Pet Wants Celebrates 100 Franchise Locations

Pet Wants, the Cincinnati-based high-quality pet food and supplies franchise, announces this week that the company has hit a major milestone, reaching 100 franchise locations.

“Less than 20 percent of franchise brands reach the 100-location milestone and Pet Wants has been able to do it in just five years. That success was achieved not only because of the company’s great story and fantastic products, but also because of our franchisees’ passion for what they do and the help of our investors and strategic partners at Franchise Funding Group as well as the synergy and shared resources that come from the affiliated franchise brands in the Strategic Franchising portfolio. Having the support and guidance of those teams has made a huge difference in our ability to scale quickly, nationally and without sacrificing quality,” Pet Wants President Scott Hoots said.

Pet Wants originally launched in Cincinnati in 2010. Founded by Michele Hobbs, the business was built to provide small batch, slow-cooked, fresh, high-quality pet food delivered to customers through a retail store and a convenient home-delivery service. Hobbs partnered with Franchise Funding Group in early 2015 and the newly formed Pet Wants Franchise System began offering franchises in April 2015. The first franchise was in the late summer of 2015. The 100 franchise units – 25 with retail stores and 75 with mobile operations – all offer free delivery, making the company uniquely positioned to thrive during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We are extremely proud of Pet Wants, the franchisees and the corporate team. To grow to 100 franchise units – and to do it in less than five years – is a huge accomplishment. In addition to hitting that milestone, Pet Wants made #376 in the Entrepreneur Magazine Franchise 500 last year as the youngest pet franchise on the list. The exponential growth Pet Wants is seeing is a testament not only to the concept and the products, but also to the franchise support team and the innovative franchisees throughout the system. I’m excited to see what the next five years looks like for Pet Wants,” said Chris Seman, President of Strategic Franchise Systems, which provides management and consulting services to Pet Wants Franchise and four other independent brands.

Hoots is also looking forward to the next five years. The company is seeing strong interest from new franchise candidates and Hoots is working with the Pet Wants operations and marketing teams and their franchisees to make sure the company is ready to meet the needs of pet parents everywhere as the economy turns back around.

“While many pet parents have had to cut back, being a delivery-focused company has helped our franchisees continue to serve their communities, which means we’ve still been able to make investments at the national level. We’ve expanded our support team to include a digital marketing specialist, we are improving the online shopping experience, we are looking into offering new products and services, and more. Pet Wants is poised for massive growth, and I’m excited to see the brand and our franchisees continue to grow,” Hoots said.

Preparing for the future also means preparing the company to be a national franchise brand, which is important not only for the franchise system, but also for each individual franchisee.

“I’m excited to be part of a such a fast-growing, pet-focused franchise,” said Chris Miller, the local owner of Pet Wants Hamilton in Hamilton, OH. “Pet Wants can truly make a difference in the lives of pets and their families and, every time a new franchise opens, we, as a company, are able to help more people. Also, from an individual owner standpoint, the growth that Pet Wants has experienced not only supports that I made the right decision to join the national Pack, but also helps my local franchise grow through increased recognition, branding and system-wide innovation.”