Happy Sunday everyone! I think most can agree it has been a challenging few months in a number of ways, but the sun is finally shining again, and there is some light at the end of the tunnel with regards to restrictions. This, along with some exciting happenings at Buddy Bites HQ made it seem a good a time as any to scribble together a founder’s update!
First and foremost, we are incredibly excited to announce that we are now covering all of Paws Guardian’s food needs! This has happened incredibly quickly, which obviously we’re happy with as it means we are growing quickly, but equally important, enables us to add another shelter which we are now extremely excited to say is Sai Kung Stray Friends Foundations (SKSFF)!!! Had you told us when we launched 18 months ago that we would be donating over 2.5 tons of food per month by this point, we would have quit our corporate jobs a lot sooner, but hindsight is 20/20 and running away from a salary is a lot scarier than podcasts make out! We are hugely proud to be in this position now though, and the blue-sky dream of feeding all of Hong Kong’s shelters is beginning to look much more realistic!
We are growing in more ways than one, with a couple of team members being added in the immediate future. Kate is joining us in April to head up our performance marketing. You probably get pestered by our ads already (sorry, not sorry), Kate is coming on board to ensure we do this in a way that benefits everyone. This likely means many more cute dogs coming to a screen near you. She will also be driving some further marketing campaigns to help us get both our mission, and our name out there!
Our next joiner brings excitement in a number of ways. Laura-Anne will be joining us to head up our marketing and ops in…. wait for it… SINGAPAW! Buddy Bites is going international!! We are aiming to launch in summer, although we are just waiting to finalise a few things before we confirm official launch date and begin to speak to shelters to formalize our first partnership! If any of you have any thoughts or contacts that would be useful within the dog shelter community in Singapore (or know anyone that might like to try Buddy Bites!!), we would massively appreciate any intros! Laura-Anne, as well as being the perfect candidate to launch Buddy Bites in Singapore, is also mum to a Huskey and a Samoyed whom are nothing short of glorious. Expect to see a good bit more of them! She will not be alone though as Co-Founder, Chris, will be relocating with Emily, Nacho & Nala to launch our second country.
Constantly in the background we are trying to find suitable products to bring into the Buddy Bites portfolio. Our poo bags, treats and dental sticks have all gone down well, and the lamb & rice recipe has had glowing reviews. Next on the list is a fish recipe with a low grain content. This is in testing currently, with hopes to launch in the next few months. Alongside this we have a few more things up our sleeves.
As you may have seen, we have moved offices to a space within The Hive in Kennedy Town. Restrictions have gotten in the way slightly, but it has provided a nice home so far, and is 3 meters away from The Hive’s photo studio, which gives us a perfect excuse to invite our customers over for our version of Zoolander. The Hive’s team have been very welcoming and so far, our neighbours have been very accepting of the barking.
Hong Kong is hard work at the moment but let’s all keep our fingers (and paws) crossed that the sun will continue to shine, and we can look forward to a warm and less restricted summer ahead!!
All the best,
Ryan, Chris & the Buddy Bites Team
