(Published in Sept. 2005)

Not Your Daddy's Milkbone
Treats are a sweet indulgence for dogs at the holidays
By Scott and Ann Springer

Friends and neighbors have always given plates of home-baked treats and gourmet goodies as gifts at the holiday season, but times are changing. Now, even Fido makes it onto the "nice" list.

Shawna Patton, the owner of Petropolis, a retail shop in Camarillo, Calif., has seen this trend grow over the 13 years she's been in the pet business. "Now people bring over a plate of cookies to their friends and a thing of dog treats for the dog," she says.

At Petropolis, customers will spend $40 on dog food and $80 on treats, Patton says.

"Everyone buys their dogs a treat. I mean everyone," says Margot Kenly, the owner of Blue Dog Bakery, located in Seattle, Wash. She even has customers who don't own dogs themselves, but frequent her store to buy treats for their friends and neighbors' dogs.

This buying fever is more prominent during the holidays, too. "During the holiday season there are more people walking through a retail outlet and there is a shopping frenzy in the air," says Darlene Frudakis, president and COO of Pet Ag Inc. in Hampshire, Ill.

Sweet Sales
Because the holidays are increasingly geared to the animal kingdom, dog treats can be a viable source of revenue during the holidays for a retail pet store, says Patty MacDonald, a sales executive for Pet Living, a division of Global Access, based in Bloomington, Minn.. MacDonald says a major reason this is true is that treats "aren't very expensive and there is an abundance of them" on the market.

Another reason is that treats come in so many different varieties and styles. Cloud Star Corp., based in Santa Maria, Calif., specializes in allergy-free treats and offers a bake-at-home blend. In fact, company president Jennifer Melton says some customers have started a family holiday tradition of baking dog treats for the local animal shelter

"Everyone likes to bake and fill their house with great smells," and it's just natural to include the family pet too, she says.

A third reason why so many people give treats is that dogs love them. "Treats are so readily accepted by dogs that they make the best gifts," Frudakis says.

While some dog treats may be a low-end purchase, many dog treats border on fine dining and carry a higher mark-up, which yields better sales. "Our product is on the higher end because it's an all-natural treat made of 100 percent bison meat," MacDonald says.

Pet Ag offers two major holiday product lines. The first is a line of rawhide chews in holiday packs and the second is line of nutritional treats sold in non-holiday specific gift boxes geared to the newborn and senior pet niches. The gift pack line contains essential items for newborn and senior pets and a brochure of pet care tips.

"Treats are part of the gift pack, but it's a complete package," Frudakis says. "It gives the customer an array of items to take to their favorite dog."

Chocolate is another commonly given dog treat, despite the well-known dangers of doing so. In fact, some 40 percent of dog owners still indulge their dogs with it, says Steve Rindlisbacher, the division manager for Chocolick, based in Springville, Utah.

Chocolick manufactures an alternative to risky chocolate with its line of carob-based chocolate-like treats. The company launched the treats during the holidays last year.

Other unique treats are the edible holiday cards offered by the Rancho Mirage, Calif.-based manufacturer Crunchkins. Sales of the edible cards around the holidays are quite high, says Dr. Stephen Hoy, DVM, the owner of the company.

"People buy as many as 20 cards at one time," Hoy says. "In fact, three-fourths of dog owners make stockings for their dogs."

Holiday Promotions
To capitalize on holiday sales, you must get the word out on treats. Offering samples to customers' dogs may be a low-cost method of advertising. "If people try it for free and see that their dog likes it, the tendency would be that they start purchasing the product," MacDonald says.

Breann Shook, the co-owner of Grandma Lucy's in Lake Forest, Calif., agrees that sampling may be an effective way to get customers to test new products. "Retailers can push things as gifts and customers will buy them for their pets," she says. "This way they're getting customers that might otherwise be hesitant to try something new."

Manufacturers may also offer holiday discounts on their product lines that retailers can pass on to consumers, MacDonald says.

Rindlisbacher says another tip for promoting treats at the holidays is to ask Santa to pay a visit to your store with trial sizes of treats in his bag.

Christmas puts people into a charitable spirit, says Beth Bearden, owner of Pet Country, in Conway, Ark., and because of this, customers are more likely to help a local rescue group during the holidays. At the same time, you could benefit from an increase in treat sales. "We have a box set up in the store for people to donate items, and treats are always high on the list of things the rescue group is looking for," Bearden says.

Decorative Displays
"Naturally people are buying more at the holidays and you need to tap into that," Melton says. "Be sure you are tailoring your retail space so they are spending their money in your store."

The location of the treats display and how they are displayed is important, MacDonald says. "Treats should be cross-marketed with other products."

She recommends retailers cross-promote a manufacturer's line of products by making up gift baskets. Treats could be combined with grooming products and vitamins and supplements to create a more expensive gift package.

Frudakis recommends the creation of a "holiday center" where all holiday items are placed in one area of the store. "It should be prominently placed in the front of the store so customers can immediately see it," she says.

Beware of stocking your shelves with too many holiday-themed treats. Excess inventory leaves you with a large bin of 75 percent-off items on Dec. 26. "If you get too geared into the holiday products then you can get stuck with them after the holidays are over," Melton says.

Repackaging items in decorative wraps and tins and embellishing them in bows and ribbons can increase sales while not committing your products to the discount bin after the holidays have passed, Kenly says. "Interspersing holiday-looking items with non-holiday items makes the store look more lively," she says.

Fun-shaped treats can also double as ornaments on a Christmas tree, Rindlisbacher says. "They draw people in and they communicates to customers that treats make effective gifts if used on stockings or on the tree," he says.

Have fun and be creative when decorating for the holidays, Kenly says. "Don't forget the holidays are a huge buying time and people have fun buying treats," she says. "They're the perfect gift."

Scott and Ann Springer are freelance writers living in Southern California.