Ben’s Barketplace to Spread Healthy Pet Food Revolution Throughout the Country with Franchising Opportunity

Two years later, he was deployed as a Drug Detection K-9 for the state patrol with his trainer and partner, Brad Romero. During their first day on the job, Brad and Ben stopped a speeding vehicle on the interstate, and even though the car appeared to be just a family traveling with two young children, Ben sensed that there was trouble afoot. He quickly located a pound and a half of cocaine in a manufactured air bag compartment. This was Ben’s first official K9 search, and it marked the beginning of a deeply rooted bond between the two.

Ben and Brad traveled over 200,000 miles in their five-year career and located over $27 million in illegal narcotics and more than $750,000 in illegal drug money. Not only was Ben crowned the 1999 champion in narcotics detection, but he also came to represent a true American K-9 hero. Then, with a successful career of fighting crime with the state patrol behind them, Ben and Brad eventually retired to a quiet life in the foothills.

Inspired by Ben, Brad and his wife, Sally, discovered a new calling—promoting the importance of nutrition and high-quality pet products. This was in 2006, and it was the beginning of Ben’s Barketplace—a health food store for dogs and cats in Roseville, California.

“I always believed that the single largest contribution you can make to your pet’s longevity is the type of food you provide for them. That’s why we founded Ben’s Barketplace with the goal of being different. We wanted to educate pet owners on how to maintain the health and well-being of their pets,” Brad said. “We believe in keeping your pets healthy and happy the right way, and that starts with an appropriate diet and peak nutrition.

Time and time again, Brad has made his mission loud and clear: no matter a pet’s age or condition, the best prescription is a complete, high quality, balanced and nutritious diet that owners can find from natural pet supply stores like Ben’s Barketplace. Rather than stocking products with inferior fillers, by-products and unhealthy preservatives, Ben’s Barketplace offers balanced, commercially prepared raw pet food diets and nutritionally-rich dry kibble and canned foods. According to Brad, the benefits of such a diet are many—including higher energy levels, healthy teeth, healthy skin, a lustrous coat, a lean and muscular body and even a longer life span.

“Our business is our passion—not our bottom line. We value our customers and honor the trust they have placed in us to help provide a healthy diet for their family member. We’d never stock a product that we didn’t fully believe in, so all of our products are superior, safe and Ben certified,” Brad added.

Both Brad and Sally quickly realized that there was a great need for a store like Ben’s Barketplace. After all, according to Nielsen, 95 percent of U.S. pet owners consider their pets to be part of the family—and they’re treating them accordingly. The American Pet Products Association predicts people will spend $62 billion for their pets by the end of 2016—a number that’s up from $60.28 billion in 2015. And as the pet care industry continues to grow, niche business offerings like Ben’s Barketplace are reaping the benefits.

Now, backed by more than 10 years of experience and hundreds of satisfied customers (and dogs), Brad and Sally are proud to announce the next chapter for Ben’s Barketplace—the introduction of a franchising opportunity. Ben’s Barketplace recently partnered with Lonnie Helgerson, the president and consultant of Helgerson Franchise Group, to begin the process of building out a franchise system. This included crafting and tuning up the FDD and strengthening the brand’s foundation to position them for growth.

With these elements in place, Brad and Sally are now targeting the perfect franchisees to help them spread Ben’s Barketplace’s mission throughout the West Coast.

“The ideal franchisee is someone like us—someone who has a passion for pets, loves being their own boss and is naturally a very social and outgoing person. Working at Ben’s Barketplace means that you’re becoming a part of a community. The pet owners that visit our store start to feel like family, and they trust us with the well-being of their dogs,” Brad said.

“The fact is, it’s a much different world than it was 25 years ago—dogs are no longer chained to the tree. Instead, they’re considered family—they sleep in our beds and follow in our footsteps day in and day out. There’s so much joy in helping to extend the lives of animals and giving them the chance they deserve to lead a happy, healthy life.

I’m looking forward to sharing that experience, and I’m eager to invite other entrepreneurs to become advocates for pets throughout the country.”