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Pet-friendly Rentals

A pandemic-induced surge in pet ownership and rising consumer awareness has led to skyrocketing demand for pet products across India and the globe, ranging from packaged foods, pet treats, and even branded accessories and toys. 

The industry estimates that India has about 28 to 29 million pet populations, with dogs making most of it. Notably, cats are also witnessing an uptick in ownership and adoption recently. It is because they are considerably more independent than dogs and have low maintenance (1). 

While many investors and businesses are now focusing on the pet-care industry – for more details, read our previous story, Lucrative Business Opportunities in The Pet Industry, there is a major supply gap in pet-friendly rental units even though there is no ban on keeping pets for any residence in our country (2, 3). 

However, as per available data (4), you are missing out on renters with pets who offer:

• Rent premium 20 to 30% higher of the average rent
• Higher upfront fees
• Longer tenancy, since pet owners are likely to stay in one place for longer (about 46 months compared to 18 months for no pets)
• Lower vacancy rates (10% than 14% for no pets)

Below are various business opportunities you can capitalize on the gap:

• Pet-friendly complexes, complete with dog parlors and parks
• Pet-friendly co-living spaces
• Digital pet reference and resume services like PetsScore (5)
• A pet rating and screening service, which scores pets according to their health certificates, training certificates, and references

Tufting

Numerous DIY trends have gained popularity over the last two years, including Resin, Magical Tea, and even healthcare. 

It seems like the next-in-line trend includes carpets.

Tufting is a common process used to make rugs. It includes a heavy-duty tufting gun that shoots needles into the fabric, and it is trending on Reddit, gaining more than 8k subscribers in a year (6, 7). 

You can capitalize on this trend by:

• Selling tufting starter kits like the one from Tuft Love (8)
• Selling individual tufting materials such as fabrics, guns, clothes, and finishing tools
• Starting a paid online community that offers informational content to the tufting community
• Providing tufting workshops, online like Tuft The World (9), which has over 70k visits a month as per Similarweb (10) or even in-person (11). 

Potato Milk

Are you wondering how you would milk a potato? Ask this Swedish startup DUG, which is raving reviews with its potato milk (12). And a look at 3-star reviews of DUG potato milk products reveals that there is still room for improvements. 

Now, you may think potato milk is just another name for vodka. However, that is not the case. In contrast, it is a new kind of alternative milk.

Other ingredients like soy, coconut, almond, cashew, oats, and rice are gaining popularity in the alternative milk space. Now, potatoes have also made themselves on that list. 

It is worth highlighting that the worldwide dairy alternative market, more than 75% of which is dominated by non-dairy milk, was worth over 20 billion USD last year. And as per market projections, it would grow at a 13.3% CAGR to reach over 54 billion USD in 2028 (13). 

Oatly, the trailblazer of the alternative milk movement went public in May this year, worth more than 8.4 billion USD (14, 15). 

Besides starting a new potato milk brand, businesses can also experiment with other products like cheese, yogurt, ice cream made with potato milk. 

Chronic Pain Management

There are more than 780 million people across the globe affected by CP, chronic pain, and their suffering is getting severer (16). 

A recent study highlighted that 70% of individuals with CP noticed that their condition worsened because of the pandemic-induced stress. 

Funding has been flowing into the industry as startups look to alleviate suffering and tackle the misuse of opioids prescribed for CP.

Some of the most recent fundings in the space include:

• Happify, a digital therapeutics that treats the mental and physical side effects of CP and other chronic conditions. It raised over 73 million USD in March 2021. 
• AppliedVR is a VR-based therapeutic treatment for chronic pain. It secured about 29 million USD in March. 
• Clearing is a startup that offers customized opioid-free pain management plans. It secured 20 million USD in May. 

It is worth pointing out that solutions in this market don’t have to be high-tech. Several apps are already in the space to help people suffering from CP with simple features like meditations, lessons, exercise routines, and activity trackers. 

