By Kim Lamb GregoryRosie Baker ’21, MBA ’25, credits her mini-dachshund, Daisy, with inspiring the healthy dog treat startup she and her business partner launched this spring.
“I was changing Daisy’s diet to be more human-grade,” Baker said. “I was giving her peas and broccoli and apples, and it changed her blood work. It made her much more healthy despite her old age.”
When adjunct professor and entrepreneur Kelly Kimball challenged Baker and her fellow MBA students to develop a startup, the team dreamed up a deliciously different — and ecologically sustainable — business concept. Their company, Misfit Munchies, would market paw- and bone-shaped dog biscuits made from fruits and vegetables that farmers can’t sell because they’re cosmetically imperfect.
After winning the class pitch competition and earning accolades at the 2024 New Venture Fair, Baker saw the concept’s potential. Since then, she and classmate Princesa Martinez, MBA ’24, have continued to build on the idea, refining the recipes and forming partnerships with local farmers who supply the flawed-but-edible produce used in the treats.
“We find local farmers who are willing to give us produce that normally gets thrown away, or who are willing to let us buy it from them,” Baker said. “Then we’re going to a commercial kitchen where we hand-make the treats.”
The two business partners recently strolled through the Thousand Oaks Certified Farmers’ Market with Martinez’s infant son, Vincent, “our mini brand ambassador,” Baker said.
Most farmers are happy to donate their edible but “unloved” produce, which might be the wrong color or suffer from insect damage.
“I have leftovers that I give them for their dog treats,” said market vendor Vilma Gutierrez of Gutierrez Farms in San Luis Obispo. “Princesa gave us a couple of dog treats, and our dog Max loved them.”
Now, two years after teaming up in Kimball’s class, Baker and Martinez have launched their business with an online store and product samples offered at in-person events in Thousand Oaks.
The right move
Originally from England, Baker, 28, grew up baking. Her family (including Daisy) moved to Sherman Oaks after her father’s job with Disney brought him to Los Angeles. She enrolled in Cal Lutheran in 2017 and graduated with a BA in communication.
Martinez, 31, is an Oxnard native who earned her bachelor’s in psychology from California State University Channel Islands in 2022 before enrolling at Cal Lutheran to obtain her MBA.
Baker said the company would never have happened without the expertise and support she and Martinez received during Kimball’s capstone course, The Business Plan.
“What we do is set up the class in four teams of five,” Kimball said. “We take them through, week by week, the different elements of building a business up to the pitch.”
The end result won Baker’s team two five-figure Dorfman Incubator Grants in 2024 and 2025 from the Steven Dorfman Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, part of the Cal Lutheran School of Management.
In addition to receiving the Dorfman grants, the team became active participants in Cal Lutheran’s coworking space and incubator, Hub101, and was accepted into its IdeaToDo program.
“Hub101 is a coworking physical space where entrepreneurs can access private offices, grab coffee or access soundproof rooms for conferences,” said Bell, program manager for IdeaToDo. “A space like this naturally encourages organic connection — the kind where a casual conversation can spark problem-solving, partnerships and meaningful collaboration.”
Being part of Hub101 has been “incredible,” Baker said.
“Kristin Bell helped us see the business in a way we hadn’t before, and we were able to de-structure and rebuild it,” she said.
The UpPup Era Begins
One of the lessons the team learned during the 14-week IdeaToDo program was branding. After discovering another company was already using the Misfit Munchies moniker, Baker and Martinez renamed their business UpPup.
Baker handles marketing and project management; Martinez is largely responsible for the product’s recipes. The company’s official taste tester is Olivia “Livvy” Benson, a pooch who takes her name from the main character on Law & Order: SVU.
“We know dogs love peanut butter. We made a dough from oat flour, strawberries and peanut butter, and the dogs were going crazy over it,” Martinez said.
Now that the company has launched, the co-founders hope to staff it with Cal Lutheran students as a way of giving back to the school that helped nurture their plans to create a company that also does social good.
“Being connected to the Cal Lutheran community and seeing how close this community is … inspired us to put something healthy and sustainable at the heart of our business,” Baker said.
UpPup, the company created by Cal Lutheran MBA grads Rosie Baker and Princesa Martinez, rescues “misfit” produce and uses it to make handcrafted dog treats. To order treats and learn more, visit uppuptreats.com.
