Basic Info

• My love for animals and my assignment to create a website that incorporates my personal interest with a revenue generating idea have lead to my creation of LeGourmetPooch.com.
• Le Gourmet Pooch is the online source for pet nutrition.
• Le Gourmet Pooch features recipes for home made diets including raw, vegetarian, and gourmet.
• The “members only” section of the site will contain personalized tools for dog owners for a monthly membership fee (still to be determined). The tools include customized recipes based on nutritional needs and appropriate portion size, weight loss recipes and coaching, and a weekly “Ask the Vet” live chat session.
• www.LeGourmetPooch.com is registered with and hosted by GoDaddy.com.

Target Market and Utility        

• Pet owners who are true animal lovers are the target market for www.LeGourmetPooch.com.
• Research has shown that good nutrition is the key to a longer life, so any pet owner who loves his/her pet and wants them to live a long life will be interested in my site.
• It provides easy-to-follow nutrition tips and step-by-step recipes for homemade meals.
• Grocery store brand dog foods and the like are using cheap fillers and meat byproducts (beaks, organs, and other scraps) and other meat that is are not fit for human consumption (diseased or deceased animals including farm animals and pets from snakes to dogs, meat from grocery stores that has expired, and other unthinkable products.
• Other low-end brands that claim to use “real meat” use such a minute amount that the food becomes 70%+ carbohydrates.
• Common dog food preservatives such as Ethoxyquin, BHA/BHT, and Propylene Glycol that have been found to cause liver and kidney disease, carcinoma, gastrointestinal blockages, leukemia, immune deficiency syndrome, among many other horrible ailments[1].      
• While the high-end foods may provide human grade meat, balanced nutrients, and be free of preservatives, they are still not 100% safe. In 2007 there was a major pet food recall affecting pet foods across all quality lines. It’s believed that gluten imported from China to the US was contaminated by a chemical used in the manufacturing of rat poison and some plastics. This contamination resulted in liver disease in dogs and cats across the nation, with many cases being fatal. Even high-end holistic brands (including Nutro) were contaminated.

Revenue                        

• In 2007, US households spent $16.2 billion dollars on pet food alone[2].
• Statistics from the American Pet Product Manufactures Association’s 2005-2006 National Pet Owners Survey show that the food category is lead by 41% of pet owners purchasing premium dog foods.
• Informed owners know that home-cooking means ultimate nutrition and safety, so they’ll be willing to spend on tools that make it easier.

• Revenue will also come from advertisements placed on the site. However, advertisers will have to go through a strict screening process, as Le Gourmet Pooch cannot back any products that could possibly harm animals in any way.