Dog Food Production from Healthy Macedonian Products

The Kajak.mk travel caravan arrived in Struga today, where we spoke with Vanja, a heroic woman who, starting today, is part of our list of people making small but significant contributions to the environment, surroundings, and the development of gastronomic tourism. Speaking of gastronomic tourism, we would like to highlight that this time the story is meant for the tourists who are our most loyal partners during our travels – the dogs.

Our team is made up of dog lovers, and whenever a host of private accommodation confirms that pets are welcome, we raise a glass of wine in celebration.

We raised a glass to Vanja’s story as well. She makes dog biscuits from Macedonian products and says that there is a huge amount of unused healthy food in Macedonia that can be processed and served on the table for our furry friends.

Regarding Kajak.mk, Vanja shares that she came up with the idea with the help of her friend Suze, who learned that Vanja had lost her job due to the pandemic. After a brief exchange of ideas, they concluded that, given Vanja's character, it was a shame for her to work confined to four walls and that she needed something creative, something that would also involve her three dogs.

The combination of her love for dogs and passion for cooking gave Vanja the idea to produce healthy dog biscuits.

Everything she uses in the biscuits is healthy for dogs, with no harmful ingredients. Vanja says she strives to make her biscuits a mix of products from Macedonian origin. She adds that these biscuits are so healthy, even people could eat them.

She believes that Macedonia is a country with the tastiest fruits and vegetables, still produced in a traditional way, which is why the biscuits are primarily made with local apples, carrots, pumpkins, rice, eggs, honey, and more.

Although she has only been in this business for a few months, she is pleased to already have a group of loyal supporters and customers who purchase regularly. So far, she has not received any complaints about dogs disliking the biscuits or experiencing any issues after consuming them. The biscuits are crafted by specialized chefs for dogs, and they are also suitable for humans as a healthy snack, containing no added sugars or fats. 

Vanja mentions that Struga is a rich and fertile municipality, where people cultivate a variety of agricultural crops that they sell at the market. She regularly buys from local vendors there.

She shares with Kajak.mk that by purchasing from the market, she not only focuses on healthy, homemade food but also supports individual producers. She prefers honey that is homemade or sourced from wild bees and buys wholemeal flour that is also homemade. 

In her view, there is still a low level of awareness in Macedonia regarding the use of surplus food. There are some exceptions, such as companies that have begun offering food nearing its expiration date to animal protection organizations. Beyond just healthy food from agriculture, there are opportunities in the meat industry and catering sectors to donate unused food to associations and activists who care for stray animals, sometimes feeding 10, 50, or even more homeless animals, Vanja adds.