Gift baskets for special occasion gifts are very popular. We always buy gift baskets of gourmet foods and other treats for the out-of-town family for birthdays, Christmas, and Mother’s Day. It’s such an easy thing to order and always appreciated!

As pet owners spend more money on pampering their pets, they also buy more special gifts for their furry family. With so many great treats, shampoos, toys, clothing, and accessories now available for pets, it’s easy to start a business making pet gift baskets by mixing these products together to create an attractive basket that pet owners will love.

Birthdays and Christmas are obvious pet gift basket sales opportunities, but you can also put together themed baskets for St. Patrick’s Day, Valentine’s Day, and as welcome home gifts for families with a new puppy or little cat. You can also market baskets by product theme. For example, you could make a grooming basket, natural goodies basket, travel basket, toy basket, or lost pet gift basket. Or why not put together specialized baskets with products for a particular breed. You could even provide a catalog of products to choose from so customers can customize their own unique basket.

Pet baskets can be marketed to pet lovers by placing displays with their business cards at local pet stores, grooming salons, doggy day care or boarding facilities. You can also sell them on the web through a website or at a chamber of commerce. Think of some of the places pet owners go to pamper their pets and you’ve found your perfect market.

Pet gift baskets are also great items for pet businesses to donate to silent auction events and raffles to promote their business. Why not promote them to local pet business owners as well?

All you need to make a great basket is the basket itself, some filler to put inside the basket, a shrink cellophane bag, and a decorative finish. Most large craft stores, such as Hobby Lobby or Michaels, stock these items, and you can also buy them in bulk online.

You should be sure to price your baskets to cover the labor, supplies, and items in the basket. A good rule of thumb is to price your basket at twice the cost of the items you put in the basket.

Gift Basket Wholesale Supply is a great resource for articles on the gift basket business and clever ideas for making baskets look great. They even offer a free course on how to make baskets on their site. If you do a Google search for gift baskets, you will find many more websites offering advice on the gift basket business.

If you already own a salon, pet sitting business, pet store, dog daycare, or boarding center, pet gift baskets could be a great seasonal profit boost. You can offer them to your customers simply by showing samples in your store to generate conversation.