Monthly sales of pets, pet food, supplies and accessories amounted to over CA$180million in 2019 according to Statista, which is not surprising given that there are over eight million cats and eight million dogs living in Canadian households. This huge number of pets creates a large market for pet products and businesses have taken advantage of this market, making franchising in this sector an intriguing prospect.

The Canadian Animal Health Institute (CAHI) conducted a pet survey in 2020 which concluded that 58% of Canadian households reported they owned at least one cat or dog. With figures looking set to continue growing, this is an exciting time to invest in the world of pets and pet products. This sector includes services that look after and train pets as well as care services such as grooming and ‘pet pampering’. It also includes companies that sell products such as toys and beds plus food for pets.

Global Pet Foods has over 200 stores and has been franchising since 1976. As a well established Canadian retailer, franchisees of this company would benefit from the recognizable brand name and associated marketing. Petmobile is a franchised business that boasts over 10,000 products and accessories for pets of all shapes and sizes. For franchisees who are interested in the luxury pet service market, Dogtopia is a boarding and spa provider which offers personalized care and live webcams to ensure both pets and their owners are happy with the service!

Pet Industry Analysis

A passion for pets will be vital when investing in this sector but experience is not normally necessary. Marketing and sales experience, as well as the ability to lead and motivate a team, will be important and most franchises will offer comprehensive training. For some services, you will be required to lead a large team and will be encouraged to scale up your business model and invest in more branches over time. Franchisees will need to consider their long term aims for their business when investing.

For other services, such as owning a shop from which to sell pet products, franchisees would be wise to investigate the online retail strategies of the business to safeguard themselves for future changes in the market. There is no doubt that people are happy to invest money in their pets and the industry for pet products and services looks set to continuing growing. This is an exciting market in which to franchise and, for the right animal-loving entrepreneur, this could mean a lucrative future.