Welcome to the Soul Touched by Dogs Podcast, the show for dog lovers who
see dogs not as toys or tools, but wise souls worth our respect and care.
I'm an Herrmann, and I'm your host.
I talk to poor some humans, people who do great work for dogs and their people.
So come and join us for today's conversation.
Anke: Hello and welcome, John.
I'm delighted to have you here and a very unusual topic, so I can't wait.
Before we go there, just say hello to people, let people know where you're
based in this wonderful world and what's
John: your business
Anke: with
John: dogs?
Sure.
Well, thank you for having us on.
We really appreciate, uh, the opportunity to speak to your,
uh, to your listening audience.
My name is John Reider, located in St.
Louis, Missouri, USA.
And we make very innovative, fun, safe bubbles for the pet industry.
Anke: That's hilarious.
I would never even, you know, I hadn't before, like, you know, before
we met, I had never, you know, Even thought that that was a thing, right?
So I'm curious, how did, how does somebody get into the business of making bubbles?
And then to start with, you know, and then how did you discover
that this is something, um, that's suitable or a good idea for pets?
John: Yeah, well, you know, it's a, it's a 20, 20 year version.
My wife Beth and I have been in business for many years, but I discovered
this bubble that someone had created that glowed under black light.
It was called Technobubbles, and I thought it was the coolest thing.
That was some 20 plus years ago.
Um, I bought some of these bubbles online like we all do late at night when we've
had a beer, and, uh, and, uh, yeah.
Thanks.
They came, and I was astounded at how cool they were.
I mean, these bubbles, when you blew them under blacklight,
glowed, and they were fabulous.
Um, long story short, uh, I bought the trademarks, patents, and formulas
for that product, and we started manufacturing, uh, these bubbles to sell.
Okay?
And, uh, so we started by doing, uh, uh, parties in parks and
anywhere where someone would let us, uh, blow bubbles for free.
And, uh, and then people started asking us to do bubble events.
Um, so we formed another company called Bubble Bus, where we
actually go and do bubble parties.
And, and so that's, that's how this whole bubble business really got started.
Um, we make our own bubble formulas.
And a friend of mine mentioned one night at a Um, at a dinner party and
she said, you know, John, if you and Beth came up with an idea for bubbles
for, you know, the pet industry, uh, I think, uh, you'd sell a lot of them.
So I went to work that next day I started researching and, you know, here
we are now in the pet bubble business.
It's
Anke: absolutely fascinating.
So, well, let's, let's back up there for a second, because you said something that
I think you sort of just jumped over.
What feels like a much bigger story, right?
You said like you stumbled across these cool bubbles and then you bought
the, like, the patent, you know, like what, what went on in your mind?
Like, I mean, I'll come across a lot of stuff that I think is really cool, but
I don't go off and buy the patent, you know, like, it's like this, what was,
what made you think like, oh my God, this is the business that I want to spend my
time and my energy and my, my money on.
Uh, really getting into.
John: Right.
You know, so, uh, I'm an entrepreneur at heart.
So I've always, um, even growing up, you know, I, I, whether I was cutting grass
or raking leaves or selling lemonade on the corner, you know, I always loved,
uh, being in business for myself.
So when I discovered these bubbles, uh, I thought it was really the
coolest thing I'd ever seen.
I had never seen them before.
And the guy had gotten a patent on them.
So he had, he was the only guy legal, uh, uh, to make them.
So we did some research and I really thought as a businessman
and an entrepreneur that these were different, novel, and that I would
get really rich selling these things.
So over time, you know, I started slowly, I started reselling them and whatnot.
And then the gentleman who had invented them, wanted to get out of the business.
He was going on to other things.
We saw the opportunity to, um, buy the patents, the formulas, and the trademarks.
So, yeah, it was, it was more than, um, you know, days.
Yeah, there was, there was, uh, a year or two in there making that decision where
I first saw the bubbles until we bought, you know, actually bought the bubbles.
So, yeah, it was, and I think it all boils down to my love of business
and, uh, being an entrepreneur.
Yes.
Loving, loving that from the start.
Bubbles just happened to be the product I, I first fell in love with.
Anke: Yeah, it's fun because it seems like a, you know, so when
you think it's like shoes, you know, like that's like a necessity.
Somebody, like you gotta wear shoes, like in most places, you know.
So, but like, Nobody needs bubbles, right?
So who buys bubbles?
John: Correct.
You know, uh, the first market I found, at least with my glowing bubbles,
was the haunted house industry.
Haunted houses are huge in the U.
S.
and I'm, and I'm sure they are All over the world.
