Puptails - Behind the brand

Behind The Brand

PupTails

Tell us a bit about yourself

A little about me; my name is Shannon, I hail from Sydney’s Northern Beaches but have been living in Hong Kong the past 4 years. I’m a tech recruiter by day and maker of dog cocktails by night (sometimes during the day too) My partner, Glyn is from the UK and is a rugby player/trader/Puptails CFO.

What made you start your company?

Glyn I were having a few drinks out with our pooch, Charlie, and we joked that there were no drink options for dogs besides water. We started googling ‘dog cocktails’ and realised that, aside from a few companies making dog wine and beer, there were no cocktail options for pets, and certainly nothing being sold in bars or restaurants around Hong Kong. From there we started brainstorming some ways to make a fun, healthy option for pets and decided to use chicken broth as a base due to its abundance of vitamins and minerals, and thus Puptails was born!

Tell me about your product and brand?

Our products are chicken broth-based, using hormone-free Australian chicken and flavoured with home made food colouring from natural ingredients. We don’t add salt, garlic, onion, preservatives or any ingredients traditionally found in human-friendly broth which can be harmful to pets. We make everything in small quantities and ensure Charlie (our Chief Tasting Officer) tries and approves every batch that goes out.

What struggles have you faced when starting up a business?

The struggle and, I suppose the strength we’ve had as a brand, is that we don’t (currently) have any competitors. We’ve really had to figure everything out along the way and most of it has been a lot of trial and error!

How did you get over them?

I feel really lucky to be in Hong Kong where there is a huge sense of community and in spite of any challenges we’ve had, there’s always been someone that we could go to for advice or just bounce ideas off whenever we felt stuck.

Any advice for others just getting started?

My advice would be, whatever it is, just get started! We put so much pressure on ourselves to make something perfect right from the outset, and that can feel overwhelming. Start with small steps, mess up, learn from it, and recalibrate. Progression is more important than perfection.

Do you have a favourite quote?

I remember reading a quote from Steve Jobs many years ago and it really stuck with me, “the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking.

Don’t settle. As with all matters of the heart, you’ll know when you find it” Ideas can come to you in the most unusual ways, I’ve known for the longest time that I wanted to run my own business but had no clue where to start. If you believe you have a great idea, you’re halfway there.

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