Good Neighbor Podcast: Port Saint Lucie
Bringing together local businesses and neighbors of Port Saint Lucie. Good Neighbor Podcast hosted by Benjamin John helps residents discover and connect with your local business owners in and around Port St Lucie, Florida.
Is your business serving the residents of Port Saint Lucie? Then, we need to talk! Visit gnpPSL.com to schedule your free interview.
Good Neighbor Podcast: Port Saint Lucie
EP# 264: Discovering the Best Natural Chew Toy with Michael Cilurso of Paw-Gistics | From Humble Beginnings to Pet Supply Success
What makes Michael Cilurso with Paw-Gistics Antler Supply Corp a good neighbor?
Want to know why elk antler chew toys are the best choice for your furry friend? Discover the secret to superior canine dental health and well-being as we chat with Michael Cilurso from Paw-Gistics. Michael takes us behind the scenes of his unique pet supply business, which specializes in naturally shed elk antlers. Learn how these calcium-rich, fully digestible chew toys are gathered from the wild and minimally processed to cater to dogs of all sizes. Gain insights into why elk antlers trump other types and how they effectively reduce tartar buildup in your pet’s mouth.
Michael’s journey from Canada to Florida is nothing short of inspiring. He recounts the humble beginnings of Paw-Gistics in green markets and reveals his exciting plans for expanding into wholesale and retail. We also tackle common misconceptions about antler chew toys and why choosing the right type is crucial for your pet's safety and health. If you're a pet owner eager for natural, healthy options for your dog or someone fascinated by niche entrepreneurial stories, this episode is a must-listen. Michael’s passion and expertise shine through, offering valuable takeaways for everyone.
To learn more about Paw-Gistics Antler Supply Corp go to:
https://paw-gistics.com/
Paw-Gistics Antler Supply Corp
772-260-2713
This is the Good Neighbor Podcast, the place where local businesses and neighbors come together. Here's your host, Garfield Bowen.
Speaker 2:Welcome to the Good Neighbor Podcast. Are you in need of Adler chew toys? Well, one may be closer than you think. We got you covered here. Okay, Today I have the pleasure of introducing your good neighbor, Michael Salurser, with Purgistics. Mike, how are you doing today?
Speaker 3:Doing great. How about yourself, Garfield?
Speaker 2:I am well. We're excited to learn all about you and your business and this Adler Chew Toys. Tell us about your company.
Speaker 3:We're originally based in Canada and recently have expanded into Florida. We are a pet supply company specializing in naturally shed elk antlers, and those are dog chew toys. They come in a variety of sizes and cuts and it's one of the healthiest, if not the healthiest chew toy you could give your pet.
Speaker 2:I'm just curious. I'm sure everybody's curious. Is it plastic rubber? Is it food?
Speaker 3:I mean no it's a naturally shed elk antler. So the elks in the wild. They shed their antlers once a year in the wintertime, usually February, march, april. Once they've shed they're in the woods and after a certain date, at the end of April, we are allowed to go out there and gather them. And then we bring them to out there and gather them and then we bring them to our facility and process them. And it's minimally processed. They're just cleaned up and cut to size because we have different sizes for different sized dogs. So it's a calcium enriched, naturally shed product which is 100% consumable. It helps with tartar on their teeth and we've had nothing but success with the product for the past. Our partners in Canada have been doing it for about 16 years and we've been doing it here since the beginning of the year with great success.
Speaker 2:So I know, the magic question now is Mike, how did you get into this business?
Speaker 3:that's a that's a really great, interesting question. The original people that started this business and myself have a mutual friend and I've known this gentleman for about 20 years and when they started doing their distribution of antlers started doing their distribution of antlers, he became friendly with the couple that started the business and said hey, you guys are retailing, you're wholesaling, you're in the stores. I want to do some markets in our season and this is in Canada. And so he started doing green markets and it became quite successful. They wanted to move into the United States for the opportunities that are here.
Speaker 3:But what we're doing here in Florida is we're kind of doing it backwards. We're doing it the opposite of the way they started. Here we're starting with green markets and then we plan to get into wholesale and retail. So at the beginning of the year is when my partner came down and we started doing markets, in which we continue to do and just look forward to getting our product out there, look forward to meeting with our customers, which we don't get to do on the retail side because they're buying it from somebody else. So it's nice to meet the animals, it's nice to meet the owners and it's nice to get out there and get their feedback.
Speaker 2:It's nice to meet the owners and it's nice to get out there and get their feedback. So I mean when you're telling people about antler chew toys what are some of the myths and misconceptions?
Speaker 3:Probably the biggest misconception, if you're familiar with antlers, is that they're all the same whether it's a deer, a moose, an elk. We specialize in elk. We do do some moose, we don't do deer. The elk antlers, to us, are the the most calcium enriched and they're they're better, they're softer, they help with their dog's teeth and, again, they're fully digestible. So that's, um, what we you know. That's. That's one of the misconceptions, that it, you know, everything is the same. And then the other thing is that, uh, some people will say on the internet that a, um, a whole antler is much better than a, than a split, and that really doesn't have any bearing. I think that some companies or people may say that the whole is better because they don't have the ability to make the cuts that we do and they don't have the processing that we have to make it, you know, to give every animal the opportunity to enjoy their antlers.