Big biz, six billion dollar business and we started selling our bubbles
to every haunted house in the U.
S.
and they were using them as a special effect as a like a radioactive goo or
toxic gas or something and so that's where we found our first business success was
selling to the special effects industry.
Ah, that
Anke: makes sense.
Yeah.
All right.
So how, okay.
So the person who suggested to you, like, Ooh, you should make that for pets.
Obviously they would have had an idea of what, like it would, it never,
it has never occurred to me until today to buy bubbles for my dogs.
Right.
So
how does somebody use them?
Do dogs get scared of them?
Do they play with them?
Is that like, what's the, like, why would somebody buy bubbles for their dog?
John: Right.
Those are all great questions, and the same questions I had when I,
you know, when I looked at this.
It's like, you know, Does this thing even exist?
And they do exist.
A lot of them were being made offshore, overseas.
They were very low quality.
They didn't work well, had terrible reviews.
And so our first thing was, all right, let's, let's, let's make some bubbles, uh,
that are going to entice the dogs, right?
So our first bubbles were, um, uh, peanut butter scented and smoky bacon scented.
for our for for dogs.
And then we we use real catnip that were infused into our kitty love bubbles.
Um, so we knew catnip was was was a no brainer, you know, for the cats.
Um, but we we just started experimenting with different, uh,
fragrances and scents that would might entice a dog to go play with them.
And, uh, we gave them out to a lot of family and friends
and people that own dogs.
And we found that, uh, a lot of dogs responded very well to them.
They they they chased them around like a ball.
Um, um, they got very excited with them, uh, and then we found out very
quickly that people were using them for play and for exercise and, uh,
for health and wellness reasons.
And, and, you know, I really created them because I thought they were fun and cool
and that people would have fun with them.
But, uh, we're finding that the side effects and the, uh, uh, and a good.
Good attributes that come out of this are health and well being, you
know, combating dog and cat obesity because you're, you know, your
older dogs may, uh, are moving more.
Um, it's, it's, it's low impact, you know, they don't have to do a
lot of jumping if they don't want.
Elderly people can do it.
You don't have to be an able bodied person to throw a ball or
throw a stick with your animal.
You can sit out in a chair and, you know, So it really opened up the, uh,
it really opened up the, uh, you know, the playing field for, uh, all walks of
life and for all animals, young and old.
Anke: That's interesting.
So it's basically a toy.
It's like a dog toy, right?
So instead of me throwing a ball around that I, Like one
of my dogs is quite funny.
Like she's, she's a mastiff.
She's a guard dog, right?
And you throw a ball and she looks at you like, well, initially she
goes after it, but then she gets like, yeah, you get that, right?
So it's usually me who ends up picking up the last ball, right?
So with the bubbles, you don't, I don't have to run off to the ball then.
John: You know what?
Yeah, that it.
You're exactly right.
And it's also not a toy that you're going to trip over on
your family room floor either.
Um, which is not bad.
So, um, and you know, the Bubbles are like any other toy.
They are a toy.
They're considered a toy.
When we sell them, they're like in the toy, uh, section.
Well, uh, you know, uh, you know, on the store, store shelf.
Um, and sometimes you have to, uh, just like you do with any new fetch
toy or, or something you play, engage with your dog or cat with, you may
have to introduce them a few times.
I will say sometimes the first time, uh, dogs and cats see
the bubbles, they are a cat.
Possibly a little frightened because they've never seen that, or, or, you
know, it's coming, it's floating, and it's getting very close to them,
and they're not sure what it is.
But once you, uh, um, introduce it to them several times,
it's just like any other toy.
If they, uh, some, some dogs and cats will take to them, most do.
Some won't, you know, I mean, just like they'll look at you like, hey,
yeah, I don't know what you're doing, but this ain't for me, you know.
Yeah,
Anke: I mean, that's fair enough.
Like, that's the same with any other toy, right?
You know, so some, some dogs will love it and others go like,
yeah, that's for you, mate.
You know, so, but, but so, so when they, So if it, if it don't basically
like bites the bubble, like, you know, obviously, you know, obviously
that's not toxic, but is that like kind of wet or what's the consistency?
Like when you, you know, or if it like drops to the floor, is it
like, what's the, is it just sort of evaporating or how does it work?
John: Yeah, great question.
Yeah.
So, uh, you know, as a kid and, and whenever you blow a bubble, you
know, it produces that floating orb.
Mother nature starts evaporating it right away.
And then, uh, um, if it, um, uh, you know, really depending on the humidity
and how much wind is blowing outside, that'll, that'll tell us whether or, uh,
you know, whether the bubble pops in the air or whether it hits the ground, okay?
