Spoil Your Dog...Or Your Fish...Or Your Snake: Niche Markets For Pet Lovers

by Yank Elliott, MBA & IAHBE Staff Writer

Before we get into the meat of this article, it may be helpful to first define what a pet is. Encyclopedia Britannica says a pet is any animal kept by human beings as a source of companionship and pleasure. It goes on to describe the more common ones like dogs, cats, and horses. Also described are more exotic types including large cats and other dangerous animals. Because we are interested in making money, another aspect of the "pet" business is described here. It’s the Pet Rock, which was a craze some years ago. Periodically, some fad like this will come along and the originators will make a lot of money for a while—keep your eyes open and your creative instincts sharp, and maybe you can come up with something like this! Even though Pet Rocks didn't fall into the "real pet" business niche we’re talking about, it still illustrates the point that pets and pet owners have long been target markets.

There have been a lot of stories on TV or in newspapers and magazines during recent months about the growing and constantly changing market for pet products of every kind. There are pet spas, grooming centers, and doggie daycare facilities available in many places. The travel business is becoming more pet friendly, and designer clothes for pets are coming on the market, as well as diet supplements and pet food containing people-type additives. With all this interest in pets there is money to be made by filling niche requirements. It’s just the kind of opportunity home-based entrepreneurs are tying to find. A good discussion of the current market is the article in the May 13, 2005, issue of Business Week Online entitled Pampered Pets (See the Resources section at the end this report.)

According to this article, people are clamoring for things like these:

• Mobile phones to hang around a dog’s neck, so the owner can talk to it.
  
• Portable and reusable potty trays with absorbent reusable material that resembles real grass, so there will always be a doggie bathroom even when traveling.
  
• Hypoallergenic beds.
  
• Pick up and delivery service for pets whose owners can’t take them to daycare or some other facility.
  
• Aromatherapy products.
  
• Pet breath mints (I hate to kiss my dog; the cat is worse, ugh!).
  
• Lunch box for reptiles.

All these things are said to result from the humanization of our pets. In many cases, pets are revered and loved members of the family. People often grieve for them long after they pass on, and many want to make their pets happy. When buying human-type products and taking them on our trips, we sense enjoyment from our pets. We feel that not only are we happier but so are our pets. They tell us by wagging tails, rubbing against us, and making little joyful noises. We often treat these pets as if they were children.

Humanization of animals is not a new concept. The ancient Egyptians adored bulls, cats, and birds as evidenced by paintings and mummified remains. Alexander The Great had a favorite horse named Bucephalus, familiar to many even to this day. What is new is the media coverage of the industry and technological advances enabling development of seemingly endless new products. See here for information about the humanization concept and for some pet business ideas. A report on Pet Care Services says 83% of pet owners refer to themselves as “Mommie” or "Daddy” when relating to their pets, 59% celebrate their pets' birthdays, and 68% travel with their pets. Do you see some entrepreneurial opportunities here?

The APPMA (American Pet Products Manufacturers Association) reports over 69 million homes in the U.S. have pets. Dogs and cats account for more than 81% of pets, and overall pet spending for 2005 is estimated to be $35.9 BILLION. APPMA discusses some opportunities in the pet industry, which I recommend that you study if you’re interested in this market. This is the major association for U.S. pet product manufacturers, and you need their advice.

Here are some sources of various pet products; you can find many more using Google or some other search engine:

• IndianIndustry.com (http://www.indianindustry.com/petproducts/) - Source of products mostly from India
  
  
• The Cape Cod Pet Network, Pet Product Manufacturers (http://www.capecodpet.net/productmanufacturers/)
  
  
• WOOF-ONLINE, products for small dogs (http://www.woofonline.com/feedback_form.asp)
  
  
• Alibaba.com, pet products mostly from China-a very large supplier (http://hotproducts.alibaba.com
  /manufacturers-exporters/Pet_Products.html)
  
  
• The Carefree Pet, Wholesale Pet Supply - (http://www.carefreepet.com/wholesale_pet_supply.html)
  
  
• Mammoth, Dog Beds, especially for large dogs - (http://www.mammothoutlet.com/)
  
  
• J-B Wholesale Pet Supplies, Inc., For Cats, For Dogs - (http://www.jbpet.com/Shopping/default.asp)
  
