# Pet Store Product Idea



## Luffy (Aug 23, 2012)

I have been thinking about opening a small pet store after I graduate. I haven't gotten down to the nitty gritty of it yet, I can look into the details after I'm done with grad school. I have, however, been considering some ideas about purpose statements and things that would set the shop apart from other stores in the area. I thought perhaps the low maintenance planted tank thing is something I could run with. One particular idea that i thought was interesting was a sort of el natural fragment I could sell... so here's the idea:

A small plastic tray with mineralized soil on the bottom, gravel on top, and different varieties of plants already planted in it. Shoppers who would like some plants but do not want to fertilize or deal with the set-up required for an el natural could take the trays and just put put them in their tank like they would any other decoration. It's similar to a potted plant in a back yard. Different sizes could be available and different types of plants, or I could make special orders.

Any thoughts on this idea? Do you think it would work or even that people might try buying it? Seems like it could be marketable. 

Thanks for your thoughts!

Luffy


----------



## herns (Aug 28, 2007)

Nice thread. I also thought of getting this hobby into a business in the future. At least I can do the work I love the most.

Sent from Android-powered device using Tapatalk2


----------



## niko (Jan 28, 2004)

I think that you could sell this as both emersed and submersed product. Make an entire line. Present it in an excellent way. The plants will grow either way - in the open air or under water. It's in the way you present it all and it can be done very inexpensively and very impressive looking (and without copying Wabi-kusa to the "T") so it commands a good price.

The part how such things will sell is what is the real question. I guess most of us are very familiar with the situation of holding real diamonds in your hands and noone wanting them. You get my point.

And I guess you do know about this:
http://www.wkguy.com

Keep in mind one important thing - if you always look at the competition you will never do anything. Remember that.


----------



## Luffy (Aug 23, 2012)

I've never heard of Wabi-kusa! That's super neat! It's more of a standalone idea than what I had in mind. I was thinking of mine as more of an aquarium decoration than an end on its own.

You're right about the diamonds. I think I'm going to try my idea with some friends and see how they like it, then move forward from there. I'm a meticulous tester  

Thanks for the links and the ideas!


----------



## niko (Jan 28, 2004)

Wabi-kusa is not just meant to sit pretty in a shallow dish. Throw the ball in water and watch the plants change into their sumbersed alter ego:










https://www.youtube.com/results?sea.....0.0.0.2462.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0..0.0...0.0...1ac.

Hope all these videos motivate you and don't make you feel you are not going to succeed only because someone else has done what you thought of. Keep in mind that that situation is as old as the world. Once again - it's all in how you present and market.

Or as my dear Granny would say "If you want - you can!"

Good luck!


----------



## Zapins (Jul 28, 2004)

I like this idea of yours. The place most new people get caught up on when first starting out with aquatic plants is fertilizers, lighting, and algae. You have the fertilizer part figured out and I suppose you can market the plants as an anti algae product, but you should give serious thought to lighting products. They must be adequate for growing plants yet be priced competitively vs. lights you might buy from ebay, home depot, etc... Some of the new LED house bulbs are looking pretty good in terms of brightness. They also add a nice natural shimmer to the tank and you can market them as eco friendly since they last 25 years without needing replacing.


----------



## Michael (Jul 20, 2010)

I know almost nothing about how retail works, but the plant part of it will definitely work. And judging for the enormous prices charged for driftwood with anubias growing on it, you might even make a profit.

I've made several wabi kusa, and all have been pretty easy and successful. Growing your plant trays emersed will be easier and cheaper, but customers may not like the transition from emersed to submerged growth since it typically involves some defoliation.


----------



## Martino4 (Dec 22, 2012)

Something like this? Used it in my current setup and it is filled with soil and other materials and nutrients buried under all the substrate. Bought it at my LFS


----------



## Luffy (Aug 23, 2012)

This is all great stuff! The Wabi-Kusa thing really hasn't hit my area yet at all. It could be something I include in my shop along with my original idea. I would plan on selling the trays in submersed form hopefully, just so they're ready to go for the buyers right when they buy them.

Martino4: I can't really see your tray but it might be something similar. My idea was to sell them with the plants already in it. Kinda like a to-go pizza instead of a take-n-bake. It'll be ready to plop in the tank as soon as they buy it. I'll have to look into those trays. They haven't hit my area yet either. 

