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Dog Bakery
Product Distribution
Your dog bakery product distribution is simply the way that you will get dog treats to your customers. Will you have an online bakery, corner bakery shop, mobile bakery or home party business?What we are really talking about is the location of your dog bakery and how you will handle product distribution for your dog treats to your customers. If someone asked you to tell them what your dog bakery is (in one sentence), how would you describe it? Let's look at the most obvious choices: - Online Bakery
- Corner Bakery
- Mobile Bakery
- Fund Raising Business
- Home Party Business
Online Bakery
Product Distribution
This dog bakery business model has a very low overhead. An online bakery is a simple way to set up your home bakery business. Your online bakery can sell anything from gourmet to simple, down home healthy dog treats.
Photo by dougwoods, Gloucester, UK, flckr
Online, you create the look and feel of your site and carry the theme of your niche throughout the site consistently—fancy, expensive, gourmet, fun, healthy, big breed, small breed, party treats, natural, organic, holistic, etc. You can bake all your dog treats at home, take orders online and product distribution is handled through the mail or UPS. Bakery packaging can be very simple and inexpensive. You don't have to rent or buy a building. You don't need a van. You don't have to buy expensive displays. You don't have to invest in expensive commercial equipment. The customers can pay for shipping. If you use Priority Mail, the post office provides the boxes for free. Advertising is kept to a bare minimum! The most important part of an online business, of course, is its website. If you don't get traffic, you don't get business—more traffic means more business—as long as your dog bakery website has been well done, and your bakery dog treat products are inviting to the customer.
If you are considering an online dog bakery business, make sure you check out Site Build It (SBI). I built my website with them, and I have been very pleased with the results! (And I am NOT a computer geek!) The whole package only costs $299 per year—which is a lot cheaper than most other options. If you aren't happy with SBI, they will refund your money.
The Corner Bakery
for Product Distribution
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I grew up outside Philadelphia, and I remember the wonderful corner bakeries (for people) that were on almost every street in certain sections of the city. These store front bakeries included Italian bakeries, Polish bakeries, Jewish bakeries—and they were awesome! Most of the bakeries have disappeared now. But, make no mistake about it--no grocery store bakery will ever come even close to the experience of a corner bakery!
Photo by Purple Slog, West Allis, Wisconsin, flckr
Just in case you have never seen a corner bakery, I will describe one. They had big windows on the front, and, of course, there were delightful goodies displayed in the windows to tempt customers to come inside. Inside the corner bakery, the aroma was incredible. And there were bakery display cases filled with yummy looking cakes, cookies and breads that looked far too difficult to make at home. I could go on, but I know you have the idea. For this business model, the customer comes to you for product distribution. To set up business, you need to rent or buy a building. You will have overhead expenses like heat, air conditioning, water, sewage. You will have to invest in bakery counters or displays, bakery shelves, commercial bakery equipment, including refrigeration and ovens. You will have to advertise. And you should also have a website. Every business should have a website in this age of internet growth! You may have to hire someone to help you, because, just to break even, you will have to sell quite a few dog treats. It doesn't matter that your mark-up on the dog treats is high. Your expenses for this model are high, also. For many reasons, it would be best to grow into this model, not try to start with a corner store. This model is the one where you are most likely to fail. You have to spend the most money to get started, and you have to be successful very quickly to make it work.
Mobile Bakery
Product Distribution
By this, I mean that you take your business to the customers. For product distribution, you pack your bakery dog treats into your van or SUV and literally take them to:
veterinarians – Since most veterinarians sell dog treats themselves, consider why they would buy them from you. What can you offer them that is different? flea markets – This is usually the crowd looking for bargains. You will pay a rental fee to have your stand. But, you will need to keep your prices down, or your customers, bargain hunters that they are--won't buy. farmers markets – Again, you need to consider your rental fee. But this crowd can be a little more upscale. You will be able to charge more and may decide to sell gourmet dog treats to this crowd. pet hotels or pet watching services – You will have to explore this in your area. Pet hotels can vary quite a bit. Some are pretty upscale. local pet stores – In this case you will be selling at wholesale. The pet store needs to make a profit, too. Consider how low your pricing can be—but still allow both you and the stores to make a profit.
In all of the above cases, make sure that you have thoroughly dried your dog treats so that they stay fresh. Product distribution for these business models requires both time and gas. Figure both into your budget planning.
