Pet lovers who are in the market for a home-based or other small business opportunity or franchise that feeds their passion can also look forward to making a profit, according to two recently released market reports―“Dog Population and Dog Owner Trends” and “Cat Population and Cat Owner Trends” by Packaged Facts. They cite three key factors that have made the pet products and services sector virtually recession-proof during the recent economic storm:

1. The pet-parenting phenomenon is growing―No less than 90% of pet owners say they consider their pets to be a member of the family, especially in households where there are no kids and pets are therefore regarded as “surrogate” children.

2. Pet ownership among minority groups is rising―The number of pet-owning minority households grew 28% (+3 million) between 2006 and 2011, despite the rocky economy. With more than $1 trillion in total buying power as of 2011, the fast-growing, family-oriented Latino community provides a relatively untapped market for the industry.

3. Pet owners are oftentimes affluent―Pet ownership is especially common among the most well-off members of society, many of whom value convenience and will spare nothing when it comes to their pets’ health, comfort and safety.

To sum it all up, the outlook for the pet industry is incredibly strong, which makes the prospect of owning a pet-oriented products and/or services business more appealing than ever.

More information:

Packaged Facts is a division of Market Research.com, which publishes market intelligence on a range of consumer market topics. Go to Dog and Cat Owners Give U.S. Pet Market a Recession-Resistant Bite for more information on the reports’ findings now.