March 28, 2024

The Pet Business

Pet businesses in Florida are marking their territory

Florida entrepreneurs are capitalizing on the growing pet care business.

Amy Keller | 7/2/2012

Sit. Eat. Chaise.

Corey Drew
Corey Drew started designing pet furniture after he couldn’t find appealing furniture for his own dog.
[Photo: Scott Wiseman]
Shortly after graduating from the Savannah College of Art & Design in 2005, Corey Drew landed his dream job designing furniture for a high-end hospitality furniture manufacturer in Miami. But after a year of frequent traveling to China and the Philippines, Drew grew tired of living out of a suitcase and longed to spend more time with his dog.

“So I came back, and I started to design pet furniture because I was looking for some for my dog and couldn’t find any,” says Drew. He also took a day job working for one the largest bamboo kitchenware manufacturers in Florida and ended up making contacts in China who later provided a production pipeline for his patented designs.

In 2008, as the recession hit, Drew received his first shipments of his products: A Bambu Lounger, a pet bed made of bamboo, and a pet feeder he calls the Bambu Diner.

While it took awhile to sell those first shipments, Drew says business took off in 2010, when his high-end pet furniture caught the attention of Costco wholesalers. After the warehouse club made several orders, Drew was able to hire employees to help him ramp up the operations of Pet Lounge Studios, which is now receiving orders from PetSmart, Frontgate, In the Company of Dogs and other retailers.

Drew posted $750,000 in sales over the past 16 months.


The Pet Market

  • $17 billion — spending in the U.S. on pets in 1994
  • $51 billion — spending on pets in 2011
  • $67.7 billion — projected spending in 2016
  • 62% — percentage of U.S. households that own a pet (72.9 million homes), according to a 2011-12 American Pet Products Association survey
  • 39% — percentage of households that own at least one cat
  • 43% — percentage of households that own at least one dog
  • $52.87 billion — projected amount Americans will spend this year on their pets:
  • $20.46 billion — amount spent on pet food
  • $13.59 billion — amount spent on vet care
  • $12.56 billion — amount spent on supplies and over-the-counter medicine
  • $4.11 billion — amount spent on
    grooming and boarding
  • $2.15 billion — live animal purchases
Annual Expenses of a Pet Owner
? Dogs Cats
Surgical vet visits $407
$425
Kennel boarding 274
166
Food
254 220
Routine vet
248 219
Vitamins
95 43
Travel expenses
78 48
Groomer/grooming aids
73 34
Food treats
70 41
Toys
43 21
Total
$1,542 $1,217
Source: American Pet Products Association

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