Start A Dog Bakery Business

Make Pets Your Business: Start Your Own Dog Bakery

February 2003

It seems like everyone has a pet these days and pets are becoming more and more a part of the family. People pamper their pets and want to make sure they have the best of everything. This is the perfect opportunity to start a home based business.

What is a Dog Bakery?

People are becoming more health conscious, not only for themselves, but for their pets as well. A great way to tap into this consciousness is to start a dog bakery offering healthy treats to these lucky pooches. Commercial dog biscuits contain a ton of additives and chemicals, while home baked treats eliminate all this unnecessary stuff and they taste great.

You can transform your kitchen into your bakery and find most ingredients in your local grocery store. This means low production costs with a good profit margin. You can package your baked goods quite simply with paper bags and make your own labels at home.

Before you dive right in, make sure you check out the legalities of preparing and selling food in your area. The laws will vary from area to area.

Dog Bakery Supplies & Equipment

- Do you have a kitchen with an oven?

- Dog treat and biscuit recipes ~ You can find a number of recipes on the Internet. Find some at the http://www.gourmetsleuth.com/recipe_dogbiscuit.htm or do a search on your favorite search engine.

- Dog treat & biscuit ingredients ~ most ingredients can be found at your local grocery store, often in the bulk section

- Cookie cutters ~ find cute dog bone shapes and other unique cutters

- Packaging ~ You can go as simple as brown paper bags with a nice computer-printed label with all your contact information. If you're shipping your biscuits, you may want to choose some more sturdier packaging. Check your local dollar store for inexpensive tins and boxes. If you have a knack for sewing, how about a sealable plastic bag placed into an attractive fabric bag with a drawstring?

Dog Baker Skills & Attributes

- If you don't like dogs, you shouldn't waste your time. A love of pets and what you're doing is essential.

- An interest in baking.

- Sales skills - these biscuits aren't going to sell themselves.

- Ability to meet deadlines - people will be making orders and you need to be able to fill them in a timely manner.

Dog Bakery Product Prices

Check out your competition for appropriate pricing. If you sell wholesale to stores try not to undercut their retail price when selling to retail customers.

Get Your Business off the Ground

Visit the following businesses to see if they would like to sell your product.

- veterinarian

- pet store

- kennel

- doggy daycare

If they aren't interested in selling, ask if you can leave samples with your menus. The great thing about having low production costs is that samples aren't going to break the bank.

Also, don't forget to give your samples to your friends with pets ~ but make sure they take a menu too!

Book a table at a local pet event.

Try organizing a fundraising event with your local SPCA or animal organization. The idea is that people purchase your products and the organization receives a portion or all of the profits. Again, be sure to have menus and business cards on hand, so that people can make future orders from you in the future.

Online Marketing Ideas

- A website is a must. It is your storefront for those who find you from across the continent and for your local customers. Include useful information like dog health and care tips, dog stories, photo contests, etc.

- Start an informative newsletter with dog health and care tips and accept dog stories from your readers. Include your customers on your mailing list with their permission and perhaps have a free monthly draw for doggy biscuits to entice others to sign up for your list.

- Try selling your treats at online auctions. Ebay will provide you with the biggest market for your products, but the fees can really add up. Check out these mom and family-themed auction houses where, at the time of publishing this article, there were no fees. Keep in mind, the market for buying your treats may be smaller. Always make sure your minimum bid is a price you can afford to sell at and check out your competition before you begin.

http://www.wahmauctions.com

http://www.primauctions.com

http://www.mothersnature.com/cgi-bin/Auction

http://www.momsnetwork.com/auctionhouse.shtml

http://www.familyauction.com

http://www.mywoman2woman.com/auction/

http://thefamilycloset.com/cgi-bin/auction/auction.pl

- Participate in Flyer Exchanges with other home based businesses. The premise is to exchange flyers, business cards, coupons and other promotional info. You include a little pack of these promotional items with your orders and the people you exchange with, will do the same. Make yours special. Send menus with sample biscuits (just one per menu is enough) to those you exchange with. Business cards are a dime a dozen, but a sample goes a long way. InternetBasedMoms.com has just started a Flyer Exchange. You can find out more at http://www.internetbasedmoms.com/bb/viewforum.php?f=39.

- If you love dogs, (and I hope you do) join an online Dog Lovers group and get to know other Dog Lovers. Don't join these groups to make sales, but get to know people and what they do. You'll be surprised at what a valuable network your fellow dog lovers can be. They may be involved with businesses or non-profit organizations that would be interested in working with you.

Try dog-themed web pages with message boards or check out http://groups.yahoo.com to search for a group.

- Increase your website visitors and sales by offering an affiliate program to those who want to promote your business on their website.

- In addition to wholesaling to businesses in your area, be sure to offer wholesale prices off your website.

For a More Comprehensive Look at the Dog Bakery Business

To really get your Dog Bakery off on the right foot, check out the MyMommyBiz ebook, Start Your Own Dog Bakery Business. This book covers everything from choosing your company name and logo; supplies and labels; where to sell your treats; order forms and contracts; packaging; recipes and more.

Expanding Your Pet Business

Why stop at baking for dogs? You can expand your pet business by venturing into the following areas:

- Baking for Cats - Yes, even these finicky creatures like a homemade treat now and then.

- Doggy or Pet Day Care - MyMommyBiz has ideas for your in their ebooks, Start Your Own Doggie Daycare Business & Start Your Own Pet Sitting Business ~ http://www.MyMommyBiz.com

- Pet Photography - Start a Dog & Pet Photography Business ~ http://www.MyMommyBiz.com has all the information you need to get started in planning your business.

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Alice Seba is the editor of InternetBasedMoms.com and author of An Internet Based Mom's Guide to Marketing Your Website ~ http://www.internetbasedmoms.com/ebooks/ ~ an essential guide for any mom with a cyber business.