Pet Cremation Industry: New Market Opportunities

As you can see from our website, we carry pet cremation containers. You may not be familiar with the industry, but, according to an article in the Funeral Business Advisor, the market for pet cremations is still vastly underserved. There are many places that specialize in both human and pet cremations, but, in the United States, the very first pets only funeral service opened in 2004, so the pets only cremation industry is still relatively new. However, since the process is the same, if you already own a crematorium, expanding your offering could be fairly simple.

In 2010, it was reported that 62% of homes have pets, and that these pet owners spent a collective amount of $45 billion dollars on their pets. What’s more, many owners wish to continue this care of their animals even after they have passed away. According to one set of statistics, more than 50% of pet owners who’s pets passed away while in the veterinary office chose to have a private cremation for their pet as opposed to mass cremation, when given a choice. As one can see, this offers many opportunities for those wishing to break into the market. Even within the pet cremation industry, there is opportunity to increase the service offerings available. In recent times, an increasing number of pet owners are choosing to become more involved in the cremation process. Some crematoriums already offer additional services geared specifically to grieving pet owners. For example, funeral homes or crematoriums might have a special viewing room or offer imprints of the deceased pet’s paw to the owners.

Unfortunately, in past years pet cremation services have received a bad name. There have been many discoveries of deception and fraud. For example, in New York, a mass pet grave was uncovered. Animals were supposed to have been cremated, but, instead, the unsuspecting owners were given fake remains. The industry is unregulated, and most states don’t even require a special license for pet cremation. In order to enter the market, one only needs to purchase the equipment and get zoning approved.

Because of this, if you are interested in expanding your service offerings to pet cremation, it is important that you provide extra assurances to your customers. First and foremost, it is important to show compassion to the grieving pet owners. Secondly, you may want to either allow clients to witness the cremation or if your company has a policy against this, to give a valid explanation for why that is. Also, you should offer same day or next day service for pick up of cremated remains. This is important so the client can be assured that you don’t wait to collect a number of animals before doing a mass cremation and then dishonestly return the remains of many different pets to the owner. It is also essential to have a detailed procedure for identifying remains and to clearly communicate this process to the customer.

Offering pet cremation or more specialized services associated with pet cremation can be a worthwhile addition to your current offerings. To help you in your new venture, McDonald Containers offers special, pet cremation trays. These pet cremation trays are similar to our regular cremation trays just smaller and therefore more economical. For more information on our products, please visit our website: mcdonaldcontainers.com/petcremationcontainer.

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