  
• ThatPetPlace.com, Pet Supplies and Fish Supplies - (http://www.thatpetplace.com/)
  
  
• GloFish, Florescent fish developed with bio-tech methods, now approved in the US - (http://www.glofish.com/buy.asp)

The pet products industry is vigorous and growing; it’s an entrepreneur’s dream. To use these sources of products, you must have a way to sell them within an actual small store, the Internet, or to individual customers. In every case, your own domain name hosted by a good Web host is required to have any possibility of success. You may have an idea about a product you can make on your own; that’s a great plan. Those who have succeeded with new product businesses advise testing before you go into business. Here are some thoughts on what to do from people who have started a new pet product business.

Some home-based pet business opportunities:

• Dog daycare centers are a hot item. Find out about them at ABKA (http://www.abka.com/abka/default.aspx).
  More about daycare here.
  
  
• Pet sitting is a popular home-based business. At PSI (http://www.petsit.com/) you will find training, supplies, insurance, and other services helpful to pet sitters.
  
  
• Pet Party Fun (http://www.petpartyfun.com/business_opportunity.html) is a party business featuring pet products. This company offers fundraising, home parties, catalog parties, and online parties.
  
  
• For just $15 USD you can get a business kit from Natures Paws (http://www.naturespaws.com/annhussar/). Products include herbal items, chews, jewelry, and many other pet products. It has a fundraiser feature as well.
  
  
• Healthy Pet Net (http://www.healthypetcorner.com/HPN/busopform.html) offers many products and services for pets. It also has a fundraiser opportunity.
  
  
• Petlane (http://petlane.com/) is a direct selling company with products for owners of birds, dogs, cats, and horses. The start-up kit is about $350 USD and may be partially financed.

Here is a list of pet franchises. Examine these, and you may find just what you want; some investment is required.

We have seen a number of ways a home-based entrepreneur can join the pet care industry and make money from the explosive growth fueled by people’s love for their pets. All of these require the entrepreneur to risk some amount of cash, and they must generally build the business from scratch. There is another way.

Affiliate programs have become common. Nearly every successful online business has one as well as a lot of brick-and-mortar businesses. Most require no investment, and they provide links to their products with cookies placed designating you, the referring party, to receive commissions when products are sold. Much has been written about how to succeed in the affiliate business; that is beyond the scope of this article. But affiliates do make money, and our research has turned up some promising sites paying 8% to 16% commissions:

• The Carefree Pet (http://www.carefreepet.com/pet_affiliate_program.html)
  
  
• J-B’s Affiliate Program (http://www.jbpet.com/Shopping/affiliate.asp)
  
  
• Your Active Pet (http://www.youractivepet.com/)
  
  
• PetsMart (http://www.petsmart.com/)
  
  
• PetCo.com (https://www.petco.com/Content/Content.aspx?
  PC=affiliateprogram&&Nav=145&&=)
  
  
• PetCare Central.com (http://www.petcarecentral.com/afprog.html)
  
  
• Only Natural Pet Store (http://www.onlynaturalpet.com/affiliate_info.asp)
  
  
• EntirelyPets.com (http://www.entirelypets.com/cj.html)
  
  
• DogToys.com (http://www.dogtoys.com/aspr.html)
  
  
• Animal Den (http://www.animalden.com/affiliate.html)
  
  
• 1-800-PetMeds.com (http://www.1800petmeds.com/affiliateprogram.asp)

But the affiliate product program that pays much better than all the others is SFI's own Veriuni Pet Products. Affiliates can click HERE and login to view these products. For information on selling them, check out the View/Edit Gateways page for an affiliate page you can use to market your pet products. When anyone buys from one of your gateways, you get a commission!

Whatever method you decide on, a pet-pampering home-based business could truly pay off for you in the coming months and years!

RESOURCES:

Online search terms used for this article:
famous pet names
pet
pet home based business
pet market statistics
pet products manufacturers
pet services industry

Kurtz, Rod, Editor. “Pampered Pets.” Business Week Online, May 13, 2005.

© Yank Elliott.  All rights reserved worldwide.

Yank is a home-based entrepreneur and freelance business writer living in Hurricane Alley, North Carolina, USA. His Website is http://www.furriwhalesworld.com. Contact Yank at globalbiz@furriwhalesworld.com.