Steady Demand from Pet Owners Feeds Growth of Emerging Franchise
The Dogdrop franchise, which provides on-demand day care for dogs, opened new locations in Hollywood, Calif., and Denver this year and will open a Fort Lauderdale, Fla., site in early 2024 with an additional four in development.
The dog day care segment of the pet care industry is booming, and savvy entrepreneurs are staking out their territory. Future Market Insights reported that the net worth of the pet day care business globally was nearly $3.74 billion in 2022; as this year ends, the total demand for pet day care services is expected to reach about $4.06 billion. If that doesn’t make you want to whistle, consider this further statistic from Future Market Insights: The pet day care market is projected to reach $8.84 billion by 2033, reflecting a combined annual growth rate of 8.1% from 2023 to 2033.
A hefty chunk of this market is just dogs, the sole focus of the Dogdrop franchise. The American Veterinary Medicine Association reports there are nearly 80 million pet dogs – one for every four humans – in the United States, and they reside in nearly 50 million households. The veterinary association says that works out to an average of 1.6 dogs per dog-owning household. And a Global Pet Industry survey found that 27% of respondents use day care services for their animals.
Our mission is to provide pet parents with a convenient option for safe and flexible dog daycare.
Dogdrop’s Services
Los Angeles-based Dogdrop is set to cash in on those statistics by providing top-of-the-line care and sparkling-clean facilities. The franchise’s timing couldn’t be better. The need for Dogdrop has grown post-pandemic, as many companies bring workers back into the office some or all days of the workweek. Dogdrop is a guilt-free solution for those in-office days, easing the anxieties of pets and their owners. Dogs play and learn at Dogdrop locations. They improve their socialization with other dogs and with humans. Dogdrop has also coined the “quick stop” category, making it very easy for dog owners to drop off their dog for even just an hour and pay per use.
“Our mission is to provide pet parents with a convenient option for safe and flexible dog daycare,” says Shaina Denny, Dogdrop’s co-founder and CEO. “We’re adding franchisees who understand our commitment to delivering excellence in care with a tech-savvy and modern brand. The demand for Dogdrop continues to increase as more workers return to work in their offices either full time or part time now that pandemic restrictions have largely been removed.”
Founded by two women in 2018 and franchising since 2021, Dogdrop places a premium on safety, convenience, transparency and quality of care for dog parents. Services include curbside drop-off and pickup in less than 90 seconds; no appointments are necessary. The tech-enabled franchise offers real-time text updates to pet parents, who are reassured by the pet-CPR-certified and first-aid-certified staff who customize each pet’s care.
Membership-Driven
Dogdrop is a membership-based service. Memberships may be paused or canceled at any time, and the leadership of Dogdrop prides itself on its transparency and not adding on junk fees. Memberships are universal; so of a consumer signed up for a membership in Los Angeles and needed to drop Rex at the Denver location during vacation… no problem!
Members can select from a menu of membership types. Consumers can choose a membership based on their anticipated usage of Dogdrop, ranging from one day per month to unlimited visits per month. They also may opt for open-play day care for shorter periods, with usage billed in 30-minute increments and a daily capped rate.
Support for Franchisees
Dogdrop headquarters staffers provide franchisees with generous support to ensure their success, according to Entrepreneur magazine. This includes 16 hours of on-the-job training and 32 hours of classroom training for the franchisee, plus additional team training. Of course, there’s launch-day support and ongoing support in case questions crop up later, too.
The franchisor will help with site selection of a first-floor retail space (2,400 to 3,000 square feet) that is centrally located and well-trafficked. Dogdrop assists franchisees with lease negotiation and build-out oversight. “The locations are intentionally designed to look and feel better than our competitors in the dog day care space,” Denny says.
Franchisees have access to proprietary software aimed to enhance operational efficiency and provide a superior member experience. Other support includes headquarters staffers who supports franchisees in local marketing playbooks, marketing and design, and franchisees can opt-in to other services such as lead gen, PR, and member support. The company has a loyalty program and a web app which members can track utilization, manage their subscription, received dog updates, view location calendar of events, and other new features are to come in 2024.
Franchisee Prerequisites
The ideal Dogdrop franchisee will have leadership skills and is invested in his or her community. Franchisees should be passionate about dogs and about providing excellence in customer service, according to information provided by franchise consultants in the International Franchise Professionals Group (IFPG). Absentee ownership is allowed, and Dogdrop offers exclusive territories, according to Entrepreneur. Total start-up cost is roughly $302,000 and up. For more information about opportunities with the Dogdrop franchise, please visit https://dogdrop.co/franchise.
