During lockdown, I started my own business and loved the idea of it and how it kept me busy. As soon as the lockdown was over, I no longer had the time to keep it running, so I had to close it down, which was sad. A couple of years later, I started a new business that was less time-consuming and easier to cope with my full-time job. Eventually, things did get overwhelming, so I had to close it down again, but I loved the business, and it seemed perfect for what I did.
That business was selling dog treats, and starting the business was great, but it is worth noting that it is quite competitive. So, as a part-time job, this was quite difficult to keep up with because I needed to stay ahead of my competition. But if you have the time for it, it is certainly worth doing, especially if you want to add extra money to your salary. Here is how I created my pet food business.
Market Research
Market research was first on my list simply because I needed to be aware of similar businesses and how well or not they’re doing. If there were too many businesses similar to the idea, then I wouldn’t have been able to compete, unlike now, where there are many similar businesses.
After my research, I needed to understand whether or not I can make enough money from it and trust me, there is a demand for dog treats. One thing I observed is that people love to spend a lot of money on their dogs.
Market research is essential for the success of your business, so definitely do this and answer the following questions.
1. Who is your target market?
2. Will your product be affordable or more luxurious?
3. What is the USP of your dog treat business?
4. Are there similar businesses to yours that offer a similar USP?
5. Will your product be online or at a stall?
Gather all of the information that you need and write it down on a piece of paper. Consider the cost of your product and how much you can profit from it. This is excluding the marketing costs.
Marketing Strategy
Deciding on my marketing strategy is the next step. This is what will help me get my business out there. If you don’t have a good marketing strategy, you won’t be able to get any sales. Let’s talk you through some of the marketing strategies that you need.
1. Get A Website
A website is essential if you are going to sell your dog treats online. This can be quite technical, so if you are like me, who isn’t very technical. Get a web development agency to do it for you. As I am based near Manchester, I got a web development agency in Manchester to build my website; however, you don’t need to pick one that is local to you. Fiverr is a great place to find an affordable web developer to help build your website.
2. Social Media
Social media is one of the best ways to help grow a business, especially if you know how to use it. There are two ways to promote your business on social media. Through organic traffic and paid targeted traffic.
Organic traffic is free; all you need is an Instagram or Facebook profile to promote it. TikTok is also another good platform to help promote your product if you are capable of making engaging videos. However, your engagement level is determined by your number of followers.
Paid traffic is another way to promote your business. This is good because you can target specific audiences that share similar interests to your brand. For example, you can target dog owners within your marketing area with both Facebook and Instagram. You also want to choose other interests that they might have, where they spend money on their dogs.
Social media marketing is great for the average person, so it is certainly worth considering.
Also read: 3 Things People Don’t Understand About Social Media Marketing
3. Search Engine Optimisation
Search engine optimisation, or SEO, is something that I had never heard of until I was speaking to one of my friends who also owns a business. This involves different technical strategies you apply to rank higher on search engine platforms like Google and Bing. Here, you will optimise your website to help rank for specific keywords that are relevant and related to your brand.
SEO is a marketing strategy that has many different techniques, so we recommend that you get someone to do this for you. What I did was go on Fiverr to see if I could find someone offering at a more affordable price compared to agencies, and I did get. Make sure you shop around to find the best reviews and what they can offer in their services. There are a lot of people in marketing who say they can do it, but they can’t.
4. PPC
If you have the budget, PPC is another great method for promoting your business. I didn’t have the budget for this as I found it difficult to outbid my competitors, but it can bring in very fast results.
If you are unsure what this is, it is where you pay to promote your business on Google by bidding on keywords. This will appear in the ads at the top of the search results when you type in “Dog Treats”. Google will charge you per click, which makes it quite expensive in some months.
Business Registration
The next step for me was to register my business. I had everything in place, ready to sell my products. I also baked my dog treats, which I’ll touch on later if you read on.
Because you will be making and selling dog treats, you have to register your business with the local Trading Standards Office. They will assess your business and how you operate, ensuring that everything follows the right rules and regulations, which is essential for your dog treat business, by the way. If you need more information regarding this, then check this post from food.gov.uk
There are a lot of technicalities and rules, and regulations when it comes to your dog treat business, which is what I found out when I was doing it. I then needed to register with the Animal and Plant Health Agency. They are responsible for animal products included in your food. Additionally, they will ensure that you transport your dog treats correctly, including the ingredients, to your home, and they will also check to make sure you store your products correctly.
How To Make Dog Treats
Making dog treats is surprisingly easy, which is why I started the business in the first place. I wanted to make my dog her treats, and then I thought about scaling it, which then spiralled into the business. Anyways, you need the basics which you require for baking. This includes a stand mixer, rolling pin, cookie cutters (ideally in the shape of bones), mixing bowls, measuring cups and spoons, and weighing scales. You also need a big enough area where you can put together your dog treats.
In terms of ingredients, you need to ensure they are dog-friendly. This includes all-purpose flour, rice flour, oat flour, buckwheat flour or coconut flour. In terms of flavourings and colourings, you need to ensure that they are dog-friendly.
Packaging and Selling Dog Treats
Now, you have done all of the hard work for your dog treats, you need to ensure that you are packaging them correctly before you sell them. Packaging for me was a great way to get my brand out there, simply because if the packaging is nice, customers would take pictures of it and put it on their social media pages. Sounds like free advertising to me.
You also need to ensure that it is sturdy and stops the treats from being damaged. Plastic packaging can tend to trap moisture, which would then grow mould on your dog treats. This is the last thing that you want when it comes to selling your product, as you will get a lot of complaints, a lot of bad reviews and will start to lose out on sales.
To Conclude
As you can see, there are many things that you need to consider for your dog treat business. You may find it overwhelming, but honestly, if it is something that you want to do, you will love it. I adored it when I did it, and it is a shame I had to give it up because of my full-time job and overall life commitments.
The one thing that annoyed me the most was dealing with customers. Some people are impatient when their item arrives. Plus, you will always get one complaint from time to time, where they will want a refund or to be reimbursed to a certain degree. This was the hardest part for me, which was a shame because I genuinely loved making my dog treats and selling them. Just make sure that you are ready to deal with annoying customers, and I am more than confident you will love it just as much as I did.
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