What made you interested in pets?
We’ve been involved in animal nutrition for over 30 years and we actually started life as a farm feeds supplier. We formulated and made diets for cattle, sheep and even goats but noticed there were also plenty of hungry pets looking for good quality food. Using our expertise in animal nutrition we turned our attention to providing domestic pets with a nutritionally balanced range of diets. Our food became so popular we moved on to supplying supermarkets including our successful super premium vegetarian dog food.
Had you ever worked in a job that indulged your interest in pets before?
Everyone at Oscar Pet Foods loves pets and has been surrounded by them for years including Billy, our office dog, who comes to work every day as well as the numerous pet visitors we see every week.
What made you turn your interest into a franchise?
Realising the growth in the pet industry and the change in attitude towards pet care, it was becoming clear that pet owners were buying pet food with little knowledge of its total benefits. We knew that many unnecessary pet problems were occurring due to poor nutrition. We followed the Oscar philosophy of ‘you are what you eat’ and realised that the we could advise pet owners direct. The Oscar system was designed to do just that and the only way to ensure that each customer was informed of the benefits was to deliver it to their door.
How did you go about setting up the franchise?
The best way to prove that the idea of pet food home delivery, complete with nutritional advice was a winner was to pilot the system in selected areas. After one year on the road helping our furry friends was all we needed to prove the concept had great potential.
How has the franchise progressed?
Eleven years on, the business has grown significantly and we have seen more sophistication in the market. Oscar have moved with the times progressing with a current network of over 80 franchisees across the UK. Our franchisees are fully trained Oscar Nutritional Advisors delivering what is now the complete pet care service.
Has it fulfilled your wish?
The rewards at Oscar are to see that a growing network of franchisees all wishing to provide a personal service to their pet loving customers and to also be aware that their product is doing the job it was set out to do. Providing pets with a happier, healthier and longer life.
What advice would you give to someone who also wants to turn their hobby into a franchise?
Research your market, check the competition and look towards filling any gaps that might make your product stand out above the rest.
To find out more at an Oscar franchise click here.
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