How Much Should I Charge for Homemade Dog Treats?
Making and selling homemade dog treats is a great way to earn a side income. I did some research to find out how much you should charge for homemade dog treats.
So, how much should I charge for homemade dog treats? Homemade dog treats sell for between $15 and $25. They should be priced based on how much it costs you to produce them including the ingredients, packaging, and other selling fees. There should be a minimum of 30% profit margin on homemade dog treats.
There is actually a lot that goes into determining how much to charge for homemade dog treats. From the various types of ingredients and portion sizes to packaging to different selling fees on each platform, your cost of goods sold (COGS) can vary.
For the purposes of this post, let’s find out how much it will cost to use a premium organic baby food and organic whole wheat flour for Organic Whole Wheat Dog Treats as our example.
We’ll use a paper bag with a window and a computer printed label for the packaging.
Then we’ll look at the different selling fees for online and local venues.
How Much Does it Cost to Make Dog Treats?
The cost to make homemade dog treat varies by the type and quality of treat you’d like to make. One of the cheapest ways to make homemade dog treats is to use baby food and flour.
The nice thing about this recipe is you could offer a variety of flavors… any vegetable, fruit, or meat will do and you can even mix them together to make complete meals. To get your cost down even more, you could take veggies, fruits, and meats that you already have on hand and puree them down to be used in place of the store bought baby food (assuming they are Organic too).
You simply need to mix the two together to make a dough, roll it out about 1/4″ thick and bake in a 350-degree oven for about 20-25 minutes. Make sure to check the baby food ingredients for foods, such as onions, that are toxic to dogs.
Ingredient Costs
TWO 4oz jars/pouches of Organic Baby Food | I found this brand in bulk that has flavors already mixed together; pouches are 4.22oz, but that’s okay 16 for $24 = $1.50 per pouch | $3.00 total |
TWO cups of Organic Whole Wheat Flour | 5lbs for $4 = $0.24 per cup | $0.48 total |
Packaging Costs Paper Kraft Bag with Wax Lining and Clear Window | 100 for $22 = $0.22 per bag | $0.22 total |
Round Labels to put on the bags | 300lbs for $8 = $0.03 per label | $0.03 total |
| | $3.73 |
This doesn’t include overhead expenses such as ink for printing the label and gas or electricity to bake the treats.
So let’s estimate that it costs around $3.73 per bag of Homemade Organic Whole Wheat Dog Treats.
This is pretty inexpensive, but we haven’t talked about selling fees for the different places you can sell your dog treats. This is going to add more cost to your item, so let’s look at that next.
Where Can I sell Dog Treats
There are a lot of different options for selling homemade dog treats both locally and online. Here are some of the places you could sell your treats and an idea of what it might cost you.
Selling Dog Treats on Etsy
Etsy does allow you to sell your homemade dog treats on their platform. However, you must comply with their state laws for the manufacturing of pet food. You can read more about Etsy’s guidelines for selling edibles here.
Selling fees on Etsy are:
$0.20 per listing (this fee pays for the item to be listed on Etsy for 4-months)
5% transaction fee (this is a fee you pay based on the sale price plus shipping)
3% + $0.25 processing fee (this is for processing the payment online)
So if we sell our dog treats on Etsy for $15 plus $4 shipping you’ll make….
15.00 Sale Price
7.00 Shipping
22.00 TOTAL MONEY RECEIVED
(3.73) COGS
(7.00) Estimated Shipping Cost
(0.20) Etsy Listing Fee
(1.10) Etsy Transaction Fee
(0.91) Payment Processing Fee
(12.94) TOTAL COSTS
TOTAL PROFIT: $9.06 (that’s a 41% profit margin!)
Selling Dog Treats on eBay
I couldn’t find anything prohibiting the sale of dog treats on eBay. You will want to make sure that you follow the same state laws for manufacturing pet food.
