Selling food and supplements in a pet business against subscriptions

Aug 27
3 min read

Updated: 4 days ago

Introduction

Pet retail is high-margin, recurring and requires no additional appointment time. It is also under sustained attack from online subscription services that deliver to the door at a lower price.

Competing on price with a warehouse is not possible. What a local pet business has instead is the recommendation, the knowledge of the individual animal, and the fact that the owner is standing in front of you.

1. Selling food and supplements in a pet business means selling the recommendation

The product is available anywhere. The advice about which product is not.

A specific recommendation for this animal — its breed, age, weight, condition, any issue you have observed — is something a subscription box cannot provide. That is what you are actually selling, and the product is how it is delivered.

2. Recommend during the appointment, not at the till

The conversation happens while you are examining, grooming or handling the animal.

That is when the reason exists: this coat would benefit from this, this weight suggests that, this dog's teeth need attention. At the till it becomes retail, and the owner is putting a lead on and finding a card.

3. Stock narrowly and know what you stock

A crowded shelf of slow-moving lines ties up cash and makes recommending harder.

Carry a small range you genuinely believe in and can speak about in detail. Depth on a few products outperforms breadth across many, and it means every member of staff can explain what is on the shelf.

4. Be careful and accurate about health claims

Supplements and therapeutic diets are an area where claims are constrained.

Describe what a product is intended for, stay within what the manufacturer's authorised claims permit, and do not imply that a supplement treats a condition unless you are qualified and it is supportable. In a veterinary setting this is a professional as well as a regulatory matter.

5. Handle prescription and therapeutic diets properly

Where a diet is prescribed or a product requires professional oversight, the process matters.

Explain why it has been recommended, how long it should be trialled, and what to expect. A therapeutic diet abandoned after three weeks because nobody explained the timescale is a lost sale and a worse outcome for the animal.

6. Compete on convenience where you can

Price is not the only axis, and it is the one you will lose.

Having the food in stock today, ordering it in for collection, a repeat arrangement, or carrying it to the car. For an owner already at your premises, immediacy has real value that a next-day delivery does not.

7. Be honest when the online option is better

Counterintuitive and it protects the relationship.

For bulk dry food where price dominates and your margin is thin, saying so is more valuable than a grudging sale. It also makes your recommendation credible on the things where you genuinely add value, which is where the margin actually is.

8. Make it easy for the owner to reorder from you

The main advantage subscriptions have is that reordering requires no thought.

A standing order, a reminder when they are due to run out, or a note on the file with what they buy and how often. Matching that convenience is what keeps the recurring revenue local.

9. Track retail as a percentage of service revenue

Not units sold or total retail takings.

Retail as a proportion of service revenue makes performance comparable across weeks and between staff, and the variation between individuals is usually large. Publishing it weekly typically moves it more than any incentive scheme.

Conclusion

Sell the recommendation rather than the product, because the product is available everywhere and the advice is not.

Recommend during the appointment while the reason is visible, stock a narrow range everyone can speak about, keep health claims accurate and within what is permitted, explain therapeutic diets properly including timescales, compete on immediate availability rather than price, be honest when buying online genuinely suits the owner better, match subscription convenience with reminders and standing orders, and track retail as a share of service revenue.