Pet Wants, the pet health and wellness franchise, allows owners to begin mobile, introducing customers to its fresh, small-batch pet food through farmers markets, community events, deliveries and other local opportunities before transitioning into a brick-and-mortar store. The model gives franchisees time to learn their market, establish relationships and create local awareness before making the move into retail.

For Pet Wants St. Augustine Central franchisee RJ Spreckelsen, those early months helped establish the customer base he would eventually bring into his retail store.

“The business has been going very well,” Spreckelsen said. “We were doing a lot of markets, close to 20 a month, during the last year or so. That gave us a really good customer base.”

By the time Spreckelsen opened his brick-and-mortar store in St. Augustine in April, he wasn’t introducing Pet Wants to the community for the first time. Customers were already waiting for him.

“A lot of our customers were excited to hear that we were opening up a brick-and-mortar and were always asking when we were opening,” he said. “There was a lot of buzz around the local farmers markets, community events, dog events, etc. It was great to see that excitement with folks that shop with us there.”

Building the Customer Base Before Building the Store

Spreckelsen came to Pet Wants after more than 25 years in the software industry. A lifelong animal lover, he wanted to build a business that would allow him to pursue that passion while working alongside his family.

“What I liked about Pet Wants was the mobile-first model,” Spreckelsen said. “I thought that was a great way to get into the area early on.”

That early period gave Spreckelsen an opportunity to introduce himself, his family and Pet Wants’ products directly to local pet owners. Instead of relying solely on advertising to generate awareness for a future store, he was able to spend months meeting customers face-to-face.

“The mobile phase gives franchisees an opportunity to become part of the local pet community before they ever unlock the doors to their retail store,” said Kevin Dugan, vice president of marketing for Pet Wants. “They’re out at farmers markets, rescue events and community gatherings talking directly with pet parents. When it’s time to open the store, they have the potential to bring those relationships with them.”

That is exactly what Spreckelsen experienced. “When we opened up our brick-and-mortar at the beginning of April, a lot of our first customers were those that were part of the farmers market community,” he said. “As we had our grand opening celebration, we had several rescue agencies attend.”

Finding the Right Home for the Business

Although Spreckelsen was focused on building the mobile side of his business, the eventual retail store was never far from his mind. “I was already looking for areas to open a storefront,” he said. “I kept my eyes and ears open as far as locations. I wanted something that was centralized and would have a lot of car and foot traffic.”

He regularly browsed commercial real estate listings until, after several months, he found a space that checked the right boxes. The location was centrally located on a major road in St. Augustine and offered the right amount of space.

“I also loved that it used to be a beauty salon, which means it had a lot of the plumbing hookups already in place for grooming stations and tubs,” Spreckelsen said.

The site gave Spreckelsen an opportunity to expand beyond what he could offer with the mobile setup. But that expansion also introduced an entirely new set of considerations.

“The biggest [challenge] when opening the store is just the amount of inventory you have to bring in,” he said. “When you are working out of a 10-by-10 canopy in the market, it’s really about introducing customers to healthy food, dog treats, chews, etc. But when you get into the store, you have such a large space to fill, so it’s a lot of overhead to get those shelves stocked.”

The store also meant broadening the product mix to include items such as leashes, collars, beds and toys. Spreckelsen and his family also hired a groomer, creating another reason for customers to visit the location.

How a Storefront Changes the Pet Wants Business

For Spreckelsen, the physical location has done more than give him additional room for inventory and services. It has changed how customers perceive the business and made it easier to tell the Pet Wants story.

“Coming into the store has made showcasing our Pet Wants branded food so much easier,” he said. “When you are at a market and people haven’t heard of the brand, it can be difficult to talk to them about the food and showcase that we are a legitimate company. When you have that brick-and-mortar store, it really gives an extra level of trust and credibility.”

That makes the mobile and retail phases complementary rather than competing pieces of the model. “The goal isn’t for franchisees to forget everything they learned during the mobile phase once the store opens,” Dugan said. “Those community relationships are an asset. The storefront gives owners another way to serve those customers while creating a visible, permanent home for the brand in their market.”

From Weekend Markets to a Seven-Day Operation

The transition also fundamentally changed Spreckelsen’s day-to-day schedule. “Our focus used to be on deciding what markets to attend on the weekends and making a few deliveries during the week, but most of our time was spent on the weekends,” he said. “But now with the brick-and-mortar, it’s really a seven-day-a-week working schedule.”

That shift is significant. The mobile phase gives owners a chance to learn the fundamentals of the business on a smaller scale, but retail introduces more inventory, employees, services and daily operational responsibilities.

For Spreckelsen, those responsibilities are also part of what makes business ownership rewarding. “It’s not a nine-to-five,” he said. “I get to do something different every day and see the fruits of my labor. Everything has really changed when it comes to the day-to-day life.”

And he isn’t doing it alone. Pet Wants St. Augustine Central remains a family-run operation involving Spreckelsen, his wife, daughter and son, along with the groomer they hired for the store.

Start Small, Learn the Market and Grow Into Retail

For prospective franchisees, Spreckelsen’s experience shows what the mobile-to-retail model can look like in practice. He didn’t have to wait until a storefront was complete to begin introducing Pet Wants to St. Augustine. He spent that time learning where his customers gathered, building relationships and generating awareness. Then, when the store was ready, there was already a community eager to visit.

Through all of the work involved in making that transition, Spreckelsen said one piece of advice from the Pet Wants team has stayed with him: enjoy it.

“You are only going to have your grand opening once or open your retail store once, so that really stuck with me,” he said. “There are going to be stressful times, but you always have to take time to enjoy it. Whether you are mobile or you are in the store, you get to work every day with pets. What could be better?”

Ready to build a business rooted in purpose, passion and pet health and wellness? Visit https://1851franchise.com/petwants to learn more about franchising with Pet Wants.