Speaker 2:Now I'm starting to. Didn't understand the antler in the beginning, but it's actually the horn. They call it the ATLA. Okay, I didn't know for me. It just dawned on me what the ATLA was. So, Mike, when you're not busy running your business, what do you like to do for fun?
Speaker 3:We are, as a family, really into music. The boys grew up playing piano and guitar and we enjoy going to concerts, playing music and having people over and just having a good time. We also enjoy playing pickleball. We have a group of friends that play pickleball. We enjoyed it so much. We actually built a court behind one of my friends' house of friends that played pickleball. We enjoyed it so much we actually built a court behind one of my friends house and we like to eat, we like to cook, we like to do things as a family and have friends and family over. And that's what I say would be my top three things that we enjoy doing, maybe not necessarily in that order, because you have to. We live to eat, not eat to live.
Speaker 2:So I'm like you're having a good time over there.
Speaker 3:Let's change gears a little bit.
Speaker 2:Life often throws us curveballs. Let's talk about one hardship, one life challenge, something that you've been through and you can look back today and say you're better and stronger because of it. What comes to mind?
Speaker 3:You know I toyed with this thought and this question for a long time and I have to be. You know I I toyed with this thought in this question for a long time and I have to be. You know it's very personal, but to to be painfully honest, the one of the most difficult times that I've had as a challenge as a human is, um, I have two boys and what 18 years ago, 19 years ago, we had to take in our nephew and that was very challenging for me because the circumstances were very difficult, but it was a learning process. It was a learning curve and make a long story short, fast forward. Today the kid is brilliant. He's a junior at UCF, studying engineering, and we're just so blessed to add him as the third addition to our boys in the beginning. But I thank God that you know we had the guidance and the ability to turn this kid, you know, put him on the right path, which could have gone downhill fast. So that's to me that's the most challenging and what I've learned the most from life so far.
Speaker 2:That's powerful. I mean all of us could look back and point to a teacher, a mentor, a parent or someone that really impact and change their lives, and you know what I mean, and I'm sure the community, everybody's glad to have you there and for you to lend your hand out and give that support. I'm going to put you on the spot a little bit here, mike, all right. Okay, make you a little uncomfortable, if that's all right. I know you have a lot to say about logistics, but we want to narrow it down to one thing. I want you to tell me one thing that you want our listeners to remember about logistics.
Speaker 3:um, I think what I'd like to be. The takeaway is for everyone to know that we have an office in Florida. Now we're in the United States, we're in Martin County when we do business in St Lucy and Martin and Broward and Dade and Palm Beach, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2:And I'm sure we have people up there for babies and if nothing else.
Speaker 3:They're curious. You know what? What would it be like for them to chew on a, on an Adler toy? I can tell you that I, in my experience in this business, there's two types of animal owners. One of them comes and looks at our setup and grabs three antlers and pays for them. And we smile and I say, are you familiar with them? And they say yeah, and I said okay, I can, I can save my breath. And then I have somebody who has an animal but they've been giving them raw hides which are just not the proper thing to give your pet to chew on, and so I explained to them a little bit about the digestibility of the product and how it lasts.
Speaker 3:Sometimes people think that this product is pricey, but when you compare it to how long it lasts as opposed to a rawhide, it's non-comparison. These last a minimum of four to six weeks if you have a rabbit chewer, whereas a rawhide might last a day or a few days. So you're getting bang for your buck, you're getting quality, you're getting product that's digestible and we have about a 95% to 99% retention ratio or percentage, excuse me. So a newcomer comes in, they tell me about their dog, we get them an antler. They're going to come back. They don't come back as quickly because the product lasts a long time, but the 95% to 99% of them come back. It is just.
Speaker 2:It's a great product and that leads me to my question. You know, for those, uh, pet owners that are curious and they probably have friends and family also have pets they probably have one question on their mind right now and that's how, how do we get more information on um logistics?
Speaker 3:um, currently you could go to our instagram, which is pawgistics. Um, you can go to our website, which is paw slash or dash gistic. So p-a-w. Dash g-i-s-t-i-c-s dot com. That's going to direct you to a sister company because we are currently redoing our our logistics website, but you can get you'll get the same information. It's just going to redirect you. And then we are at Hope Sound Farmers Market every Saturday, jammin' Jensen every Thursday, and we do markets here and there based on what's going on in the community over the community. Over the summer. We're not in season, so things are a little bit slower. We've been in tradition market a few times. If I'm not there, we do have people representing us selling our product and you can always email me, which is mike at podgisticscom.
Speaker 2:And those that want to just press the numbers on the phone. Is there a number you'd like to share?
Speaker 3:Sure, you can call myself. My cell phone is 772-260-2713. Anybody is welcome to call me, text me, email me. I'm happy to to create dialogue with them.
Speaker 2:Well, Mike, we really appreciate having you on the show. We wish you and your business the very best moving forward. Thank you.
Speaker 1:Thank you for listening to the Good Neighbor Podcast Port St Lucie. To nominate your favorite local businesses to be featured on the show, go to gnpportsaintluciecom. That's gnpportsaintlucycom, or call 772-362-3840.