How to Get Your Piece of the $69 Billion Pet Industry

You know how you can tell you live in a pretty wealthy country?

When you spend a cumulative $69 billion on your pets as a nation.

According to the American Pet Products Association, that's what Americans spent on Fido and Fluffy last year.

Bob Vetere, president and CEO of the Association, told the Global Pet Expo earlier this year that it's incredible not only to see growth for the pet industry in general, but to experience growth across all categories of the pet industry – with the exception of "live animal purchases," which remained the same.

Talk to any pet owner, and they'll tell you how difficult it is to put a dollar limit on what they'd spend to give their loyal companion a happy life, and it's this outlook that continues to drive growth.

When I first heard that $69 billion number, I was skeptical. But when I mentioned it to my wife, she showed me how much we spent on our cat and dog. And let me tell you! It was a healthy number, and that doesn't even include the occasional cheeseburger I buy the dog.

When I thought about it, I realized my son has a hefty investment in his two pythons, considering the specialized cages and lighting required. And my daughter has a dog with some health issues, and she is constantly complaining about the costs associated with doggie healthcare.

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So it turns out that it's not just crazy cat ladies spending all this money! It's regular people too.

Given all this money spent on pets, there's bound to be a few profit opportunities.

And that's exactly what I want to explore here today…

Invest in One of These Pet Companies, and You'll Even Withstand a Market Downturn

Anytime we can get invested in companies that provide something Americans love and will buy regardless of the economy, there is usually a pile of money to be made by patient long-term investors.

Tim Melvin

About the Author

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Tim Melvin is an unlikely investment expert by any measure. Raised in the "projects" of Baltimore by a single mother, he never attended college and started out as a door-to-door vacuum salesman. But he knew the real money was in the stock market, so he set sights on investing - and by sheer force of determination, he eventually became a financial advisor to millionaires. Today, after 30 years of managing money for some of the wealthiest people in the world, he draws on his experience to help investors find "unreasonably good" bargain stocks, multiply profits, and build their nest eggs. Tim tirelessly works to find overlooked "hidden gems" in the stock market, drawing on the research of legendary investors like Benjamin Graham, Walter Schloss, and Marty Whitman. He has written and lectured extensively on the markets, with work appearing on Benzinga, Real Money, Daily Speculations, and more. He has published several books in the "Little Book of" Investment Series and a "Junior Chamber Course" geared towards young adults that teaches Graham's principles and techniques to a new generation of investors. Today, he serves as the Special Situations Strategist at Money Morning and the editor of "Max Wealth" and Heatseekers.

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