Pet Supplies and Pet Products Industry
According to a recent survey, in USA and Europe, nearly 50% households own a pet, with dogs by far the most popular pet. The pet industry has been experiencing explosive booming. And the pet business will continue to boom unabated in the future.
In these 3-5 years, a number of pet supplies brands and companies are newly created. There are several young pet supplies brands in the United States, France, Spain, and Australia that have grown rapidly in recent two or three years.
It is indisputable that the success of these companies lies in innovative marketing channels, high quality products and distinctive designs.
Leading Custom Pet Supplies Manufacturer
We, P-NUTS, have been manufacturing custom dog leashes, dog collars, dog harnesses and dog jackets for a number of pet supplies companies and brands from all over the world. It witnessed that many pet supplies brands/companies starting from one person in home garages to hundreds of employees in giant offices. If you are preparing to take the leap and set up your own pet supplies brand, then you must know the following 10 things.
1. Selecting right products is the first important thing you should do.
Selection of products is to the business what the seeds is to the tree. You must reap what you have sown. In this regard, when you decide to start a pet supplies business or create your own pet supplies brand, the first import thing you should do is to select the right products you are interested in from thousands of pet supplies categories.
1.1 Pet supplies product categories
There are countless pet products, with variable materials, colors, sizes, designs and functions. I have listed some ordinary daily use pet supplies categories for your reference. Let’s have a look.
A. Pet Leashes, pet collars, pet harnesses, pet dog seat belts
B. Pet wears: dog jackets, dog coats, dog raincoats
C. Dog Boots
D. Pet Toys
E. Pet beds and mats
F. Crates and kennels
G. Pet grooming products
H. Pet health care
I. Pet food and treats
J. Pet carriers and travels
K. Cat Tree Condo
L. Cat litter
M. Cat water fountain
N. Pet pots and bowls
O. Pet GPS tracker
1.2 Starting from one or two product categories
As an old Chinese saying goes, more haste, less speed. Unless you have rich experience in pet products industry, a strong and professional team, or a lot of investment funds, It’s unwise to get involved in too many different pet product categories.
Because as start-up company, it is not easy to develop one or two types of pet supplies product line due to lack of experience. What’s more, a large amount of money is needed to invest into designing, manufacturing and marketing for adding one new product category.
There are some companies / brands that are eager to operate a wide range of pet products when they are just established. No one can deny the fact that this is a bad idea which will eventually lead to the failure of the business. After all, Rome wasn’t built in a day.
2. Make the difference
Before building up your company, you should have a clear perspective of the design concept and product style of your pet product brand. Take into mind that this determines the DNA of your brand. The top principle is to make your things different. You have to ensure that end market customers are able to recognize your brand through your product at a glance. At the same time, the style and characteristics of your products are also essential factors for you to attract customers. Therefore, it is also a good way to decide your pet supplies product design styles based on your target customer groups’ taste and consumption habits.
3. Create and design your product line.
If you are a designer, it should not be a difficult thing. If you don’t know how to design at all. Then you need to hire a designer or design team to help you complete the designs of pet supplies products. At least 6-10 items of products are needed for your first launch. After that, you can keep or delete some designs according to your investment budget.
4. A detailed business plan is the foundation of success.
It must be noted that it is import to make a detailed business plan. The content of the plan includes the amount of investment, marketing channels, time schedule, product categories, size and order quantity etc. You don’t need to pay too much attention to the format of the plan. What is more important is that you should make sure you can have a basic concept and framework for the business through making the plan.
5. Selecting a professional pet supplies manufacturer and supplier
It is widely acknowledged that working with a professional and trustworthy product manufacturer and supplier is half the success of your business.
First, you’d better pay attention to the supplier’s manufacturing experience and capability. Apart from manufacturing experience, you also have to know if they have export experience, because there are lots of differences between domestic and international production standards.
Second, It is a clever way to judge and verify pet supplies manufacturers by testing the quality of their samples. Generally speaking, if a factory is used to producing low-end and low-quality products, they are normally lack of capability to produce high-quality and high standard goods. If a factory’s samples are with low quality and ugly, please stay away from them.
Third, we want to tell you a very useful and practical principle: never choose the supplier who quote the lowest price. Price differences are used as a proxy for differences in quality. If you only focus on price, when you receive the goods, you will find that you have been cheated. This is likely to lead to a fatal business failure.
6. Adjust and make the final purchase plan through communication with suppliers.
Calculate your total cost according to the supplier’s quotation, freight, duty and other expenses. You can make the purchase plan and adjust the style, quantity and color according to your investment budget. After you have a determined purchase schedule, you can negotiate with the supplier to discuss the final quotation, delivery date and product details.
7. Samples are necessary.
When you are sure of the design, it is necessary to pay the factory to produce the samples for you. If you are satisfied with the samples produced by the factory, you can roughly make the basic decision to let the factory produce your products in large quantities for you. If the quality of the samples produced by the factory for you is particularly poor, you can also find other factories as early as possible. In fact, the inspection of samples has largely determined the quality and standard of the products you finally launch in the market.
8. Make sure the mass production product goods same as the confirmed samples
First of all, you must keep the final samples as record.
Second, you could request the factory is to carry on mass production according to the quality and details of the samples.
Third, add a clause to the contract to ensure that the mass production goods produced by the factory is in line with samples: including the details of product quality, materials, dimensions, etc. The purpose of this is to protect your interests. There are some unscrupulous pet products suppliers who may deliver shoddy products which are totally different from the samples you have checked and confirmed. This is why it is necessary to add a clause to the contract.
9. Inspection is a must-do.
If you are working with a factory for the first time, you must inspect the goods before delivery. Because this is the last chance to make sure the quality to meet your requirements. When the cargo leaves China and arrives in your country, it will be difficult for you to protect your rights and interests if you find out serious problems. With that high freight and tariffs, it is hardly for you to return the goods back.
10. Strong marketing capability is the catalyst of your brand development.
After a few months to half a year’s preparation, you finally receive your first batch of pet products with your own brand logo. You will enter into a new battlefield. You need to start implementing your marketing plan. Do everything possible to let the target consumers see your products, know your products, and love your products. This will be a long process of market developing. No matter you sell on the Internet or have a pet supplies store, strong marketing ability is the catalyst for your brand development.
From what has been discussed above, I am fully convinced that building up a pet supplies brand from zero is not easy and a professional and reliable supplier will boost your business greatly. P-NUTS is a China-based leading dog leashes, dog collars, dog harnesses and dog jackets manufacturer and supplier.If you need custom pet supplies, please don't hesitate to contact us.