Why I Started Naks Snacks: The Yak Industry's Multi-Million-Dollar Lie

I didn't set out to start a dog chew company. I set out to buy one chew for my dog, and I accidentally discovered that an entire industry has been lying — or at least getting it embarrassingly wrong — for over thirty years.

Here's what happened.

The Google Search That Changed Everything

I was looking for a long-lasting chew for my dog. Something natural, single-source, not rawhide. Google sent me to "yak chews" — Himalayan dog treats made from yak milk cheese. Sounded legit. I ordered a few brands.

While I waited for delivery, I did what any curious person does: I went down the rabbit hole. I started reading about yaks. About the Himalayan herding culture. About churpi cheese.

And I found a fact that made me put my coffee down.

Yaks are male. The females are called naks. Only naks produce milk.

I read it again. And again. I checked multiple sources. National Geographic. Academic papers. Himalayan cultural databases. Every single one said the same thing: the word "yak" refers specifically to the male of the species Bos grunniens. The female is a nak. Some dialects use "dri" or "zhom." But she is not a yak.

Which means every brand selling "yak milk chews" is selling you milk from an animal they can't even name correctly.

The $400 Million Blind Spot

The Himalayan dog chew market is worth hundreds of millions of dollars. There are dozens of brands. Premium packaging. Veterinary endorsements. Fancy origin stories about ancient herding traditions.

Not a single one mentions naks.

I checked every major brand. Himalayan Dog Chew. Yaky. EcoKind. Brutus & Barnaby. All of them say "yak milk." All of them are technically wrong. And none of them seem to care — or even know.

This isn't a minor labeling quibble. This is the core identity of the product. The milk comes from the female. The female has a name. The entire industry decided that name didn't matter.

Finding the Right Producer

I didn't want to start a brand that just slapped a new label on the same supply chain. If I was going to do this, I needed to find someone who actually knew what they were doing.

I found a certified producer in Nepal who's been making authentic churpi for decades. ISO certified. Proper facility. Real quality control. They don't cut corners and they don't add fillers.

Three ingredients: nak milk, salt, lime juice. Then smoked. That's the whole list.

I didn't invent the chew. I didn't improve the recipe. What I did was put it in a bag with the correct gender labeled and build a brand around telling the truth.

Why "Naks Snacks" and Not Something Safer

My friends told me the name was confusing. "Nobody knows what a nak is," they said. "Just call it a yak chew like everyone else."

That's exactly the point.

If nobody knows what a nak is, then nobody has been telling the truth. Every "yak milk" label is a small lie that everyone agreed to repeat because it was easier than explaining the actual animal.

I named the company Naks Snacks because someone should. The animal that does the work should get the credit. It's basic biology dressed up as branding.

We named our company after the animal that actually matters.

What We're Building

Naks Snacks isn't trying to be the biggest dog chew brand. We're trying to be the most honest one.

Five products. Three ingredients. One correct gender. Every bag ships from America with labels that tell you exactly what you're getting and where it came from.

We'd rather be right than rich. But if being right also makes us some money, we're not going to complain about it.

— Derick Downs, Founder
San Diego, California