Starting Guinea Pig Treat Business

[parkpiggies]

Hi,
Ive just recently had the idea of starting up my own small homemade guinea pig and rabbit treat business. Does anyone know what kind of legal thing I need for it? Or is it okay to just make some and go onto facebook marketplace, for example, and list them there? Any advice would be great, thanks.

 

[VickiA]

@Guineautopia is the owner of Piggie Parcels.

 

[Swissgreys]

I would think it would depend on various factors like where you are based and also what expereince you have.
If you are just selling to friends and family that is one thing, but it could be a lot more complicated if you are selling to members of the public.
You need to think about how you would protect yourself if there are ever problems with an animal after they eat some of you treats - this could require things like traceability of ingredients and nutritional analysis, etc.

 

[Guineautopia]

Hi, there are a LOT of people doing this type of thing on Facebook. I believe they are just making treats in there kitchen and selling but not running as a genuine business venture and they probably don’t have any public liability insurance and I wonder if they are declaring to HMRC!
If you want to make a living out of it then you need to run it as a business which means keeping accounts, doing tax returns with HMRC paying tax etc. It is hard, you need to dedicate all your time to make the business grow and yes there is lots to think off, more than I can list here.
But.... if you just fancy making a few treats more for fun/a hobby just in your spare time, that’s different to trying to run a business. It doesn’t change the fact that you should still be keeping accounts and doing a tax return. And yes, you should be careful over what ingredients you use to ensure the safety of the animals. If someone’s animal got ill after eating one of your treats, how are you protected? Have a think about why you want to do it? Is it for fun? Is it to make a living?
what ever you decide, carry on making treats for your babies and enjoy