Pet Business magazine has named EarthWise Pet retail and service franchise as its 2021 Retailer of the Year.
EarthWise franchisees come from all walks of life. In their previous lives, they might have been bankers, waitresses, pharmacists (and even a butler!). The one thing they all have in common? They’re as passionate about pets as we are.
Own an EarthWise Pet Care Franchise
Our top-performing stores had combined services sales of $566,150 – $2,384,274 in 2021.* Join this more than $100 billion dollar industry with one of our award-winning franchise concepts.
At EarthWise, we believe inherently that pets are family. That’s why we’ve devoted more than four decades to ensuring our furry friends have access to high-quality nutrition, safe supplies and top-notch grooming, daycare, and self-wash. It’s why we’ve built a business model that helps franchisees thrive.
Michael Seitz and his team have built EarthWise Pet into one of the country’s leading pet retail and service chains. Because of their balance, EarthWise Pet has been able to more than double in size over the past four years and serves as a great example of what neighborhood pet stores can accomplish with the right mix of products, marketing strategies and customer engagement.
Why EarthWise?
- We become a hub for all pet needs – EarthWise Pet Supply franchisees work closely with animal rescue groups and reputable pet service providers in the community. Word-of-mouth from customers and other pet care providers helps build our brand.
- Strong margins – We compete on the basis of quality, not price. Our customers are happy to pay more to provide their pets the best food and care. They gravitate toward products that are all-natural and safe for the environment.
- Our retail offerings are curated – We’ve been a leader in all-natural pet food since the category began to emerge in the 1980s. For many brands, the founding family’s stores were one of their largest volume retailers in their early days. While some of the larger retailers carry one or two of our brands, the majority of EarthWise distributors and vendors only sell to specialty retailers.
- Customers rely on us as experts – Our pet franchise owners, with the assistance of our pet nutrition certification program, help educate and guide customers.
- Manageable store size – Ideally, EarthWise Pet franchise locations range in size from 1,600 to 2,200 square feet. Within that footprint is a full retail store as well as grooming and self-wash services.
How We Beat Retail Giants
Grooming, self-wash and day care are services that continue to generate a larger share of our revenues. That’s one area where we have an advantage over online retailers and many big-box pet supply stores. EarthWise is testing out other services in many locations, such as home delivery, pet taxis, pet walking, pet sitting, waste pickup and mobile grooming. It’s part of our strategy to remain a leader in the pet care industry and continue growing in a tough retail market.
“It’s just a solid business model. The pet industry, for lack of a better term, is bulletproof. People want to take care of their pets — their pets have to eat. With all that in mind, the pet industry just keeps on growing and growing. I started this business when we were in the middle of a recession, and it’s just been strong ever since. There are other industries like, say, the coffee industry or clothing industry that will suffer when the economy suffers because people might buy cheaper clothes, or not buy their Starbucks. But with pets, they want to take good care of them by buying good quality food or toys. Even if times are tight, they’re still going to buy food.”
“We just can’t say enough good things about the franchise owners. From Day One we just felt like we were being folded into this family. I think what we love the most about being part of this family is that there’s always someone there to help and to answer questions. I think they are constantly looking at how to improve the brand, at how to support the franchisees.”
“We picked EarthWise Pet because every time we would go anywhere else, you would ask people about the best thing for your dog and nobody could tell you. It was all misinformation or no information at all. And it just got frustrating, even at Petco’s or small places, everyone was the same. Now we are the ones that are able to educate and help people and their pets.”
