3C Baking Co. may sound like any other bakery, complete with bagels and muffins and calorific pastries, but there is something different about this one. It’s not just that the food is healthy — it’s that humans won’t want to eat it.

Wendy Newcomb, owner of the Berlin-based business, bakes her organic treats solely for dogs. And now, with a new shop opening in Maynard, she’s about to take the small-business pet industry by storm.

“It’s a lot of work,” Newcomb said of the baking, but she gets some help from her 14-year-old daughter, who loves to lend a hand in the kitchen. And these biscuits are not your run-of-the-mill dog biscuits. Organic whole wheat flour and organic rolled oats serve as the base for each recipe.

The treats come in five flavors: Paw-mesan (parmesan) Tomato, Low-Fat Mint Paw-sley (parsley), Low-Fat Ginger Pumpkin, Low-Fat Carob Chip, and P-Mutt (peanut) Brittle.

Each 10-ounce bag of handmade treats runs at about $7 and contains more than 50 crispy, crunchy dog treats. But it gets better — each bag contains a “Canine Quote,” which you can think of as a fortune for dogs and dog owners.   

There seems, however, to be a lot more in store for the company than new flavors. Until now, 3C Baking Co. had primarily been an online business, with some sales made also through other small pet-related companies. Newcomb knew there was more room for 3C to grow, and after a space opened up in downtown Maynard, she decided to take the next step and enter the world of retail.

Her plans for the new store are impressive. She is not merely going to put her dog treats in a pastry case. In addition to her original products, she also intends to include a variety of pet merchandise and services that can apply to dogs as well as other animals. If all goes as planned, a customer will walk in to find a selection of birthday cakes, toys, and clothing — the list goes on — all for his or her dog. 

Above all, Newcomb’s goal is to make it affordable for dog owners to find healthy dog food. A lot of organic pet food is quite pricey, which is why so many people buy the brands found in grocery stores. Newcomb, however, wants to anyone to be able to come into her store and be able to afford her all-natural, low-fat products.

Newcomb’s main purpose in devoting her time to 3C Baking Co. is to raise people’s awareness about their dogs’ diets, since most of the time pet owners don’t even think about the ingredients inside the dog food they buy.

And it’s pretty obvious that she doesn’t. She already has a full time job, for one thing, but there seems to be a more personal motive to her work than finances. As the owner of three chocolate labs, four cats, and a miniature horse, it’s not very hard to see that she loves animals. Her dogs even have a special place in the company name. According to Newcomb, the three Cs can stand for either chocolate labs or canines—customers can decide for themselves.