Selling fees on eBay are (assuming you’re a basic seller with no store):
10% transaction fee (this is a fee you pay based on the sale price plus shipping)
2.9% + $0.30 PayPal fee (this is for processing the payment online)
15.00 Sale Price
7.00 Shipping
22.00 TOTAL MONEY RECEIVED
(3.73) COGS
(7.00) Estimated Shipping Cost
(2.20) eBay Final Value Fee
(0.94) PayPal Fee
(13.87)TOTAL COSTS
TOTAL PROFIT: $8.13 (that’s a 37% profit margin!)
Selling Dog Treats At Farmer’s Markets & Craft Shows
As with selling online, you’ll need to comply with local and state laws regarding manufacturing pet food. Check with your local farmer’s market or craft show to find out the exact fees. These fees do not include any required insurance for licensing fees.
Estimated farmer’s market and craft show selling fees:
$15 per day booth fee
You might also have some payment processing fees if you decide to accept credit cards. However, since that’s not a requirement, let’s just assume everyone pays cash at farmer’s market and craft shows.
In the example below, let’s assume you can sell 20 bags of treats in one day.
15.00 Sale Price
0.00 Shipping
15.00 TOTAL MONEY RECEIVED
(3.73)COGS
(0.00)Estimated Shipping Cost
(0.75)Booth cost per bag
(6.52)TOTAL COSTS
TOTAL PROFIT: $8.48 (that’s a 56% profit margin!)
Selling Dog Treats at Local Boutiques & Independent Grocery Stores
Sellling dog treats and boutiques and independent stores is a lot different than anywhere else. The boutique and grocery store wants to resell your items and therefore you need to offer them a wholesale price that is much less than you normally charge.
Your wholesale price should be around 50% of your retail price, which is $15 in our example. Therefore, your wholesale price should be about $7.50. However, now that you have a retailer interested, you will be selling in bulk rather than one at a time. So if your interested retailer wants 100 bags, they’re going to write you a check for $750.
Let’s see how much you would make if you sold 100 bags of dog treats at wholesale
7.50 Sale Price x 100 Quantity
750.00 TOTAL MONEY RECEIVED
(250.00) COGS
(20.00 )Estimated Costs for Travel & Boxes
(270.00)TOTAL COSTS
TOTAL PROFIT: $480.00
(that’s a 64% profit margin!)
The only bad thing about selling to retailers is they may ask for a refund on unsold inventory at the end of a specific time period. If this happens, your chances of a reorder get slim.
Packaging Ideas for Homemade Dog Treats
When it comes to making a visually pleasing item that people will see and want to buy, there are a lot of different options for homemade dog treat packaging. Here are some great options:
Kraft Paper Bag with Wax Lining and Clear Window – This allows shoppers to see right in the bag without opening it. It’s also very easy to seal these bags, you can simply fold over the top and use the included tin tie tab.
Avery Round Labels – You can create your own labels on the computer and then print them off on an as-needed basis. Works like a charm when you use Avery labels.
Cello Treat Bags with Twisty Ties – These food-safe plastic bags come out much cheaper on cost. You could put a round label on the bags before you fill them or hang a tag off of the twisty tie.
Bakery Boxes with Lids – Bakery boxes make for an even more professional looking products. You can easily attach a label to the box but this is definitely one of the more expensive options.
Resealable Stand-up Plastic Bags – The nice thing about these is you can make them airtight and help preserve the treats a lot longer. However, they are expensive. You can easily attach a label to the outside.
Related Questions
Do I need a license to sell dog treats? According to the AAFCO, “You must comply with the regulations in each state where you sell your products. This includes internet sales. Almost all of the states have some sort of registration or licensing requirements that you must meet before your product can be offered for sale in the United States. Some states may exempt pet foods, but most do not.”
Who regulates pet food in the US? The FDA (Food and Drug Administration) has jurisdiction over all pet food, supplements, and imported products. They ensure that all pet foods are safe to eat, produced in sanitary facilities, do not contain harmful substances, are are labeled correctly.