Dog treat business

[rocksolid]

I was thinking of trying a dog treat delivery service in my area. I found a company to wholesale the treats from and figure all I need to do is build a simple website and make some flyers to hang up in a few buildings in my area and see if anybody is interested. I see you can build a simple website from Yahoo. hosting and building is $8.95 for 3 months which should be enough time to test the waters. What do you guys think of this?

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[Sparlin]

Could you provide more details? My initial thought is "why"? It seems to me that people buy boxes of treats at the store and then set them in on their shelves until they are used up. What added convenience are you bringing to the customers?

Do you plan to mail boxes of treats to the customers or have an actual delivery service? I don't see how delivery could be cost effective.

Have you considered placing "Dog Treat" vending machines at various locations that would have dogs? Look for parks, malls (no dogs, but lots of owners), small businesses that deal with animals (vet. clinics, grooming places). Can you target service dogs? This might be an added convenience for dog owners who are less mobile. What about an internet site that sells treats catered for dogs with specific ailments? Could you open your market to other animals?

I'm really not trying to shoot down your idea, just trying to understand how to make it profitable.

 

[rocksolid]

The treat that I would offer would be specailty treats. Dog treats are not just a simple bone or cracker anymore. Now there are these treats that look like muffine or donuts. If you didn't know better they look good enough to eat. People are crazy for their dogs, think of all the products out there for them. I figured people would enjoy getting a delivery of special treats for their " babies " once a week. Vending machines are interesting and the basic treats have a shelf life of about 6 months but these special ones would not last. Dog owners chim in, is this a bad idea?

http://dogdealoftheday.com/iStock_gourmetdogtreats.jpg

 

[Sparlin]

Wow, those do look like human food.

With that product, is it something you could open a small brick and mortar; market it as Canine Cafe or something like that? It would have to be in an upscale district, but there would be a potential for franchising. You could ship orders from the store or pay a kid min. wage for local delivery.

You would have to do a lot of market research to see if the product is popular enough to support it. If a store front is too much, what about vending carts that could stationed where people walk their dogs? That might be more scalable as a franchise.

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[Rem]

Since my wife became a Veterinarian about 7 years ago, this does not sound silly at all. I would have kind of laughed at this before but not now.

I have seen some real strange pet businesses that do real well. Catering to pets in one way or the other can be a great business.

 

[kurtyordy]

from what I have observed, these do well in a farmers market setting. Not sure what your return would be on delivery when you factor in all your costs.

 

[GoldenEggs]

What about doing it as a dog treat of the month kind of thing? I would be more likely to purchase the treats this way. Or if you offered a "fresh made" dog food delivery business, if I had money to do that, I would be interested in it.

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.