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Your Specialty Bakery
Business Niche for Dogs
Creating a specialty bakery for dogs requires a bit of planning. Select a theme for your dog bakery and build your business niche or business style, using your theme product line and bakery packaging.
Photo by Arnold Gatilao, Freemont, CA, flckr
How do you determine which approach to use for your dog bakery? Market Research. Make some treats and get some taste testers to help you out with the selection of your bakery dog treats. In addition, ask around. Find out what other pet owners are thinking. What would they pay for? How much would they pay? Who is your competition? What works for them? What could you do better than the competition is doing?
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The Product Line for your
Specialty Bakery - Business Niche
Just the fact that you are starting a dog bakery—puts you in a business niche. Dog bakeries are just naturally in a niche because they are specialty bakeries—just like Italian bakeries, Polish bakeries or Danish bakeries. However, you can still get too broad in your scope. Here are some themes to consider:- Natural or Organic – Many pet parents are seeking out natural or healthy treats for their dogs. There are no government regulations (US) to regulate the use of terms like natural or organic.
Photo by Jared Tarbell, Youngsville, US, flckr
If you use only organic ingredients, you can say that on the package. But you won't be able to have “certified organic” dog treats, because, unlike people foods, no such certification exists for dog foods and treats. So, if you stick to natural (not chemical) and healthy ingredients, or human grade ingredients, you can reach this market. Just be honest on your packages and labels. Say exactly what you mean. - Gourmet Specialty Bakery for Dogs – This includes decorated treats, party treats, etc. - treats in novel shapes and decorated with dog treat icing.
For example, if you want to reach this market, you might include dog cookies like
carob chip cookies,
dog bread sticks
madelaines or biscotti—dog treats that look just like people pastries or treats.
Photo by Yomi Yomi, Kyoto, flckr
For this specialty bakery business niche, you will need a number of cookie cutters, cake pans or muffin pans in cute shapes. Let your imagination run wild—and have fun! - Healthy Everyday Treats - like
dog training treats
or
dog biscuits
- These are the simplest and fastest dog treats to make. Some people have built a dog bakery business totally around this kind of dog treat—using a special flavor, etc.
Consider carrying one or two simple dog treats. Because they are quick and easy to make, your labor cost will be lower (even if you are doing it yourself—more on that under
How to Price a Product
, so you can charge less. Using a dog biscuit or two in your product line gives you a more well rounded selection!
Bakery Packaging
for Your Dog Bakery Business
Depending on how you will be distributing your dog bakery treats, bakery packaging can be very important. Let's look at some examples.
High End Gourmet - if you will be targeting this group, consider fancy packaging, expensive marketing and charging higher prices. This approach works well in an exclusive shoppe setting or a home party business.
Photo by Lindy Ireland, flckr
Natural or Green - use brown bakery bags or brown bakery boxes. Try white labels with green printing.
Photo by existentist, Amarillo, US, flckr
Public Setting - including flea markets, farmers markets, etc. Here you can choose cute but inexpensive cellophanes (paw prints?), white bakery bags, plastic bags with zippers, curly ribbon, etc. Your products need to look attractive and clean, but, since you are targeting a less expensive market, the simpler bakery packaging will do.
So, think about the “look and feel”, the specialty bakery business niche
that you want to create. Then, back up your theme with everything that you do—from the way that you display your dog treats to the way that you package them! Be consistent!
Here are some other articles on starting a home bakery:
Back to Starting a Home Business Dog Bakery - from Specialty Bakery for Dogs
Best Dog Treat Recipes HOME
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