Pet Product News - January 2017

With a focus on raw foods, the new Takoma Park store features 13 freezers, with four freezers in a back room to accommodate back stock. The Hyattsville store not only offers eight flat-front freezers, but also an 8-by- 10 walk-in freezer.

“Raw is the healthiest way to feed, the least processed of all forms of foods, so all of the nutrients are completely bioavail-able,” Paez said.

Also in the product mix are corn-, wheat- and soy-free, freeze-dried, dehydrated, kibble and canned foods for dogs and cats, and many baked treats. A bakery case displays mouthwatering, local goodies. Small mammal foods, as well as bird and organic chicken feed, are among the offerings too.

“Takoma Park is full of backyard chicken enthusiasts, and we are supplied by a great farm for our organic chicken feed,” Paez said. “We are also preparing to bring in horse feed.”

NUTRITION KNOCKING

As many area customers work 60-plus-hour weeks, time is precious. For this reason, a delivery service has been implemented. Shoppers order online, and product is delivered, including frozen raw diets, to their door. Blind or disabled customers also enjoy having their pet supplies delivered and carried inside.

“We provide better service than the online suppliers because our drivers get to know our customers, carry the order inside and help with the unloading,” Jones-Napier said.

Cardboard boxes used for manufacturer shipments are repurposed for use in customer deliveries, and are often reused multiple times by shoppers. The delivery service also presents the opportunity to create an expansion, or recapturing, of sales.

“If a customer is buying
cat food and not purchasing
litter, we will ask what type of
litter they use,” Jones-Napier
said. “It might turn out that
they are having litter shipped
in from a big-box retailer, and
we let them know that we can
deliver the same product.”
The move to the new Tako-
ma location has created room
for additional inventory, and a
dedicated shipping and deliv-
ery office furthers the expan-
sion of this service.

“Delivery will become important moving forward,” Jones-Napier said. “We see a tremendous amount of growth.”

A STRONG SENSE
OF COMMUNITY

Adoption days take place on a
regular basis and involve sev-
eral rescue and shelter organi-
zations. Newly adopted pets
and their owners get a start on
home life with $50 in free sup-
plies and 10 percent off any ad-
ditional purchases.

“We partner with the Washington Humane Society and Washington Animal Rescue League in their food bank program for low-income residents and also broker deals to get product that is short dated into local food pantries,” Paez said.

Raising environmental
awareness is the goal of Taking
Action Days, during which Paez
and Jones-Napier hold educa-
tional clinics.

“Our clinics discuss issues like environmental stewardship, local food or the green living experience,” Jones-Napier said.

For example, these events have included presentations by the Chesapeake Bay Foundation to discuss cleanup of the bay, or the Humane Society, raising awareness of the plight of animals in factory farming.

“A web conference, broadcast live with John Goodwin of the Humane Society, discussed puppy mills,” Jones-Napier said.

“We now have the technology to expand the audience,” Paez added. “We aren’t just a pet supply store; we’re a resource center where people not only learn how to care for the pets, but discover all sorts of other ideas to become involved in and take action.”

January 2017 Pet Product News International

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