Fund Raising Business
Product Distribution
Many organizations like schools, sports teams, boy scouts and girl scouts have fund raisers from time to time. My experience is that they almost always sell overpriced products that I don't want.Why not offer your dog treats as a fund raiser? In this business model, I would stick to no more than half a dozen dog treats—at least to start. The simplest way to do this would be to offer boxes of 12 dozen bags of treats. Payment upon delivery. The organization sells the treats. Any leftover treats are theirs to deal with. Once you get paid, you are out of the picture. Another way to do this is to take orders. If you do this, you need to be able to bake and deliver—on time. Give yourself enough time, and be aware of what you are physically able to do! Do NOT over promise! It is far better to promise LESS, and pleasantly surprise your customer with MORE--than to have a group of disappointed customers!
For this business model, product distribution can be handled a couple of different ways. You might deliver the dog treats if the fund raiser is local. You can ship using UPS or the US post office (US only), or you can have the local customers pick up their orders. If you have your customers come to your home, you must keep your home neat and clean--and handle customers professionally. That means the kids behave and the dog doesn't knock the customer down at the door!
If you decide to take and fill orders, the kids (order takers or fund raisers) will need something to show the customers, like a glossy full color brochure. This is one detail that you can't skimp on. Remember that the customer who is buying only gets one impression--your brochure is your only representation. So make sure that it looks professional. Full color glossy brochures can get expensive quickly, and you will probably be forced to buy a large quantity. Printers don't set up their printing equipment for small quantities of this kind of brochure (or any brochure, for that matter). And, if you skimp on your brochures and they are poor quality and look cheap, you won't get any orders. It would be most helpful to have a website that gives more information on you and your products. A website gives you more credibility, answers questions that people may have and gives your customers more reasons to buy from you. A word of caution. Fund raising is a highly competitive business. Many fund raisers offer big, expensive prizes to the kids as incentives. You will need to consider why an organization, who wants to raise money, would choose you over someone who sponsors a big dance and awards the highest sellers with expensive prizes. If you decide to use this model for your business, see how other fund raisers are running their businesses and set yours up to include the best of their ideas.
Home Party Business
Product Distribution
Years ago I set up my own home party business, The Country Craftsman. It sold small wooden items and handmade crafts. How did I do it? I simply modeled my business after home party systems that I had seen.
Photo by JAGwired, Portland, US, flckr
Here are some of the points to remember if you decide to use this business model. - You need to provide an incentive for the hostess. What would be attractive enough? What incentive do you provide for the hostess to line up other parties? You need to keep having parties for this to work.
- When someone goes to a home party, they expect to buy something. Years ago I could expect an average sale of $20 per party guest. If a hostess told me that she expected 20 guests, I could expect sales of $400.
You will need to include some higher end products in your product line, or you won't be able to sell enough. For example, you wouldn't make much if all you sold were bags of dog treats for $2 each. Think GOURMET for this model! - How will you encourage larger sales? Will you offer a % discount for sales over a certain amount? Or a special “2 for the price of 1” on a particular product?
- Will you take orders or sell your products immediately at the party? Selling immediately is infinitely less complicated, but it means that you will have to anticipate what you will sell—and make those dog treats before the party.
- How will you get started? Somehow you have to get the ball rolling. Line up as many hostesses as you can initially. The more parties, the more chances you have for more parties.
- Consider having a website for your party plan system. It could be a way to pre-sell some items, a way for guests unable to attend to order products even before the party, a way to “sell” a guest on being a hostess for her own party, and a way for you to establish credibility as a real business.
- With this model, you will be the party planner. (You will have to be in front of a group. If you aren't comfortable with this—consider another model.) How can you make the party fun and interesting? A well planned party will go better. Help the guests to have fun, and they will be more likely to buy—and let's face it, you will have a better time too!
Product distribution is usually handled one of three ways for home parties. You could deliver the dog treats personally, ship them to the hostess or just sell dog treats that you have baked ahead of time to the guests--the day of the party. Cash and carry, if you will. If you choose this business model, simply design your business to include some of the features that you have seen in home parties that you have attended. As your business grows, you can tweak some of your ideas.
So, there are some ideas for you to consider for product distribution. Each method of product distribution has benefits and drawbacks. Consider carefully what your situation is...and then choose what model will work best for you! Don't forget to give samples out freely. Samples sell!
If you have decided on the location of your dog bakery and how you will handle product distribution, then you are ready to look at these articles on dog bakery startup:
Starting a Home Business Dog Bakery - from Dog Bakery Product Distribution
Home of Best Dog Treat Recipes
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