Pet food businesses are faced with many challenges and most of the time don’t know how to improve the bottom line. With today's economy, every pet parent is price conscious and tend to browse for pet food that is affordable, instead of physically walking into a pet shop to look for them.

While most pet food retailers understand that a product’s margin is the difference between the retailer’s price and their selling price, It’s important to understand how your margin affects the store’s bottom line. 

Every pet food retailer should know about their products’ margin so that they can price their products accordingly. Here are five proven and tested ways you can increase margins for your pet food business.

Reduce Overhead by Closely Managing Your Inventory

A big mistake done by most pet food businesses is trying to sell everything to everyone. If you are trying to meet the needs of all customers by stocking too many products, this will impact your profit margins.

Pick a niche in which you can excel and make good profits. Choose inventory that is not found in big pet food chains. This may include holistic specialty foods and premium pet foods. Make sure the products you sell are of high quality and provide complete nutrition to pets. This is the only way you can attract more customers and make more sales.

2. Market! Market!

Pet food consumers require more trust than other retail businesses. Remember, you are selling them products that their pets will consume. All pet parents consider pets as members of their family and always want the best for them.

it's important for you to establish your business as a place where pet parents will trust you to deliver quality products for their pets.

Use efficient marketing methods and strategic promotions to reach out to your potential and earn trust in your community.

The best way to earn trust in your community is by getting involved. Partner with local pet shelters and participate in helping animals in need.

Initial time and cost might be high, but worth it in the long run. This will make pet parents consider your pet food store as a place that truly cares about animals.

3. Attract More Customers with Pet Services

Offering pet services is a great way to attract more pet parents that might be interested in buying your products. This depends on the space you have in your store. There are many services you can offer including pet grooming, mobile veterinary care, obedience training, pet sitting, or photography.

Offering pet services does not require a lot of capital to get started, and can give your shop a good opportunity to get more customers. In fact, if you partner with a pet company that offers pet services it will be great since you will not need to hire employees. These companies can use your space for a small fee.

The additional cash flow will help increase your profits and also get more customers in your store. As a pet owner gets in the shop to get a service, they may end up purchasing your products.

4. Develop a Great Relationship with your Vendors and Customers

Another great way to improve your profit margins is to develop great relationships with vendors. Some pet food stores think using different pet food suppliers is the best way to get better price deals. 

However, one of the best ways to get a great profit margin is to work with a small number of suppliers. You can buy in bulk and get a great price offer which will improve your profit margin.

Also, treating your customers well means that they will come back tomorrow which guarantees you business continuity.

5. Take a Tech Approach to Reach out to Customers

Taking a tech approach to market your pet food business is another effective way to increase your profit margins. Most importantly, you need to build a website that is informative to cover your online presence.

From your website, customers should quickly tell who you are, what you are selling, when you are open, why they should buy from you, and where you are located. This is the best place to display your promotions and sale offers.

You also need to be visible on social media and run campaigns on platforms like Facebook and Instagram. This is a great way to connect with your customers. You can also use social media to answer your customers’ questions. It’s important to be courteous to customers online as you would be towards an actual customer in your store.

At Avantis, we offer pet food that is of high quality and offers complete nutrition to cats and dogs. Our pet food prices are reasonable and will help you improve your profit margins. Better yet, we hold our customer’s hands through the importation process. Partner with us today and see your business succeed!