Um, so, uh, environmental issues, wind and humidity play, play a part.
Um, safety, you touched on that.
Safety was a huge factor when we developed these bubbles.
We wanted to make sure that, uh, uh, no pet.
Uh, or human would be harmed if they accidentally ingested
some or got some in their mouth.
So we went, uh, to all the, uh, testing labs and, and made sure that
we were creating a very safe bubble.
And, uh, they carry, uh, uh, a U.
S.
toy certification from the Consumer Product Safety Commission.
So, uh, they are, they are tested safe.
Um, uh, if a dog or cat gets them in their mouth or eyes, you
know, uh, There's no worries.
Um, um, they can't be harmed.
So that was a very, that was the biggest factor when we did these
for the pets, was making them, uh, super safe and, and fun to play with.
Anke: Yeah, okay, that makes sense because I'm imagining like my dogs are well,
yeah, if they go like, oh, what's this?
Like, first thing is they try and bite it, you know?
John: Yep, yeah.
Anke: So it would be, it would be quite a funny reaction, right?
If they bite into it and then it goes away, like.
John: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
It kind of freaks them out at first and then, um, and then they, you
know, they get used to that wonderful scent that we've put in them.
So that's a really big kind of, uh, you know, enticement for them.
They're smelling this, uh, you know, they're smelling peanut butter or bacon.
Uh, we've also come up with, we've also come up with birthday cake, uh,
pumpkin, uh, and apple pie as well.
So, uh, we'll be
Anke: competing then, right?
John: Right, exactly.
It's a, it's a big dog party, baby.
Anke: Oh, that's funny.
I mean, have you ever heard of a dog getting a little bit addictive or
a little bit overexcited from it?
John: So, you know, I have one gentleman who, um, um, has to hide
his bottle of bubbles and bubble gun because the dog gets so excited.
Like, when he starts to walk near them, the dog thinks it's playtime, right?
Uh, so yes, I've heard stories of some animals just being so excited
about them that the owners have to kind of stash them away so that they
don't, uh, see them, which, which as a manufacturer of the product, I love.
You know, that's a great thing.
But yeah, so yeah, sometimes you have to hide them from the pets.
Anke: Well, I can imagine.
I guess it'd be the same with kids too, right?
So it's not like, yeah, yeah, that that makes sense.
So what have you, have you got any?
What are your other flavors that you've got in the works or like, you
know, what are you working on next?
Or, you know, what's the, what's the plan?
What are you excited about?
John: Well, you know, as an entrepreneur, I'm always looking
for like the next best thing, right?
You know, or, or enhancements to what we have.
So I was actually, uh, with someone else the oth telling me about um, arom that
they were doing uh, oils for calming.
Um, so research for looking at m
Uh, have calming effects, um, put them in the bubble form.
But instead of using them for exercise and entertainment and, and, and kind
of stimulating the, uh, you know, the dog or cat, we'd use them to calm the
effect, uh, you know, to calm the pet.
So, um, we we're going after that right now, and then I think, um.
First quarter of this year, we're going to be introducing, since we've had
such great response with our catnip bubbles, we use a great catnip from,
uh, that's made right here in the U.
S.,
um, um, we're going to create a catnip spray.
Um, so we're going to be adding that to our, uh, cat line very, very soon.
We'll have that at Global Pet this year, so.
Anke: Hmm, because I'm thinking like, yeah, you probably have something
that you're, that you're, you know, kind of working on in your lab.
Like, I would imagine, like, do you have like a fancy lab in your, you
know, somewhere where you have all your little bottles and tinctions
and play around and develop new, new scents and new products or how,
how, how, how would I picture that?
John: Exactly like that.
So think of you being in your kitchen and you're, you know, you're a cook and
you're making all these fun foods and you have your spice rack with all your
different scents and, and, and spices on.
Um, my lab looks very much the same.
I have literally hundreds of bottles of, of different fragrances and, and, um,
essential oils and, uh, things we use in the production of our, of our bubbles.
And we're, we're always in there kind of experimenting and, and taking,
um, Taking suggestions from people, you know, I mean, some of the best,
my best ideas come from talking with people and, uh, folks like yourself,
you know, in the galley yesterday, just speaking with people about, hey, what,
uh, you know, what are your thoughts?
What do you, you know, what do you think might, uh, be a good idea?
Or it just comes up in conversation and you just pick up on it, like my friend
at the party saying, hey, you know, you ought to check out Pet Bubbles and, you
know, we, you want You know, we did.
So, uh, you always have to keep your ears open.
Anke: Absolutely.
Absolutely.
I guess.
