Like many businesses, natural dog chew Bonno began quietly at home, sparked by a simple question, “Why isn’t anyone doing this already?”
After the Covid lockdowns, Northland fisherman Tony Egerton returned to doing what he loved best – catching fresh fish and naturally smoking them over wood chips. His border collie Rosie was also doing what she loved best: sneaking off to a corner of the backyard with a bit of wood from the smoker to chew.
It was this moment that sparked the start of Bonno, says Tony’s wife Stefanie.
“Unfortunately, most of the wood pieces she tends to find around here are sharp and splintery. But this piece wasn’t. It was mānuka and had naturally formed into this clean, pencil-like shape,” she says. “I also noticed how hard but fine-grained it was. And I remember thinking to myself – this could be something special.”
Uniquely ours
With three dogs of their own, the couple were already familiar with the challenge of finding good quality chews. Looking around, they found the market saturated with synthetic toys and dried animal parts, but nothing truly natural or local.
“We did some research and saw that in Europe, people were using olive wood, coffee wood, even briar wood for natural chews,” says Stefanie. “It just made sense. And because mānuka is uniquely ours, why not give dogs something Kiwi-grown, safe and sustainable to chew on?”
Overwhelming response
Tony and Stefanie ensure every part of the mānuka wood is used when making Bonno products.
The bark becomes landscaping mulch, while the sawdust and offcuts are sold for cooking and heating. The smoothest, strongest pieces are then hand-finished into Bonno Chews, coated with New Zealand flaxseed oil (a source of natural omega oils) and packaged without plastic.
The Egertons tested Bonno with fellow dog lovers, talked to pet retailers and sponsored dog agility shows (a community they’re very involved in) and have been overwhelmed by the response.
“We’ve had amazing feedback,” says Stefanie, “Dogs love them, owners love them and people really respond to the sustainability side of it. And once we’re established here, we will certainly be looking at taking Bonno to the world stage.”
