Business mission and vision:
The mission of Pet Naturals is ultimately to serve the community, and help guide pets to make the transition towards a more balanced, raw diet. We fundamentally believe that processed diets of pets, made from non-organic materials have hindered the health of pets for much time, as large multinational corporations have taken advantage of the pet industry. Through our ten years in business, we have helped hundred of pets revert back to a raw based diet, which provides pets the necessary nutrients that are lacking from a processed diet. Our ultimate goal is to make all pet owners recognise that a raw diet is best, and shift the narrative in New Zealand and around the world.
Pet Naturals offers an extensive range of pet goods through our beachfront store on the beautiful Hibiscus Coast. We specialise in providing raw pet food – a diet consisting of raw meats, cooked vegetables and an overall natural approach to feeding pets. We have also recently launched our online store, allowing delivery across Auckland, and easing the burden for many pet owners in the tumultuous period of covid-19.
We ensure that the quality of our products are of the highest quality, particularly our raw meat products, which are sourced sustainably from New Zealand farms. Our continuous strive towards quality sets ourselves apart from our competitors, and we ensure that our raw food is 100% natural, free range, crate and cage free. We genuinely believe that our high standards lead to healthier pets – and this unrelenting strive towards excellence is what differentiates us.
Before we entered the business, our own toy poodle, Coco, had many eating troubles, and was an especially picky eater. We decided to make the switch to a raw diet, and witnessed Coco’s overall demeanour improve, not only enjoying her food, but also being more cheerful on a day to day basis. My husband and I were amazed at this change, and knew of many other pet owners also struggling with finding the right choice of food for their pet. Seeing potential in this industry, we decided to purchase the business, and have luckily been able to grow the existing clientele base, and shift towards a more digital approach to improve efficiency.
Though I was not the original founder of the business, we have had to overcome many obstacles in our shift to an online store and subsequent digital expansion. Finding the best marketing techniques, reaching another demographic etc, these have been challenges that we have continued to strive to overcome.
During level four of covid-19, it was a rough period of time for us to overcome. As we were unable to serve customers in person, we had to rely on other methods, particularly through our phone as we had not yet been able to fully set up our online store. It was inspiring to see the community come together, and with the help of our dedicated and loyal customer base, we were able to overcome the significant hurdles and barriers that stood in our way during lockdown.
Like many other small business owners, covid-19 has been a tough time. Perseverance has been key, and rather than give into the added financial pressures of Covid, we have adopted a new strategy, by expanding our online presence to grow the store and the business. I fundamentally believe in the notion to always find a silver lining, and we have taken this approach during covid as well.
By continually engaging with the community over the last ten years, we have built up a robust and loyal customer base in the Hibiscus Coast and Orewa community. This has allowed us to have continued success serving pet owners in the community – we hope to further expand the reach of the business through our online shop, reaching customers not only in wide Auckland but across New Zealand as well.
Seeing happy pets, happy customers return again and again in of itself is extremely fulfilling – however, I’m most proud of educating pet owners, and helping to facilitate the shift in mentality of how pet food is perceived in New Zealand.
As we have begun to switch to a more digitised approach, we have recognised the importance of training our employees to better be equipped to navigate the space. We have recently provided our employees with a course detailing how to best use Instagram, allowing us to engage with the typically younger audience that occupy the platform. By bringing in a professional to work with our employees, she taught our staff how to promote, caption stories to improve the marketability of the business. In addition to this, we also brought in a retail professional to help our employees engage with customers. This course allowed them to gain experience, and provided them with skills and abilities that equipped them with the necessary training to best perform in this space.
We have had numerous positive reviews from our customers over the past years. Below are some that we have hand picked:
“Malibu rose was 10 weeks old when I walked into the Animal healthcare shop in Orewa. I had no clue what to feed her. Now nearly four years on we visit regularly and Miss Malibu has the most beautiful coat due to her diet from Therese and the team. I highly recommend their products and lovely friendly community coast service.” – Wendy Maree Melrose
“Sophie (10.5 yrs) and Oscar (13.5 yrs) are on a raw food diet and we wouldn’t have it any other way! They have never had any skin problems (which can be quite common with their types of breeds) and I know this is because I’m not feeding them processed dog food. We adopted Oscar from The Humane Society and his liver enzyme readings were extremely high when we got him. Having him on a raw diet has helped reduce these levels greatly and kept them down! His liver isn’t working overtime trying to breakdown fatty, processed dog food from the supermarket. Our fur babies are such an important part of our little family and I want them to be as happy and healthy as possible so providing them with high quality raw food in a no-brainer! We are so grateful for all the help and advice from the team at the Animal Health Centre and will continue being customers for years to come. ” – Kathryn & Tony Aughton
“Luka is a Blue Burmese who has been raised on a raw food diet. His favourite food includes a variety of NZ wild meats and a much enjoyed portion of vegetables/herbs too. At nearly two years old, Luka is well known within our circles as a cat with not only the most exceptional temperament, but also a gloriously silky coat. It is clear to us that he is genuinely satisfied after consuming meals of true nutritional value, this is not only reflected in his calm, spritely nature but also his general wellbeing. Living rurally, Luka is free from fleas, ticks and worms due to his natural diet and homeopathic remedies. Thanks to the team from Animal Natural Health for all the knowledge and enthusiasm, empowering us to educate ourselves on evidence based, real food concepts for our beloved animals.” – Sadie de Beer
“I have been coming to ‘Pet Naturals’ (originally ‘Animal Natural Health Centre’) for about 4 years. My first visit was to seek advice for our elderly dog ‘Xena’, who had developed arthritis. The centre’s friendly staff was able to offer natural alternatives that supplemented that prescribed by our local vets. This really improved ‘Xena’s quality of life for quite a period of time. Some two months after ‘Xena’s passing, we adopted ‘Tessa’ (a lab x foxie) and have continued to seek advice re. her dietary requirements, as she has shown a propensity to food! We feed her a basic raw food diet supplemented with lots of vegetables, which we find suitable to monitor her daily intake.” – John and Brenda Briand
I receive a lot of joy when hearing the successful stories of pet’s making the switch towards a raw diet, especially comparing both the before and after of a pet’s demeanour when they come visit the store. Knowing that I have played a part in the community and helped pets lead a more nutritious life makes it all worthwhile in the end.
We are involved with a foundation called Saving Hope, which is a charitable trust focusing on dog rescue and rehabilitation. By recognising the overlapping interests of both Pet Naturals and Saving Hope – helping pets gaining a better future – we formed a partnership where we have continued to support the foundation over many years. This entails Pet Naturals being a collection point for donations, us providing them with discounts etc – we have loved working with them over the past three years and helping numerous dogs all across Auckland and beyond
On site, we offer free consultations by our in house vet nurse to members of the community. This invaluable information and advice has helped many pets in the community, helping them find the most suitable diet to suit their needs. The help of our in house team has provided help to many pet owners across the coast – and helped improve the quality of life of many pets as well
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