Vegetarian dog treat and chew boxes - will this work? What do you think?

[fourquenelles]

I am at the very early stages of thinking about a run from home business supplying dog treat/chew boxes either individual orders or by monthly subscription. There are several companies out there that do this but none I have come across specifically vegetarian/vegan.

All treats would be sourced from licensed DEFRA approved wholesalers and each box would be tailored to the dog recipient (using an on line ordering form). A small percentage of each sale would go to a rescue.
I was thinking of charging around £30 a box which for a large breed for example would contain about 15 items.
I am going vegetarian/vegan as my USP for 2 reasons - 1. there are owners out there who have their dogs on this sort of diet and 2. poorly dogs and those in recovery, benefit from a no meat diet temporarily.
What do you think? Is this workable?

I would buy one for my meat allergic dog would be a change from salmon treats 😊

Thank you Whatslove. Hadn't thought of dogs with allergies.

My dog was allergic to certain meats (basically everything except chicken and rabbit) so a tasty meat-free product would have been great.

It sounds good but it's not something I would use.

I don't give treats at all to my dogs because I'm mean because they are prone to raiding the bins when I'm not looking weight gain.
But I do know someone who feeds her dogs a vegetarian diet (Not a medical reason, she's vegetarian so feeds them the same diet. I've lectured her about her dogs really needing meat). She might be interested in something like that.

I wouldn't advertise them as being suitable for dogs on a weight loss diet because giving treats is usually the reason they're on a diet in the first place. Otherwise give it a try. Good luck.

Could you link up with a local vet or something to get some professional advice. I like the idea, maybe see if a vegan/veggie charity would be happy to help with some market research (form on website or similar?). Good luck!

Thank you Bread looks like I might be doing the right thing so far.

Might work in UK. Out of interest, what is the basis for your second claim?

"2. poorly dogs and those in recovery, benefit from a no meat diet temporarily."

Thanks for the feedback and advice Grumpy and Miles.

villian only that my vet gave me this advice when my own dogs have had gastric problems. Tbh I haven't done more research than that but like Miles suggested I will talk to my vet and my vet nurse friend and it would be good to have some empirical evidence.

I think it could definitely work, but I'm wary of banging the veggie/vegan drum too much as dogs do absolutely need meat in their daily main diet.

Thanks villain