Wild Birds Unlimited Collegeville: A Specialty Store Flying to New Heights

Nestled in the bustling Providence Town Center in Collegeville, you’ll find the charming Wild Birds Unlimited Nature Shop, a bird lover’s paradise.

Designed with a modern and spacious interior, this franchise location has continued to grow since its opening in February 2018.

This specialty store offers a wide selection of products from colorful feeders, varieties of food and accessories.

The shop, however, goes beyond its products to create the ultimate destination for bird lovers, thanks to its welcoming owners, Betsi and Chris Wells.

Betsi Wells’ love for birds has been a lifelong passion. “My sister got me interested in birding years ago. I would go out and go birding with her, particularly when we would go down to Nags Head in the early spring and see migration,” Wells said.

Chris initially did not share the same love for birds as his wife until she gifted him a camera, thereby sparking a new appreciation for her passion.

Since then, it has become a fun routine for both the Wells to observe the wonders of Pennsylvania wildlife in their natural habitat, compiling a shared list of the varieties of birds they have seen.

After over 20 years of working as an IT project manager, Betsi took a risk and turned her hobby into a business. For her, the timing was right and launching the store combined what they truly loved.

“We thought this is a good time to go ahead and do something that’s a little bit risky, starting your own business,” Wells said.

Currently a year and a half in, the Wells’ store continues to increase in sales. With no prior retail experience, working with Wild Birds Unlimited, a national franchise, has been a large help in developing their business. From the integral training to understanding the inner workings of the retail industry, the Wells are adapting to their new lifestyle as business owners.

According to Wells, the store’s most popular item is bird feed. However, they offer many innovative products such as the Eco Tough Bird Feeder made of recycled plastics and Hot Pepper Bird Foods made to discourage bothersome squirrels.

Other products include a variety of unique bird houses, bird feeding stations, advanced pole systems and premium food blends.

They have sales at the beginning of the month and a Daily Savings Club that rewards members with a 15 percent discount on every purchase of bird food among other benefits.

In addition to the retail aspect of their business, the Wells’ reach out to the local community and hold monthly events in-store. Recently, they hosted presentations from the Philadelphia Metro Wildlife Center, John James Audubon Center, the Blue Bird Society of Pennsylvania, and the Elmwood Park Zoo accompanied by Zeplin the Eastern Screech Owl.

Some of their favorite talks however, come straight from Chris Wells himself. With his extensive knowledge on birds, Chris’ segments titled “Bird Bits” contain informational tips and trivia shared on their Facebook.

It is clear that Betsi and Chris’ passion and vast understanding of wildlife contributes to the success of their store.

“I am proud that we were able to get the franchise and get set up…things are going well this year, so we are very proud of that, and hopefully things continue to grow,” Wells said.