The British are renowned as a nation of pet lovers, to the point where we are sometimes accused of preferring animals to other humans.
It’s no surprise, then, that supplying food to our pampered pets is a lucrative business. Oscar Pet Foods has been franchising their trade for 10 years, and have seen their coverage of the country continually expand.
We train our franchisees in basic nutrition and they can give customers good advice that they won’t normally get at the supermarket
Richard Dancy, Oscar Pet Foods
All Oscar franchisees work from home and require only a single garage alongside a dedicated room and telephone line, internet access and space for deliveries.
The company also asks franchisees to provide their own van, which must be white and in good condition – although it does not recommend a particular model.
Richard Dancy of Oscar explains. “The business works on the basis that customers can get better service with nutrition advisers. We train our franchisees in basic nutrition and they can give customers good advice that they won’t normally get at the supermarket.
Additional services
“We also provide additional services such as microchipping and worm and flea control, all at a better price. And we make a point of calling our customers up and remind them that their pet food is due, so that they never run out.”
In addition to catering for dogs and cats, Oscar also provide feed for small animals, e.g. wild birds and fish, while also providing a range of health care equipment.
All Oscar requires from its partners is a franchise fee of £14,995 + VAT, which includes six in-house training days and five field training days. For that initial sum, franchisees are given a 30,000-household postal area, alongside the manual and computer software.
“You need to live in an area in which you are surrounded by pets,” Dancy adds. “But that is about 99% of the country. Only central business districts and strongly ethnic areas have low populations.”
Applicants have to submit to a behavioural profiling system “like Myers-Brigg”, used mainly to determine what sort of training is required. But there is, nevertheless, a certain sort of personality that suits the job.