None of the pet stores around here are really specifically for planted tank hobbyists so it's hard to find good supplies like you guys are mentioning. This is all great to know!


----------



## Yo-han (Oct 15, 2010)

Michael said:


> I know almost nothing about how retail works, but the plant part of it will definitely work. And judging for the enormous prices charged for driftwood with anubias growing on it, you might even make a profit.
> 
> I've made several wabi kusa, and all have been pretty easy and successful. Growing your plant trays emersed will be easier and cheaper, but customers may not like the transition from emersed to submerged growth since it typically involves some defoliation.


I do work at a lfs and people don't care about emersed vs. submersed. 95% of the customers doesn't know the plants are emersed and don't even see the transistion. The people I tell the plants are emersed and change form or loose some old emersed leaves still don't care, only the real cracks do. I never had someone who denied a plant because of it at least, so don't worry about that!


----------



## Michael (Jul 20, 2010)

Martino4 said:


> Something like this? Used it in my current setup and it is filled with soil and other materials and nutrients buried under all the substrate. Bought it at my LFS


This looks like part of a system developed by Dutch Aquarium Systems here in Texas. It is a plastic tray with soil substrate, covered by a thin coarse porous sponge, and a plastic grate above that (visible in the photo). It is supposed to be placed on the bottom of the tank, covered with gravel, then plants are put in the gravel above it. The idea is to give the advantages of soil substrate "for dummies"; minimizing the chance of the soil being disturbed and clouding the water.

I've never used one, but it looks pretty well thought-out.


----------



## ObiQuiet (Oct 9, 2009)

This is a great idea! 

Of equal importance to the plants and packaging, I think there should be a short pamphlet that explains:
1. The benefits of live plants: "Fewer water changes, less algae!"
2. The biological princple (like the 5th grade science book CO2 diagrams)
3. A cause and effect chart: "Pale leaves - too little light. Algae - too much light."

Oh, and a link to APC!


----------



## niko (Jan 28, 2004)

Luffy,

I think you shouldn't wait to open your own store and only then trying your idea. One reason is that the idea is floating out there already but someone hasn't found a way to market it well enough. Look at it that way - you may not have much time.

Opening a pet store is a lot of work and hassle. And money. But you can use the pet existing stores and see how your idea flies. They have the customer base already, the store, the display area. Look at all that as using their money.

One problem with pet store owners is that they are pathologically cheap. They do want new and interesting products. They are all sick of the same old stuff. But I'm yet to meet a pet store owner that is not disgustingly tight. Hope that is a Texas-only thing. So no matter what kind of characters you face look at it this way - this is the price to pay to avoid pulling cash out of your wallet and trying everyting yourself from scratch. That is a good deal, trust me. A small profit margin is fine. The idea is to see if the idea is well received. If it is you will be guy #1 that everybody knows and calls for more product.

Also get creative - landscaping shops, plant shops, flower shops, home decoration shops, anything gift shop, people that have their own flower arrangement business.

Your goal should be to make this product well known. Not keep it exotic and unknown. The large volume of sales will allow you to do what you seem to be starting with - variation, improvisation, creativity. Selling a small volume at a high price will be limiting to you. Don't let this nice idea turn into a business you can't stand.


----------



## bkhoshza (Aug 24, 2012)

+1 ^


----------



## Luffy (Aug 23, 2012)

Obiquiet: That's great! My whole marketing strategy for my products and eventually my store was going to be to push the idea that fishkeeping is easier with plants. My first tank is beautiful and worry free because I started with the Walstad Method while my friend who has been keeping fish for years does ten times as much work to keep his tank healthy and algae free with the fish-only system. That chart sounds like a good idea I hadn't thought of!
I'll definitely be linking to APC. In fact, I was thinking the fish store would have a computer with Seriously Fish and APC on it (kinda like a library reference computer).

Niko: Great advice! I think I'll start working with my product a bit sooner like you said. When I'm done with graduate school in May, I'll start a little plant nursery in my closet and see what I can do about making some sample trays to give away to the fish stores in my area with an information pamphlet. 
My music school buddies all know it's dangerous to tell me to get creative  I end up composing some mind boggling stuff. But it's great advice nonetheless! I will think about adapting these trays into a stand-alone decorative version as well. I've been experimenting with Wabi-kusa since somebody mentioned it... maybe I'll merge the two into something unique and interesting in its own right with my own hand made ceramic dishes instead of trays.


----------

