Only Natural Pet marketplace vendor image

Only Natural Pet is a business focused on natural and holistic pet goods, providing an extensive selection of pet food, supplements, and accessories created from premium, environmentally-friendly components to enhance the health and happiness of pets.

If you’d like to start your own marketplace like Only Natural Pet, you’re facing a buy vs build decision. So before you decide to build it in-house on top of Spree open-source, consider using Vendo which is a marketplace SaaS. Go live, start selling, iterate.

Build vs Buy a marketplace?

Opting for open-source brings various benefits, including complete control and the liberty to customize. However, these advantages often come with substantial financial implications. Creating a complete marketplace solution is a long, expensive process, typically requiring many months or even years. This understanding is based on our experiences with different marketplace projects.

Unless you’ve secured significant funding, it is advisable to opt for a ready-made, comprehensive marketplace solution like Vendo, as recommended by someone who has charged for marketplace development for many years.

Back to the Only Natural Pet marketplace case study

Only Natural Pet, established in 2004, has evolved into a leading online marketplace focused on natural and organic pet care products. Their journey began with a dedicated group of pet lovers who believed in the benefits of natural ingredients for pet health. Their commitment to this philosophy has been a key driver of their success.

The company’s growth has been marked by an expanding product range, including grain-free kibble and chemical-free grooming supplies. This expansion reflects their dedication to pet wellness and has attracted a large customer base​​.

The secret to Only Natural Pet’s success lies in adhering to a few core principles. Quality is paramount; they prioritize high-quality, natural ingredients in their products, ensuring pets receive the best care. Expert guidance on pet nutrition and health is another cornerstone, positioning them not just as sellers but as advocates for pet well-being.

Sustainability is also a key focus, with a commitment to eco-friendly and sustainable products. Lastly, their customer-centric approach, listening to and tailoring offerings to pet owners’ needs, has been crucial in their marketplace’s success​​.

Overall, Only Natural Pet stands out for its dedication to providing healthier, environmentally friendly options for pets, a commitment that resonates strongly with pet owners looking for the best for their furry friends​​.

How to emulate Only Natural Pet marketplace success?

If you’re looking to replicate Only Natural Pet’s success, you might want to get your marketplace going sooner, in weeks rather than months. Check how your product lineup matches your audience’s interests and continually refine how you draw in customers based on real-world evidence.

Initially, test the market before investing heavily in building it.

Here’s what you’d be getting with a Vendo free trial:

  • Book a marketplace demo call: We’ll set up your demo marketplace and populate it with products, so you could give it a try and start selling in 14 days
  • Customize your Storefront: Use the drag & drop page builder or custom CSS
  • Onboard Brands: Invite your brands or choose brands from our catalog
  • Select Products: Curate products and collections manually or automate it
  • Embed products: Make your content, newsletters, social media shoppable
  • Get Paid: Get paid as soon as products are shipped by the brands
  • End-to-end automation: Brands sync, fulfillment, payouts, invoicing, taxes

When you’ve tried all that and it works, start thinking about building your own, custom-made marketplace project based on Spree Commerce. First, by decoupling the storefront and going headless with Vendo marketplace API, and later with your own backend, if you decide you really need it. Just lift and shift the storefront.

Nobody has to know what’s under the hood, right?