There are 25 million pets in Australia (two million more than the human population), and they have created a flourishing industry worth an estimated $8 billion a year

‘Petpreneurs’ barking up the right tree

October 7, 2013

Christine D’Mello

Australia’s increasing interaction with household pets has spawned a robust small business industry. From dog cafes and gourmet treats to animal shampoos and minding homes, enterprising “petpreneurs” are seizing the opportunity to cater to a whole range of creature comforts. There are 25 million pets in Australia (two million more than the human population), and they have created a flourishing industry worth an estimated $8 billion a year. One venture taking a bite out of the market is the Gourmet Dog Barkery in the NSW city of Newcastle. Specialising in dog treats, it is a cafe and bakery for our canine companions.Cafe owner Lisa Haynes started making biscuits for her dog four years ago because there were not a lot of preservative-free healthy treats available.

“We started selling them online and at markets and soon realised that there was a demand.”

Haynes had always wanted to open a dog cafe, but had three small children and no funds. But with demand increasing, she was able to achieve her dream and Gourmet Dog Barkery opened in March.

All its products are handmade and have no preservatives. “We have customers whose dogs might have a protein allergy and it’s very hard these days to get dog treats that don’t have protein in them,” says Haynes.

She makes more than 35 dog biscuit varieties, wheat-free doggy snack bars, plus a range of fresh cakes, sausage rolls, birthday cakes and birthday bones, with prices starting at $1 for fresh yoghurt-dipped peanut butter and banana mini doughnuts, going up to 1-kilogram bags of treats that sell for $40 each.

Haynes hopes to open five more stores in the next five years, with the central coast and Sydney on her radar.

Another “petpreneur” is Katrina Thomson, founder of idpet.com.au. Melbourne-based Thomson, who has been producing personalised clothing for children for eight years through her other business, idtee.com.au, quickly realised there was a market for dogs.

“I realised that people are willing to spend money on their pets even more so than on their kids.

“Max, my dog, is like a family member to us.” But when she decided to personalise Max’s things she could not find anything online to reflect his personality. So she started idpet.com.au in May this year.

Thomson says she set up her business with just under $50,000. Her husband, Bill, looks after the technical side of things, and the website was up and running in 12 weeks. “We produce and print and do all the design work locally. Where we can source things and get them made locally, we will. So we don’t have to have huge amounts of stock,” she says.

The range of personalised products includes collars, ID tags, tops, beds, placemats and ceramic bowls with the pet’s name on it. “We cater to the personality of the people and the pets, so they can have the whole range made up just for them.” Prices range from $12.95 for a personalised ID tag, up to $154 for a bed.

Pet minding is another lucrative trade. Sue Coombs and Mel Hogan started mindahome.com.au in 2008.

Whenever Coombs went away on holidays, she did not like putting her pets in kennels. After house-sitting for a holidaying pet owner, she came up with the idea of mindahome.com.au. “I looked around to see what was available. There wasn’t much about. So we came up with the idea of starting our own site.”

The house-sitter pays an annual fee of $49. If they don’t get a gig in 12 months, there is a money-back guarantee. “Very few people ask for their money back because most find something that suits them.”

A boarding kennel, says Melbourne-based Coombs, can cost a pet owner $100 a day, while a house-sitter is free.

Coombs and Hogan have about 1400 house-sitters, and about 250 homes are listed with them.

They are now eyeing the overseas market, especially England and the US. But before that, they plan to develop the local business by implementing new features on their website.

In the meantime, our passion for pets is helping make the cash registers purr with satisfaction.