Groomed For Success

Anneke van den Broeks first pet, at age five or six, was a mouse.

- Alan Deans

Her mother had a favourite cat, so her companion was kept in a cage outside. The mouse soon bred, of course, which provided an opportunity for her owner who now is one of Australia’s leading pet care entrepreneurs with her Rufus & Coco business. She went to the local pet shop and asked if they would buy her mice. They had unusual markings on their fur, and soon were in hot demand. Van den Broek pocketed 50c each and tasted her first business success.

The incurable animal lover has since owned 40 pets, give or take. Cats, dogs and turtles followed the mice. “We had Boris, an eastern long-neck turtle, who should have been called Doris, and Doris who should have been called Boris,” van den Broek explains. “We found them crossing the highway. We even had a chicken turned rooster that we had to give to a farm because it kept the neighbourhood awake. It was a menagerie. In my household, if you didn’t get to the couch before the dog then you lost your spot.”

RSPCA Australia reckons we have one of the highest rates of pet ownership in the world, with 62% of households having a bundle of feathers or fur of some sort. That adds up to 24 million animals, with some 38% of households owning dogs and 29% cats. Pets are regarded as a normal part of life for 83% of children. Of the few kids that don’t have one, 59% would like to in the future. Clearly, there is big demand for pet pampering.

Van den Broek, now 46, has been selling up-market pet products, such as collars, litter, tray liners and grooming products, for 10 years and has access to valuable shelving space in Coles, Wool worths and scores of pet stores around Australia. Her company exports to eight other countries, the most notable being a recent deal to supply grooming products to 1459 stores owned by the world’s largest pet chain, PetSmart in the US.