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Revenue model

1. Product Sales: Revenue generated from selling all-natural dog treats including bone-shaped biscuits and WaggieBits in Peanut Butter, Chicken-Flavored, and Sweet Potato varieties. Products sold through online store and retail partners.
2. Donations: Tax-deductible donations accepted directly and through United Way of Delaware (code 12591). Donations help maintain competitive pricing while meeting payroll and expenses.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Waggies by Maggie & Friends is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that bakes and sells all-natural, veterinarian-approved dog treats, including bone-shaped biscuits and WaggieBits kibble in Peanut Butter, Chicken-Flavored, and Sweet Potato varieties. The organization employs persons with intellectual disabilities in its commercial baking operations as part of its vocational mission.

Product overview

Waggies by Maggie & Friends is a nonprofit dog treat company offering all-natural, vet-approved dog treats made with premium all-American ingredients. The core product line consists of bone-shaped biscuits (approximately 2 inches long) and WaggieBits kibble (approximately 1/4 inch squares) in three flavors: Peanut Butter (whole wheat flour, natural peanut butter, skim milk), Chicken-Flavored (whole wheat flour, chicken broth, corn oil, cornmeal), and Sweet Potato. The company also produces collaborative products including Dog Bark (with Dogfish Head) and Dog Works (with Wilmington Brew Works), both made using spent grains from craft breweries. All packaging and labels are produced locally in the Wilmington, Delaware area.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Dog Bark: Dog treats made with spent grains from Dogfish Head brewery, a byproduct of the brewing process. Available at Dogfish Head brewery in Milton, DE and their brewpub in Rehoboth Beach.
• Dog Works

Products and services

• Waggies Bone-Shaped Biscuits All-natural, veterinarian-approved bone-shaped dog biscuits made in small batches with no preservatives, baked by employees with intellectual disabilities. Targeted at dog owners seeking natural treat options.
• WaggieBits Kibble Smaller-format kibble-style dog treats available in Peanut Butter, Chicken-Flavored, and Sweet Potato varieties, baked by Waggies. Targeted at dog owners who prefer bite-sized training treats.
• Dog Bark Co-branded treat-and-beer product created in partnership with Dogfish Head Brewery, pairing Waggies biscuits with craft beer for promotional and gift purposes.
• Dog Works Co-branded dog treat product developed in collaboration with Wilmington Brew Works, sold through both Waggies and partner channels.

Named customers5 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• University of Delaware Engineering – Assistive Medical TechnologiescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerUniversity of Delaware engineering students in the Assistive Medical Technologies club partnered with Waggies to create an improved scale for bakers to more easily weigh dog treats for uniform and safe packaging. Concord High School also developed an interactive scale for Waggies in the 2018 SourceAmerica Design Challenge.
• Dogfish Head Craft Brewed AlescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDelaware's iconic craft brewery collaborated with Waggies to create 'Dog Bark' dog treats made with spent grains from the brewing process. Available at Dogfish Head brewery in Milton, DE and their brewpub in Rehoboth Beach.
• Wilmington Brew WorksminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerLocal brewery collaborated with Waggies to use their spent grain in developing custom bones marketed under 'Dog Works'.
• United Way of DelawarecoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorThe Delaware United Way allows donors to earmark their contributions for Waggies using code #12591. Donations are tax-deductible and support the organization's mission.
• Elks Lodge #307coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerElks Lodge #307 in Wilmington, DE opened their kitchen to Waggies for baking operations starting in 2015. This enabled Waggies to move from temporary church locations to a permanent kitchen facility.
• Burns & McBridecoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorLocal home heating company supports Waggies with large orders of sample packs included with their home deliveries. This was the original distribution model starting in 2009.
• Hillside Heating and CoolingminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorHVAC company distributes Waggies two-packs with promotional door-hangers to their service area customers in Newark, DE.
• NaturaLawn of WilmingtonminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorLawn care company distributes two-packs of Waggies bone-shaped treats to their customers as a 'thank you' for their business.
• Delaware Marketing GroupminorGTM or Marketing PartnerMarketing firm provided expertise that resulted in improved Waggies packaging design.
• Karen Gowen PhotographyminorGTM or Marketing PartnerPhotographer provides professional photography services for Waggies, including most photos on their website and marketing materials.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Three Dog Bakery: Three Dog Bakery is a pioneer in the bakery-style dog treat category, offering decorated biscuits, cakes, and natural treats via company-owned bakeries, franchises, and retail/wholesale partners. Its product format (baked dog biscuits) and bakery-led production model are directly comparable to Waggies' baking operation.
• Cloud Star: Cloud Star is a natural pet treat and care brand selling baked dog biscuits, training treats, and wellness products into pet specialty and mass retail. Its use of wholesome, limited-ingredient recipes and biscuit product line position it as a direct boutique competitor to Waggies in the natural dog treat segment.
• Holy Bones: Holy Bones is a Franklin Lakes, NJ nonprofit that, per Waggies' own company history, explicitly replicated the Waggies employment-and-baking model in 2022. It is the most directly comparable peer in terms of mission, product, and operating model, validating the portability of Waggies' approach.
• Bocce's Bakery: Bocce's Bakery is a New York-based artisanal dog treat brand selling small-batch baked biscuits with wholesome, all-natural ingredients into national retail (Whole Foods, Petco, independent pet stores). It is highly comparable to Waggies in product format (baked biscuits), ingredient positioning (all-natural, no preservatives), and retail strategy, though for-profit and at greater scale.
• Crazy Dog: Crazy Dog is a natural dog treat brand offering bone-shaped and training treats made with limited, wholesome ingredients, sold online and through retail. Its product formats (bone-shaped biscuits, training bits) overlap directly with Waggies' biscuits and WaggieBits.

Broad incumbents

• Pet Wants: Pet Wants is a U.S. franchise of fresh, natural pet food and small-batch baked treat makers, distributing via locally-owned franchisees. Its small-batch, freshly-baked treats franchise model is conceptually comparable to the small-scale artisanal production approach Waggies uses, but executed through a for-profit franchise system.
• Blue Buffalo: Blue Buffalo (General Mills) is one of the largest natural pet food brands in North America, with a broad dog treat and biscuit portfolio positioned on natural, high-quality ingredients. It represents the scaled competitive benchmark Waggies faces in natural-ingredient positioning at grocery and pet specialty retail.
• Wellness Pet Food (Old Mother Hubbard): Wellness Pet Food, parent of the Old Mother Hubbard natural dog treat brand (Wellness Soft Wellbites, natural biscuits), is a major natural pet food and treat manufacturer. Its natural, baked-biscuit product line competes for the same health-conscious pet owner as Waggies, but at much broader scale and distribution.
• Milk-Bone: Milk-Bone (Mars Petcare) is the dominant mass-market bone-shaped dog biscuit brand in the U.S., sold through virtually every grocery and mass channel. While Waggies competes in a different price/positioning tier, Milk-Bone defines the category against which smaller bakers must differentiate on quality and mission.

Emerging players

• Lagunitas Doggie Snacks: Lagunitas Brewing (Heineken) produces 'Doggie Snacks' dog biscuits made with spent grains from its brewing process, sold at the brewery and through select retail. It mirrors Waggies' brewery-spent-grain sub-brand innovation (Dog Bark, Dog Works), making it the closest cross-category parallel for the brewery upcycling product line.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/waggies
• Facebookfacebook.com/waggiesbymaggie

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles9 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Waggies by Maggie & Friends