And that's always that, you know, when I always talk about when
this, you know, where your passion meets a need in the market, you
know, when, when that sort of hits.
And actually now, obviously we're talking about dogs mainly, but
are there any other animals?
Rather apart from dogs and cats who kind of, you know, I could imagine
like, I don't know if I'm imagining like in a zoo and they have a bunch
of monkeys to entertain, right?
So it's like, you know, are there other animals that would really
enjoy playing with the bubbles?
John: Again, another great question.
We have a top 10 zoo here in St.
Louis.
The St.
Louis Zoo is a well known zoo, a wonderful place, and we do a lot of, uh, bubble
events down there with our bubble company, uh, but I've, uh, I've become friends
with, uh, the curator of the large animals, so we actually have brought down,
um, our peanut butter scented bubbles for, uh, They tried them with the elephants.
And we've actually brought down catnip bubbles to see if the
big cats, lions and tigers,
might be interested in them.
And we're still waiting for feedback on those.
But yeah, you know, there'd be no reason why, you know, the bubbles would not,
instill the same excitement in a, you know, in a large animal, you
know, as it would, like a family pet.
Yeah.
So we're, you know, we're looking at that.
It's kind of a fun, it's kind of a fun experiment.
And the exciting thing is, is they're very interested in that because
they're, they're always looking for new enrichment, you know, the, you know,
the, uh, you know, the animals down there see the same scenery all the time.
So they're always looking for ways to enrich their lives.
And it's, and it's kind of fun having people that are excited about maybe.
playing and experimenting with them.
And they're, and they're happy about the safeness, you know, like the pet
safeness of our, of our products as well.
So that, that helps greatly.
Yeah, it's wonderful.
It's fun.
Anke: Yeah.
No, I think, I mean, let me just mention enrichment.
I just.
There's just an enrichment, a dog enrichment summit going on.
I'm like, well, next, next time I think you, you should go, go speak there.
Because it does go in that, in that category, right?
It's a mental stimulation.
It's, it's physical stimulation.
And it's, it's that fun element, but it's not all that serious.
It's not like, oh, agility, agility.
You have to do this and that.
It's kind of, you just.
John: Be playful.
Right, right.
Exactly.
You know, it's like when you exercise at home in your basement and you're
not going to the gym and you're doing, you know, the big, you know,
the big fancy workout, you know.
Pet, you know, pets like to move around all day.
They've been inside, maybe the, you know, their owners have been at work all day
and, uh, yeah, everybody can kind of get into their own routine with their pets.
Uh, the other thing I'd like to mention is, uh, I didn't realize that
pet obesity was such a big thing.
You know, in dogs and cats, at least here in the U.
S.,
our animals are, are overweight.
And, uh, you know, we're trying to use the bubbles, uh, to get people to get better.
Moving again, and it goes back to what you were saying about health and wellness.
Um, and I think we all feel better, you know, when you, when you exercise or
when you take a walk or, or, you know, when you, you know, when you sweat
a little bit, man, when you're done with that, um, uh, it, it releases the
endorphins and, you know, you feel good.
And, and I think, uh, it, you know, the same Chemistry must be
happening in our pets as well.
So if they run around I think they feel good when they're, you know, I think
they feel good when they're tired.
Anke: Yeah, no, I mean, don't we all, right?
I mean, um, actually that's just kind of reminds me.
So my initial idea would always be, Lou, you play with bubbles outside.
But you don't have to, can you?
Like, you could play inside.
I mean, obviously, if you have the space, but sometimes you see these
funny videos, you know, when the dogs like crash through the living room and
smash the, I mean, we don't want to, you know, we don't want that, but in
theory, there's nothing really that requires this to happen outside, does it?
John: You know, you are 100 percent correct.
Yeah, we we actually encourage people, you know, a lot of cat
owners will play with their cats inside, you know, um, dog owners too.
We, you know, we see many videos of people, uh, in their living rooms or
in their kitchens or basements playing with the animals, uh, here in St.
Louis.
Like we talked before we started recording, it's very cold out here.
Snow and icy conditions.
It's actually, uh, dangerous for people to be out because they'll slip and
fall and happens with our pets too.
So having something that you can do with them, uh, in areas
that get, uh, cold and snow.
Um, big deal.
You, you certainly can do it inside.
That's a, yeah, that's a great thing to, uh, let people know,
uh, they can be done inside.
Anke: Yeah, because that's I'm thinking like, Oh, actually, because we've got
that here, not, not with the, with the, with the heat, but we have the problem
in summer, when it's so hot that during the day, you can't go out, you know,
because they'll burn their feet and they just collapse from a heat stroke.
