Zoomin Groomin is joining the Franchise 500 for the first time. It's debuting at No. 280.

John Hewitt is amazed by how much money people will spend on their dogs.

That's saying something, given that Hewitt has some experience with high-networth enterprises. Hewitt cofounded Jackson Hewitt, the tax preparation services empire, and sold it for $483 million. Today, his company Loyalty Brands has seven franchise brands with an eighth in the works, offering everything from construction and tax and accounting services to, yes, pet services-which he says is the "fastest-growing [category] by far."

"I love my tax-preparation industry, but it only grew by 1% a year," he says. "The amount spent on pets has doubled, and it's expected to double again in the next five years."

His mobile pet-grooming brand is Zoomin Groomin, which he acquired in 2021. Back then, the business was about 18 years old, struggling, and had just two franchises and four vans. Now it has 134 units-and is joining the Franchise 500 for the first time, debuting at an impressive No. 280.

"We're bringing in about six to eight new franchises a month, and adding 12 to 14 new vans a month," Hewitt says. "The demand is so great; after you're in business about six months, you're booked three weeks in advance. You need another van, so your business is expanding."

He says that by 2029, he expects Zoomin Groomin to have 3,000 vans in operation-and he plans to build on customer demand across multiple brands. He recently acquired Salty Dawg storefront pet salon and bakery, and is launching a pet waste removal franchise.

The Loyalty Brands franchises share information about customers, he says, giving pet-business franchisees a boost to their sales base.