Six years ago, Román Johanes made a promise to Achilles, his best canine friend while he was burying him. “I told him that I was going to do something for the pets in his honor, and as an act of gratitude for the love and the moments of happiness that he gave me before being stabbed,” Román recalls with great nostalgia. Achilles gave his life for his owner the day he was attacked with a knife in the street.
This unfortunate experience and his love for pets motivated Román to undertake Pet House, the first restaurant for dogs with dishes made from 100% natural ingredients and without preservatives. The place has a menu designed and designed to take care of the health of the tenderloins with the nutrients and adequate portions; includes hamburgers, pizzas, hot dogs, French fries, desserts, ice cream and toys.
Since its opening in July 2022, Pet House began to quickly gain traction and in a short time became one of the favorite places for pet lovers in Mexico City.
Román started this business some time after venturing into this sector with the sale of croquettes in a flea market. He started with 15,000 pesos of his own, the support of his family and ex-partner in a small space inside a dog daycare very close to the center of Coyoacán in the Mexican capital, under the B2C (Business to Consumer) and delivery business model. .
Setting up the restaurant in a shared space served as a pilot test to validate the model and the value proposition. And while Pet House is still at a very early stage, their model has the potential to scale and be replicated in other parts of Mexico and Latin America. In fact, with the advice of POSiBLE, the Fundación Televisa and Nacional Monte de Piedad program focused on promoting entrepreneurship, Román is already preparing for the next phase of growth with the opening of the first branch in his own space, and he has plans to become a large chain of restaurants for dogs.
The key to dog success
Román saw in pets an important market niche that is still developing and where new ventures emerge every day, a phenomenon that forces entrepreneurs to make a difference to win the market. How did Pet House do it? Román dared to think outside the box, he created a new space with a unique concept and experience that breaks with the archetype of restaurants and traditional dog food.
To its direct customers, the pet owners, it offers a wow! shopping experience, since the dogs receive at their table the Pet Box, a McDonald’s-style happy meal with different products that the customer can choose from. This little box is available in three sizes: Small for small breed dogs, large for larger furry dogs, and birthday for canines celebrating another year of life.
This idea took a year and a half to materialize after trying various products, from croquettes to the dog biscuits that Román prepared. The first happy meals went on the market in December 2021 without having a point of sale, they were delivered at home with the help of a family member. “We put a hat with dog ears on him, and when he arrived at the house he did not ask for the owner, but for the pet. He would say to them: Hello good afternoon, are you Firulais? I bring you an order”, says Román.
Thanks to this particular idea of making deliveries, customers began to recommend the service among their acquaintances. The taste among the public was such that the business began to grow little by little, they went from selling five boxes a week to 30 boxes a day in the first months with the help of a web page, guidelines on social networks and presentations at events such as the Expo Dog. In 2022, weekly sales grew 4x and to date they have sold 240,000 pesos.
And that’s not all. Román saw another business opportunity in the need to eat that pet lovers had while waiting for their pets, so he opened a food and beverage bar for adults. In addition, he expanded his offer of services with dog walks while the owners eat at the bar.
Sell experiences
The shopping experience that Pet House provides is key to delighting its customers, and it has become a differentiator. Remember that the sensations that the customer experiences before and after buying have weight in his decision to consume, and determine whether he continues buying in the same place. Nobody likes to shop in a place where they don’t have a good time, right? Hence the importance of designing a good shopping experience or improving the one you provide.
In this regard, Roman says that The best companies don’t sell products, they sell experiences.. And to create one that customers fall in love with, he considers that “it is necessary to observe people’s behavior and see what they really demand, because it is not a business for you, it is for the people,” says the entrepreneur. In addition, “think about what pain you are going to solve and focus on how you can improve people’s lives,” he adds.
Román explains that in the case of pet lovers, many of them do not have enough time to spend time with their pets, and have to leave them at home or a daycare while they work or do other activities. That is exactly one of the pains that Pet House attends to, because Román thought of this space as a place to pamper pets and spend quality time as he would have liked with his dog. “I was very focused on my work and hardly saw it,” says the entrepreneur.
Today, Román is convinced to take this business to the next level until it becomes a solid and high-growth company. She would like to continue giving pet lovers the opportunity to spend more time with their canines, a possibility that unfortunately is no longer in her hands, although her heart is filled with the satisfaction of having fulfilled the promise she made to Aquiles, her best friend. doggy.