It’s feeding cats and dogs

BOULDER — For many area dog and cat owners, that knock at the door may not be the pizza guy.

It could very well be Bob Jones, Pet Pantry franchise owner. Jones has been delivering the company’s all-natural, super-premium dog and cat food since December.

“I was looking for something that would be interesting and fun,´ said the ex-manufacturing equipment business owner. “My wife (Anne) and I both like dogs and cats, and decided this is what we wanted to do.”

During the first nine months of business, Jones has served more than 400 customers. Jones said monthly revenues have been between $5,000 and $7,000.

More than 75 percent of his patrons are regulars, and most of them are busy, two-income families with children. Less than 10 percent of his clients have cats only, while approximately 75 percent of customers just have dogs. His average customer orders products every four to six weeks.

Though Jones has done some door-to-door direct marketing, the corporate office’s telemarketing department refers the majority of his clientele. Jones also appears at street fairs and community events.

Jones’ startup cost was about $75,000, with $30,000 of that for a one-time franchise fee. Investments included an empty cargo van, a forklift and pallet racks. Jones is renting warehouse space and has a home office.

Though he has no employees, he is negotiating with two potential working partners to buy into the business by early next year. There would be no majority ownership. Rather, Jones is asking for approximately half of his startup costs and, likewise, incoming partners would receive half of annual revenues.

Since the company was founded in 1995, Pet Pantry already has approximately 100 franchises nationwide, four of which are in Colorado. Jones has exclusive domain rights to serve Boulder and Broomfield counties, as well as Eldorado Springs and Westminster.

“We carry many products that are available elsewhere,” Jones conceded. “But our overhead is very low compared with a store. Our pricing can be very competitive.”

It is exactly this issue that Alex Teller, owner of Boulder-based Colorado Canines (and Felines Too), finds problematic. She said a nationwide company that hand delivers pet food to one’s doorstep is “intrusive to local businesses.” Within 24 hours of an order, Teller will personally deliver any product in her store to Boulder customers upon request, but she charges for that service. However, she offers free delivery for the elderly and persons with disabilities, and will ship her products worldwide.

Betsy Shears, a customer of Jones, appreciates having her golden retriever’s food arrive at her front door.

“I think it’s a great convenience to have the product delivered to your home. The response time is always good, my dog likes it, and I feel it’s a healthy product.”

Pet Pantry manufactures its own brand of biscuits as well as wet and dry food for dogs and cats. The goods are naturally preserved and contain no byproducts, dyes, fillers or sugars. There are seven formulations of dry dog food (puppy through older dog) and three formulas of dry cat food.

The company no longer uses beef as a protein source. Meat sources include lamb and chicken for dogs and liver and seafood for cats.

“One of our manufacturing facilities is in Canada. There was a question about whether some of the food had been contaminated with mad-cow disease. It was never verified, but the USDA closed the border to anything with Canadian beef,” Jones said. “I suspect anyone who is manufacturing food in Canada is doing the same thing. It’s the prudent thing to do.” Jones added that Pet Pantry’s home-delivery system allows franchise owners to act as a liaison between customers and the corporate office if any problems with food were to occur.

Healthy pet treats

In addition to the company’s meal and biscuit offerings, Jones carries bones, pig ears, Greenies brand biscuits, Kookamunga catnip treats and Vita Gravy. He also sells an all-natural clumping kitty litter. Some time this quarter Jones will add a glucosamine supplement treat to his merchandise selection. Meanwhile, all cat and dog food formulas already contain a plant called yucca schidigera extract, which, like glucosamine, is purported to improve an animal’s joint function.

Lafayette-based Bark Avenue owner Sally Smith said she finds a product’s ingredients and freshness to be more important than delivery convenience.

“We have some products on our shelves that are manufactured two weeks before they hit our shelves,” she said. Smith cautioned to avoid carbohydrate fillers that are also common pet allergens like corn and wheat. She then warned about chemical preservatives like BHA (butylated hydroxyanisole), BHT (butylated hydroxytoluene) and exthoxoquin, which, she said, has been suspected to cause immune problems. Smith prefers natural preservatives like vitamin E.

“I think it’s a fine concept,” she said of pet-food delivery, “as long as the quality control is there, and it’s kept in clean containers.”

Pet Pantry provides all customers with a pet-food bucket. Patrons leave the weather-resistant container outside their door on delivery day. Jones can then place dry food, cans of wet food and any paperwork or promotional literature in the bucket. Food comes in 10-, 25-, 50- and 100-pound quantities. Ten pounds of dry dog food costs between $8 and $14, not including tax. Fifty pounds can exceed $54.

“It’s a new, exciting business,” Jones said. “We think this is a terrific market for this service.”

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