And so there's literally you got, you can go out with them like early in the morning
or late at night, but sort of during the day, if you can throw some bubbles around
inside, you know, where it's just cooler.
Then that'd
John: be fun.
Yeah, yeah, absolutely.
On the flip side, yeah, when it gets extremely hot, it is, you
know, it's just as dangerous for dogs and cats to be outside.
Uh, so yeah, they, you know, I think, uh, our pets like air
conditioning as much as we do.
Anke: I
John: bet they do.
Well, they're not stupid, right?
Exactly.
Break out a bottle of bubbles, turn on the air conditioning and, uh, you
know, have, uh, have a safe play date.
Anke: Yeah, I love that.
I love that.
So where would somebody go and buy those, you know, like, and also actually, um,
obviously I want you to tell people where they can buy yours, you know,
but also if somebody goes, Oh, I'll just go on Amazon and grab some, right.
So, so what should somebody be watching out for, you know, because
you said before that a lot of them.
Get kind of produced overseas and they might come from China and who
knows what your dog basically ingests there so Is there something where you
go like, yeah make, like if you buy whatever, like don't buy this You know,
John: right, you know, uh, yeah, so damn To answer your first question, you can,
you can certainly find us on Amazon U.
S.,
uh, and some of the international, but Amazon U.
S.
is, is, is a great place to find our products.
Uh, we have our own website, AtomicBubbles.
com, which I, I think you're going to share with the audience.
Yes, we'll pop it below the
Anke: video, yep.
John: Right, and you know, Amazon, you'll find
reviews are huge and especially on Amazon, reviews are king.
And so I would, I would tell your listeners to be very aware of, of, of
reviews, see what people have done.
That's a good thing for us to say because we rank very high on Amazon.
We have thousands of reviews with, uh, Uh, uh, 4.
2, uh, average, uh, review rating.
So I think it's very important for people to look at the reviews,
uh, and let past buyers who have, who have tried the product and
reviewed it, uh, be their guide.
And, uh, with our particular products, you will find some,
uh, wonderful reviews on us.
And, and, uh, a lot of times we're ranked number one on Amazon.
So that, uh, in today's world, that means a lot.
That means a lot.
Yeah, for sure.
For sure.
So, uh, yeah, and there are other ones that are out there.
I would encourage, uh, uh, your listeners to stay with, you know, uh,
US, uh, um, um, uh, manufacturers, people who they might know.
But again, those reviews, I think are, uh, are the best way to go.
And we, uh, we rank very well.
If you're searching reviews for pet bubbles, uh, we will be in that, we will
be in that top line search for sure.
Anke: I love that.
Well, that's well done.
Like that's not an easy thing to do, right?
Especially with, with, you know, so many people offering stuff.
So to, to rank well there and be around for so long, that's definitely worth
gold in today's, in today's world.
It is.
Are you on social media as well for people to follow you?
I don't know.
Are you on Instagram having funny, funny, funny, funny reels with, you
know, with dogs playing with bubbles?
John: Yes, we have.
You know what I'll do is I'll have, uh, I'll have Dana, um, uh, reach out to
you after the show, uh, and she'll give you all of our social media handles, uh,
and yes, we're on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, all of those, uh, so your,
uh, audience can go out there and see all the crazy stuff and, and fun things
people are doing with our bubbles.
Anke: Yeah, because I think it'd be so much fun to actually see because now, now
here, it's just you and me talking, right?
So we don't actually get to get to see the, the bubbles in action.
So that's why I'm like, I mean, I might be always sharing the link anyway,
but I think in this case, it'd be like real fun to, to actually see.
see it in action, you know, what that actually looks like and see
how much the dogs enjoy it and, you know, so entice people to, to try
it out, you know, so your dog will thank you for, for a new toy for sure.
And so thank you so much.
This was so much fun.
I think I love the fun element you've got in your whole business, right?
So when you think the whole, the whole purpose of the business is to
bring fun and excitement and movement and exercise to dogs and people.
I think that's brilliant.
John: Yeah, our mantra here at, uh, Atomic Bubbles is Peace, Love, and
Bubbles, so, um, We love, yeah, we love to make smiles, and we like to, uh, um,
make, make the world a better place if we can, and, uh, we, you know, we say we
try to do it every day, one bubble at a time, so, uh, we really, uh, we really
appreciate the time with you, and, uh, uh, you having us on the show, and I hope,
uh, and I hope your listening audience gets a, uh, a kick out of the bubbles.
Anke: With a show will.
Thank you so much.
John: Thank you, Anke.
Thanks so much for listening.
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That's A N k E at Soul touched by dogs.com.