La Pine couple develops energy bars for dogs

It’s mixed, rolled, baked and packaged right here in Central Oregon — and always Duncan approved.

La Pine residents Kristina Guerrero and Brandon Sylvester were inspired to create a meal replacement bar for their dog, Duncan, wanting to give him energy and meals out on trails easily and conveniently.

“It’s a high-quality whole grain. It’s not extra-processed or anything — olive oil and egg yolks for fat content, so really good fats, and a whey protein isolate,” Sylvester said Monday.

The 500-calorie meal replacement bars have been two years in the making, something Guerrero thought of while out on a camping trip.

“We were packing all this dehydrated food and our power bars, and then we go to get Duncan’s food and we’re filling up these giant bags of Zip-Lock bags full of food, and than the bowl,” she said. “It was just this huge ordeal.”

Guerrero and Sylvester love the outdoors — hiking, biking, skiing and running — and try to take their two dogs, Duncan and Oden, as much as possible.

But when they couldn’t find a portable dog food on the market, TurboPUP was born.

“They’re great, because they are complete meals, and you can take them with you, and they’re interchangeable with their regular dog food,” Guerrero said.

Guerrero came up with the idea, and her husband, a food scientist by trade, has been in the kitchen ever since, trying dozens of recipes until he got it right — the perfect mix of tastes.

“My puppy will try to rip it out of the other dog’s mouth,” Guerrero said.

And they say the bars are good for nutritional value, too.

“(They have a) higher fat content for active dogs, so if your dogs are out hiking for the day, it’s a really good source of calories for the dog,” Sylvester said.

Guerrero is an Air Force veteran who served several tours overseas. She recently won a grant from an organization helping female veterans start their own business.

She told NewsChannel 21 that she flew to Washington D.C. to pitch her idea in a competition, and won the grant.

TurboPUP’s first flavor, bacon, officially hit stores just a few weeks ago.

Guerrero said so far they’ve sold a few hundred bars. And even with primitive packaging, she says the response has been positive.

“No one says, ‘Why are there stickers on this package?'” Guerrero said. “Everyone goes, ‘What’s the quality? Oh my gosh! It’s American sourced, it’s human-grade ingredients, it’s all natural. This is great — you guys made it, this is great.”‘

The bars are sold only in Oregon, as well as online for now, but Guerrero hopes to go national.

The bars are also sold at several stores in Central Oregon, to find out where you can pick up some bars just visit their website at http://www.turbopup.com.

Guerrero and Sylvester are currently working on a second, grain-free bar — a peanut butter-flavored one that should be released in the next few weeks.