Once considered just companions, pets are now—more than ever before—seen as family. Today, 98% of pet owners consider their pets important family members, according to the Human Animal Bond Research Institute. This strong bond is fueling a booming market for pet personalization products. From sleek aluminum-inset retractable leashes to vibrant silicone-sleeve tumblers, pet parents are eager to celebrate their pets.

Celebrating Pets With Personalization Products

The Bond Between Pets and Owners Is Driving a Booming Market for Custom Pet Items

By: Shelley Widhalm

(Originally printed in the May/June 2024 issue of Insights.)

Once considered just companions, pets are now—more than ever before—seen as family. Today, 98% of pet owners consider their pets important family members, according to the Human Animal Bond Research Institute. This strong bond is fueling a booming market for pet personalization products. From sleek aluminum-inset retractable leashes to vibrant silicone-sleeve tumblers, pet parents are eager to celebrate their pets.

“Pet related products sales have continued to grow since we started offering them,” says Mike May, the COO of JDS Industries. The company got into the pet-personalization industry about 10 years ago and has seen great success since then. JDS sells pet tags, collars, bowls, and other pet-related products.

 

    Photo courtesy of JDS Industries

The company’s dog tags are made of aluminum and come in multiple sizes, shapes, and colors. Some are anodized aluminum for laser engraving and some are sublimatable aluminum. Their dog collars are made of laserable leather-ette in several sizes and colors. The company also sells durable stainless-steel Polar Camel pet bowls in three sizes and six powder-coated colors.

“Pet products are a good additional item to add to your offering to your existing customer base since such a high per-centage of the people buying trophies and awards are pet owners,” says May.

Johnson Plastics Plus (JPP) is another personalization company that has brought in more pet-focused products in recent years, and they’re seeing a lot of positive responses, according to Jackie Faeth, marketing coordinator for JPP.

“More and more, pets are considered part of the family,” says Faeth. “They’re front and center …  and [pet owners] want to show them off. Family portraits have always been a thing. Now when we say family, that includes pets.”

JPP sells many traditional items for pets, such as pet tags, leashes, collars, clothing, ceramic pet bowls (which can be sublimated with the pet’s name), doormats (also with the pet’s name or sayings like “We hope you like dogs”), and place mats for food and water bowls. There are also pet-celebration items like photographs, urns, and porcelain orna-ments, as well as pictures and license plate frames, mugs, key holders, charm bracelets, and garden flags.

“The cool thing about our industry and our customers is they are really thinking outside of the box,” says Faeth. “Any-thing can be a way to celebrate your furry friend, whether it’s a mug or an item you hang in the house. There are a lot of different options we bring into the pet market.”

The top three types of designs used in pet personalization at JPP are monograms, pet names, and photographs, accord-ing to Faeth. The main processes used for personalizing these items are sublimation, laser engraving, white-toner heat press, and UV-LED printing.

Sublimation is optimal for creating bright, durable graphics, such as a photograph of a furry friend on a mug that won’t scratch off. White-toner heat transfer works well for items like T-shirts and ornaments. Laser engraving is suitable for dog tags, license plate frames, and other items, using materials like bamboo or acrylic. Other trendy materials for pet personalization products include faux leather and faux wood and, in the area of fabric, polyester or a polyester blend, which are typically sublimated.

Personalization for Pet Parents

When it comes to pet personalization, there are items made for the pets, and there are items made for their pet par-ents to show their pride, adoration, and love.

 

 

   Photos courtesy of MyPetPrints

MyPetPrints is an online personalized pet products company that sells custom products, primarily for the pet owner. These offerings include 3D pet crystals with a pet picture inside, pet necklaces and bracelets, phone cases, framed posters, photo lamps, coffee mugs, tote bags, blankets, and cozy hoods, as well as custom decals and stickers.

   Photo courtesy of Johnson Plastics Plus

Jim Zimmermann bought MyPetPrints in 2020 as an early-retirement project. His and his wife’s dog, Sandy, a Cavalier King Charles spaniel who was essentially their “fourth kid,” crossed the rainbow bridge around the time he bought the business.

“I had a dog that was my best buddy, and I’m obviously a dog lover, or else I wouldn’t be in this industry,” he says. “Most of our best-selling products I have in my house somewhere.”

When it comes to Zimmermann’s customers, dogs are the most popular pet with about 70% of MyPetPrints’ products inspired by canines. The second most popular are cats. “The vast majority of our products are purchased by dog par-ents, and I love that,” he says. “I get to see all of the photos of the dogs that my customers upload. I live vicariously through my customers.”

Zimmermann has a large email list and tests new products as his suppliers introduce them. He also does competitor research to see if there are opportunities for “similar, but improved products.” For most of his items, he has artists cre-ate custom drawings based on images that the buyer uploads. The buyer then has the opportunity to approve or ask for revisions.

The products are then outsourced to multiple suppliers that are print-on-demand companies offering different product lines. The products Zimmermann sells require a variety of printing methods, such as the 3D crystals that are laser en-graved and decals that are made of tough, weather-resistant 6-millimeter premium vinyl.

Currently, Zimmermann’s biggest sellers are unique items that he sources, such as 3D crystals, paint by numbers, and puzzles. And, when it comes to types of animals, they don’t discriminate.

“All our products can be made with any animal. We have created products with horses, snakes, birds, and many more,” Zimmermann says.

Honoring a Pet’s Memory

While personalization items are popular while your pet is alive and thriving, they’re also important to customers as a way to remember them.

Many pet parents are turning to memorials as a way to celebrate and commemorate that beloved member of the fam-ily. The pet-memorials market size was valued at $274 million in 2023 and is projected to reach $791 million by 2030, according to Verified Market Reports.  

“We see the memorial market growing as pets become members of the family,” Faeth says.

For pet memorials, one popular option is Rowmark’s FlexiBrass, a thin material that can be engraved and then applied directly onto an urn or a photo plaque. Photo panels also are trending in sublimation for memorials and other occasions for celebrating pets, as well as charm bracelets sublimated with the pet’s portrait, giving the owner a way to carry the image with them.

Along with products for an animal when they’re alive, JDS also sells pet urns made of red alder to honor the memory of a furry family member. For the urn, a retailer or buyer can either laser the lid or purchase a sublimatable tile to person-alize with color.

 

  Photo courtesy of MyPetPrints

Staying Power

As pet parents increasingly see their furry friends as members of the family, pet personalization products are here to stay, and will likely become even more popular.

“I see this market continuing to grow steadily as pet ownership continues to grow,” Faeth says. “I don’t anticipate it tapering off anytime soon.”

Zimmermann loves how passionate his customers are about their pets. He says it makes this work very rewarding.

“People have very strong feelings about their pets being very much parts of their families,” he says. “That’s what makes this industry interesting.”

Shelley Widhalm is a freelance writer and editor and founder of Shell’s Ink Services, a writing-and-editing service based in Loveland, Colorado. She has more than 15 years of experience in communications and holds a master of arts degree in English from Colorado State University. She can be reached at shellsinkservices.com or swidhalm@shellsinkservices.com.