A quick look at the subreddit r/ChronicPain revealed several unmet needs that businesses can address (17). It includes:

• Healthy meal recipes and options for people who can not stand long enough to cook themselves a healthy meal
• Job boards that curate vacancies suitable for people with CP
• In-person and online communities and even dating platforms for individuals suffering from CP
• Advice for people caring for their kins with CP

Niche Pet Breeds

Subscribers of fancy cat subreddits like Nebelung cost 600 to 1.2k USD for a breeder, Siamese, for 400 to 1k USD, and Ragdolls, 800 to 2k USD have all increased by more than 50% since the past year. 

And it is not solely about cats. Even niche dog breeds, including Australian cattle dogs, which costs about 400 to 1k USD, Samoyeds, costing over 1k to 3k USD, and Goldendoodles, 1k to 2.5k USD, are witnessing rising popularity. 

Notably, even a community dedicated to hognose snakes, which cost as much as 1k USD, is enjoying exponential growth on Reddit (18). 

Apart from breeding, which has not been profitable traditionally and falls under a gray area ethically, there are many other lucrative opportunities in the niche pet breeds world. 

Moreover, there is no secret that millennial “pawrents” are more than willing to spend on their fur babies. 

Businesses can focus on building paid online communities, guides, apps, customized treats and food, and even accessories for niche breeds. 

Merch like toys, calendars, and mugs, is another attractive option for entrepreneurs looking to capitalize on this trend.

For more details on building community, read our previous story, Strong Brand Community: A Key to Success.

D2C Treatment for UTIs 

Over the past few years, first-aid essentials have been getting a serious D2C makeover, which enabled them to mint millions (19).

Welly, launched in 2019, offers premium first aid racked in 8 million USD in a seed funding round and made over 10 million USD in its first year (20, 21).  

And the treatment of UTIs urinary tract infections are set to be next in line to get the modern D2C touch. It is worth highlighting that UTIs affect more than 60% of women and about 12% of men in their lifetime (22). It is also responsible for about 8.1 million visits to physicians each year. 

Another operator in this space, Uqora, has over 330k site visits a month as per SimilarWeb (23, 24). It sells a range of products and bundles to help in treating, diagnosing, and preventing UTIs. 

And there is still room for entrepreneurs to enter and compete in the UTI space. Or, you can also look at other common medical conditions and complaints like chronic constipation, allergies, gut problems, headaches caused by dehydration, sleeplessness, and more for business opportunities.

Available market data suggests that humorous marketing combined with a personal story is one of the excellent ways to win in this space. For example, the founder of Uquro told her own UTI story and offered a solution. Another example includes the founder of Awkward Essentials that sells after-sex clean-up products.

Wrapping Up

You will need plenty of effort and resources if you are starting a new business. But you can get your venture up and running in no time with the right tools and guidelines. Fortunately, with the rise of entrepreneurship in India, there are plenty of both. 

At TimesNext, we aim to find the latest business trends and unique business opportunities that you can capitalize on to get started with your journey. Along the way, you can always turn to us with plenty of startup and business guides. 

While all our posts are for general information purposes only, you can use them to see if any suitable business idea comes up in your mind that matches your skill and passion. 

You can also choose to connect with us if you have any particular trend or business idea in mind and wish for further insights. After all, in the end, finding the right business idea is all about giving something to people that make their lives easier and something that you also enjoy. 

Perhaps, our story may get you wondering about niche business opportunities in a space you always wanted to try. 

And if you already have a startup or business going on, there are plenty of ways you can step up your marketing game or offer something unique that can differentiate you from your peers. 

Ready to dive deeper? Consider reading our previous stories, Ways for Business to Capitalize on Millenial Spending Habits, Lessons You Can Learn From Failed Startups (2021 Update), and Advertising Conversion: 10 Tips for Writing High-Converting Ads.

Stay tuned for more updates!

Rucha Joshi, currently managing a team of over 20 content writers at TimesNext is fueled by her passion for creative writing. She is eager to turn information into action. With her hunger for knowledge, she considers herself a forever student and a passionate leader.