ALPACA Products Australia (APA) is producing high quality Alpaca pet products and is about to venture into exporting to Japan, where there exists a developing and growing market for pet products.
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According to the Department of Trade, the pet industry in Japan is a real growth industry, with a marked social trend of an increasing number of Japanese people choosing to keep pets at home, particularly dogs and cats.
The Japanese lavish attention on their pets, buying only the best quality products and paying attention to their nutrition and health as well as their comfort.
APA is a working Alpaca farm within the Crookwell town precinct. Susan Reynolds from APA is involved in all aspects “from paddock to product” and is keen to ensure that only quality Alpaca pet products are manufactured for domestic and export markets.
After owning and observing dogs and cats for many years, Susan noted that cats and dogs sleep in different positions and the current flat mattress did not address support for their spines. Susan has designed unique Alpaca filled ergonomic dog and cat mattresses to support the different sleeping positions of dogs and cats.
APA engages with local women from Crookwell and surrounds who can work at their own pace to sew the mattress covers and slips at home. These items form part of Alpaca filled mattresses that are warm, soft and organic making it ideal for providing comfort and support in cooler climates.
In addition to the mattresses, APA has a line of knitted Alpaca Boucle dog jackets with matching scarf or beanie for their owners, aptly named “Pooch & Pal”. These items can be produced by knitters with elementary to intermediate experience and are ideal for the cooler climate markets and city pet owners.
“I have concentrated on producing a quality Australian product range that showcases our rural talent for handcrafted knitwear and have been very impressed with the considerable depth of talent with have locally. With the upcoming opportunity to export, I now need more talent to support this venture and wish to keep it local.”
For those with more confident knitting skills, “Topa the Range” is designer knitwear for small dogs that are enhanced with Swarovsky crystal, pearl, precious stones and sequins that is proving to be suitable for export and for indulged pets domestically.
Each product range requires differing levels of experience from sewing simple straight lines for mattress covers and slips to intermediate sewing skills for the Alpaca sleeping jacket or basic to more confident knitting skills for the knitwear lines. If you can sew or knit, APA would be keen to speak with you and Susan can be contacted on 4832 2907.
