December 12, 2024
Franki Rudnesky/PhillyVoice
Melissa Oleski sells dog and cat treats made with 'very minimal ingredients' at Kylie's Canine Treats in the Christmas Village.
Furry friends deserve holiday gifts, too, and Christmas Village shoppers can check Fido off their list at a booth that's been at the Philly holiday market since its beginning: Kylie's Canine Treats.
For the past 17 years, Melissa Oleski has made the hike to the Christmas Village from New Cumberland, Cumberland County, to sell her hypoallergenic dog and cat treats. In fact, she said she rents an apartment in Philadelphia for the duration of the Christmas Village so she can be close to the action. She runs Kylie's Canine Treats along with her husband and brother-in-law, and this year their booth can be found at No. 36.
After watching two fluffy dogs tail-wagging as their owners bought them treats, we spoke with Oleski at her booth to find out more about why her company has become a fan-favorite, earning praise from fellow vendors like Alyssa Wisser of Stoked Pineapple.
PHILLYVOICE: How did you get involved with this company?
MELISSA OLESKI: My husband, John Oleski, and his sister, Melissa started this company in 2003 for her golden retriever named Kylie. The company was started due to allergy sensitivity. So they created products that have very minimal ingredients. For example, our peanut butter biscuit is flour, peanut butter and water. Everything is about as natural as you can possibly get it.
PV: What are some of your best-selling items?
OLESKI: They are currently sold out, but we do specialize in a whole line of jerkies, which are single ingredients. So beef jerky, only beef; chicken jerky, only chicken. The beef liver is only just pure beef liver. Everything is locally sourced, as close as we can get it. A new item this year is our jerky rice sticks. We created a new product with boneless skinless chicken breast, cooked rice, and then we add in some healthy options, such as pumpkin, sweet potatoes or crushed apple. We make dessert-type items as well, such as peanut butter biscuits with yogurt on them.
PV: Does your company make all these treats?
OLESKI: We make everything. My husband actually hand-mixes every single batch of dough.
PV: Do you have any doggy taste testers at home?
OLESKI: Yes, there's the family dog who is pampered and treated and spoiled very much.
PV: Where else can people find your products?
OLESKI: We do have a couple of wholesale customers right here in Philadelphia: the Independence Visitor Center, the general store at Reading Terminal. And in Conshohocken, there's a candy store called Edwards-Freeman Nut Company, and he buys a lot of our stuff so his walls are lined with our products. ... We used to (have a website), but we took it down due to time restraints after purchasing another business. We do this full time, and then we also bought an educational company (Snapology of Camp Hill). I teach robotics and engineering to children at after-school programs and summer camps.
PV: What do you enjoy most about being at the Christmas Village?
OLESKI: We're excited to always come back and be a part of the village. We've developed a really nice, strong family unit while we're all here.
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