Hello to Vanillapup at Cluny Court!

The first brick-and-mortar store of Vanillapup, the popular online resource for pet lovers, is finally here! Co-founder SARAH CHONG tells us all about it.

-  CHERRY LAI

What’s the origin story of Vanillapup?

Vanillapup started a decade ago because of our first dog, Latte, a West Highland Terrier. My husband Lionel and I got her from an unethical puppy mill breeder. She was malnourished and had very bad tear stains. We also found out that she had luxating patella (a congenital condition of floating kneecap) on both hind knees and itchy skin.

With my background in advertising, I started a blog as a diary for Latte. It was a light-hearted project until Latte needed surgery for her luxating patella. I tried researching online and while there were articles on the condition by overseas veterinarians, I couldn’t find much information on the caregiving aspect. So, I decided to document her pre- and post-surgery experiences to help others.

As our readership grew, we started receiving comments and emails from dog parents both in Singapore and overseas. They were grateful for a fellow dog parent’s perspective that’s relatable and comforting. With this increased readership, I wanted Vanillapup to be a trusted resource with perspectives beyond my own. I started to invite veterinarians and trainers to share their expertise on the blog.

More and more people started asking us where to buy the products we recommend. So, in December 2018, we launched our curated online pet supplies store. In a crowded market with thousands of similar products, people trust us to do the filtering for them. We are constantly listening to our customers and learning from industry experts to ensure our curation is always relevant and up to date.

Why did you decide to expand Vanillapup from an online resource to having a physical store?