Pizza anyone?

Saks 5th Avenue was Carrie Sarabella’s favorite place to shop in New York. As a young child being driven out of the city to New Jersey for riding lessons, she was drawn to the festive windows that she passed by.

“They had the most incredible larger than life display when it comes to Christmas,” she said. “The windows on the avenue are beyond what you could dream of. As I grew up that feeling never went away.”

When Carrie came up with a business idea and needed a catchy name – the store provided the inspiration. Snaks 5th AvenChew was launched. Since when, horses have been eating everything from pizzas to macaroni and cheese – in healthy pet-cookie form.

Carrie’s forage into the pet ‘food’ market started when she began combining ingredients to cater for her own pup’s extreme food allergies.  “I couldn’t get the right prescription,” she said. “There were always side effects.”

With a background in medicine – Carrie worked in anesthesia for 11 years – she began to combine her two worlds. “I started making his treats and I started making his food. Friends would say: ‘What is that? Your dog is so spoiled!’  But from there it organically spiraled.

Carrie brough tester recipes to the barn and shared them with the canine population. She noticed her horse reaching out and wanting to try them too. “It clicked at that moment,” she said. “Why aren’t there pizzas or tacos for horses? Why aren’t there treats that look this cute for horses? And there was a gap in the market and I just ran with it.”

Her business, she says, “owes everything to the equestrian community, because they welcomed it. I was hoping that in this traditional treat world it would be accepted and it was and I owe everything to them.”

Carrie has not stopped being creative since. “It’s so fun,” she said. “If you told any of my ex-boyfriends that I made a career out of cooking something – they’d say that can’t be possible. But I found passion when I do it for my animals. I love doing it.”

Food-themed, movie-themed, holiday-inspired – the productivity line is constantly innovating.  “Going back to the Saks window,” Carrie said. “The treats – they’re not just for horses. They taste good but the packages make sure that whoever’s buying it feels just so excited picking them out.”