Southampton Teen Duo Launches Dog Treat Business

Southampton teens Ariana Zajac and Ella Gershon, who are both 14, are running a successful dog treat business, Hamptons Hound, while at the same time raising money for cancer research. With the duo’s cooking backgrounds, passion for dogs of all kinds, and their desire to raise money for a good cause, a dog treat business was the perfect project.

What makes their new business special, is that the duo is running the company largely on their own; they bake the tasty treats themselves, adding all natural ingredients to the chicken and lamb recipes they designed, and have a little help from their parents on the business side.

“I’ve always had a passion for cooking, for my dogs and for people,” said Ariana, who competed on “Chopped Junior” when she was 12 years old. “Me and my mom have always made treats and cakes for my dogs on their birthdays and other occasions.”

Before the girls decided to launch their business, Ariana made 2,000 dog biscuits for a local house vet who needed a new tasty treat for her clients. Ella added that though the business takes a lot of work to keep running, the girls truly enjoy all aspects of baking, distributing, and raising money for a good cause.

“We kind of combined our love for dogs and passion for cooking to help us learn how to build a business about something we’re passionate about,” Ella said. “We bake a couple times a week for a couple of hours a day, and it's a lot of fun.”

Fifteen percent of the proceeds go directly toward the Scarlett Fund, an organization named after the girls’ friend and cancer survivor Scarlett James, that supports the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center’s (MSK) pediatric care.

“MSK kids walk is a walk to raise awareness and money for cancer research. Scarlet asked me to be on the board of MSK Kids, and then Ariana joined the board as well,” Ella said. “We started the business from seeing our friend Scarlett and what she went through when she had cancer and how nobody should have to go through that — that’s where this whole idea really came from.”

The girls first launched the business in early 2021, and it has already begun to take off. They are currently selling all their treats online, but have also expanded by delivering their treats to different pet stores around the East End.

“We’re slowly starting to get distribution on our product, which is really exciting,” Ariana said.

The girls are on a roll, and they aren’t planning on stopping anytime soon; they hope to create different types of treats, including a vegetarian option, in the coming weeks, merchandise, and deliver their treats to pet stores in New York City.