
Awarding 59 territories in 2023 and launching 15 in key markets, Scoop Soldiers, the pet waste removal franchise, increased its territory count by an impressive 170%. The “pooper scooper” brand is growing with both new and existing franchisees, bringing its pet waste removal, deodorization and sanitation services to communities nationwide. Notably, 45 of these territories were awarded to existing franchisees in a six-week span, and Scoop Soldiers is set to launch a territory every Monday through February 1st (excluding major holidays), meaning that all territories awarded this year will be fully operational by the first quarter of 2024.
“To celebrate this growth, we’re putting a lot of time and effort into what we’re calling the Scoop Soldiers TPIG Takeover Tour,” said E.J. McCoy, founder and CEO of Scoop Soldiers. “We’re going on the road to visit our franchise territories, and we’ll be in a fully branded RV with a wrapped Scoop Soldiers truck behind it. We want every pet owner in every single one of our markets across the country to know about us, and we want to celebrate the entrepreneurs that are helping us grow.”
These travels will be beneficial to the entire system, getting the word out about local entrepreneurs who are “TPIG” — turning poop into gold, said McCoy.
“We’re turning poop into gold! And another part of this tour is getting that message out there,” he added. “‘Here’s my story; here’s my American dream!’ We have people making millions from scooping dog shit, my goodness, and we want entrepreneurs to know that that’s a possibility with Scoop Soldiers!”
An Incredible Surge in Internal Demand
Growth with existing franchisees is always a positive indicator of system-wide health, indicating franchisees’ satisfaction with the individuals throughout the franchise system as well as excitement about the success they’ve been able to achieve in their specific territory.
“In September, we had our Scoop Swoop conference, and it was pretty evident that everyone was really happy with how things had been going, and they were hungry for more,” explained Ben Gonzalez, vice president of communications. “We knew that it would be really great if we could kick off 2024 with all of these new expansions, so it became an all-hands-on-deck focus.”
While the franchisees were passionate, executing multiple agreements in what ended up being just six short weeks required the support of many internal teams and hard work from everyone involved. And now, with 46 territories preparing to launch in a couple of months, the team is once again coming together to continue driving the effort forward.
“On the client side of things, we have to make sure that all of the accounts are set up correctly to facilitate a seamless transition so our customers don’t experience any hiccups in their ongoing services, and this is a major undertaking for every single person who played a role in helping that process along,” added Gonzalez. “This whole process has been a really awesome testament to the health of our internal team and their ability to execute big plans in such a short period of time.”
This expansion push includes adding Scoop Soldiers territories in Denver, Colorado Springs, Fort Collins and Boulder, Colorado; San Antonio, Conroe and Houston, Texas; Orlando, Florida; Tulsa, Oklahoma; Greater Kansas City Area; Las Vegas, Nevada; North Carolina; and Nashville and Knoxville, Tennessee.
“There are multiple franchisees who live in one state but will be operating in multiple states around the country with this expansion,” said Gonzalez. “That’s another thing that speaks to the strength of the model, specifically for an owner to be able to operate a profitable business without having to constantly be physically present.”
A Flexible Model Draws Interest from Diverse Groups
Over the course of the year, Scoop Soldiers has awarded both traditional and enhanced territories to a mix of new franchisees, employees-turned-franchisees and existing owners looking to expand. Simply put, everyone loves the model.
“We bring entrepreneurs into the system. We have owners who have multiple businesses, and we have multiple partnership people — franchisees that are partners in this business and each of them are also entrepreneurs in their own right,” explained McCoy. “We’ve got a good, healthy mix of owners and pathways to ownership, and what’s really unique about that is that it’s actually working. This business comes in many sizes and models, and we’re able to meet a nice little niche because of that.”
Scoop Soldiers offers robust franchisee support systems and has an onboarding process that emphasizes franchisees’ ability to run the business in line with the Scoop Soldiers vision, meaning all owners are prepared to provide great service and serve as key players within the franchise system at the time of their launch. Because of this, franchisees are able to understand both their personal “end goals” and those of the brand, and they have the support of the Scoop Soldiers team in establishing and accessing the resources they need to achieve them.
The Future of the “Pooper Scooper”
Pet waste is an unavoidable problem for all pet owners, but many are still unaware that services like Scoop Soldiers’ are available. In many ways, awareness is the largest hurdle for the business as the decision to free up time and outsource the messiest parts of pet ownership is a no-brainer. As this awareness grows, though, excitement is climbing among entrepreneurs who want to get into the very necessary and rapidly growing industry, too.
With new territories popping up weekly, Scoop Soldiers is driving awareness of the industry and encouraging pet owners to ditch their pooper scoopers and call in the professionals. While McCoy admits he is excited to see continued increases in demand, he said the team is staying true to the heart of Scoop Soldiers. Rather than aiming to award or launch a specific number of territories next year, he is focused on healthy, intentional growth.
“We’re in a season where we’re being very selective. We’ve seen a lot of franchisees interested in continued expansion, and we don’t necessarily need to bring on additional owners to continue growing the brand,” he said. “We absolutely want to hear from people who are interested in joining the mission, because there may be a fit, but we’re also focusing a lot of our attention on supporting our existing owners and helping them to succeed as they take these major growth leaps.”
To find out more information on costs to buy this franchise, please visit scoopsoldiersfranchise.com