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How a Pet Supplement Brand Is Taking Over TikTok Shop — Transcript

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0:00I'm sure you guys are seeing it in the
0:01US side. I stopped being treated like
0:03babies over here.
0:04>> What was your big big breakthrough
0:05moment? Like what was that one moment
0:06where you're like, okay, like we're
0:07really onto something here?
0:08>> We realized that the cat treats are
0:10huge. And this format hasn't changed
0:12much over last, I think, 20 years. And
0:14there's a lot of additives. I'm like,
0:15maybe we can elevate this.
0:17>> With Groomes, you know, a year and a
0:19half in business and then sold for it
0:20was like 1.2 billion dollars.
0:22>> We I traveled the world to find our
0:23manufacturer. I went to New Zealand,
0:25Vermont, South Korea, Thailand. For
0:28every win you get, there's probably like
0:30100 setbacks. And everyone around you is
0:32like, you're you're a bit crazy. But
0:34it's just it's going [music] to take it
0:35takes time and a lot of patience.
0:38>> Just you know, go go go big, go all in.
0:43And back here with episode 7 of the Join
0:46Brands podcast. And we are joined today
0:48by Brian Tsang from Holy Cap. Brian,
0:51really appreciate you hopping on here.
0:52How are you doing?
0:53>> Good. Good. Thank you. Thanks for having
0:55me.
0:55>> Yeah, I know it's been some time. So I
0:56know we met at a at Expo West. It was
0:58you know, walking through the the
1:00endless aisles there and stopped by your
1:01guys' booth. Anything that's pet
1:02related, I'm automatically attracted to.
1:04I've got a I've got a dog and a cat here
1:06at home. So anything pet related, I'll
1:08always worth a visit. And you know, that
1:10conversation turned into a one much
1:12longer than I was originally
1:13anticipating. You know, had a great
1:14conversation with you and your team. Got
1:16a couple samples that I gave to my dog
1:17and they absolutely loved it. And yeah,
1:19I know you guys have your have your
1:20first Join Brands campaign that's up and
1:22running right now. But would love to
1:23talk to you about about your brand. So I
1:24know you guys are are a bit of a newer
1:26brand. So just kind of talk to me and
1:28you know, tell the audience about about
1:30Holy Cap. What was the inspiration
1:31behind that brand? You know, why the pet
1:33space? You know, what was the what was
1:34the motivation behind this?
1:35>> It's been a long long journey so far,
1:38but I'll take you back to the beginning
1:40and see just to let you know where we
1:41came from. So actually, we came from a
1:43branding agency. Um me and my partner,
1:46we ran a branding agency in Hong Kong
1:47for the past 10 years. We worked with
1:49everything from startups to heritage
1:51companies looking for a rebrand to
1:53bigger brands like Lululemon and Porter
1:55looking for like seasonal campaigns. And
1:57then at the same time our pets were
1:59getting older and we were transitioning
2:01them from feeding a very high commercial
2:03based diet recommend by all vets, you
2:05know, feed the kibble, feed the meds.
2:08So then we were transitioning them to
2:10see what we else we can feed them. So
2:11like we wanted to raw, we wanted to
2:13fresh. And then the more we looked into
2:15it, we're like, you know, there's
2:16seriously a lack of good pet food
2:19options and especially in our part of
2:20the world because it's there's a huge
2:22lack of pet food regulations that that
2:24kind of regulate what goes on the shelf.
2:26So we spent a lot of time just looking
2:27at the labels and like what's in this
2:29what's in this bag of food. Determined
2:31that like our pets deserve better and
2:32there should be a brand that actually,
2:34you know, has ingredients and
2:35formulations that benefit our dogs and
2:37cats. And at the same time we're like,
2:39you know, we're seeing that our dogs are
2:41getting older, you know, our pets are
2:42also living very long now compared to
2:44before, but there's not a lot of
2:46commercial food that support longevity
2:48or preventative health. I'm not sure I'm
2:50I'm sure you guys are seeing it and pets
2:52are being treated like babies over here.
2:53Dog prams everywhere. And more and more
2:55so. So like this whole pet humanization
2:58trend is is definitely a huge thing. And
3:00what what's interesting from that is
3:01that a lot of people that are feeding
3:03themselves better like I'm I want
3:05mushroom supplements or I want superfood
3:07supplements. Connecting the dots and
3:08doing the same for their pets. So I'm
3:10like, you know, that's that's an
3:11interesting angle for us. Another side
3:13is like the whole we're seeing a huge
3:15growth in the cat cat ownership in Asia
3:18cuz they're like more and more people
3:19are having cats over dogs. And there's
3:21not as many brands or products out there
3:23that cater to them the cat category. All
3:25that combined and from a branding
3:27perspective we saw that there was like a
3:28huge hole that there's like a space for
3:31a brand that could be loud and fun but
3:33also have clean labels and like
3:34transparent sourcing. So we're like,
3:36okay, maybe maybe let's bite the bullet
3:38and give it a try. So in 2021 we
3:41actually started Holy Cap. We came
3:43across after researching a lot of
3:45different ingredients we came across
3:46functional mushrooms. And this is a
3:48ingredient that we use in a lot of uh
3:50Chinese medicine and in our part of the
3:52world. So we're you know, it could be
3:53easy for us to source and give it a try.
3:55Yeah, so we worked with a holistic vet
3:57and we created our first product line,
3:59which is a small tub. This is like a
4:01functional extract powder, superfood
4:03powder, and green-lipped mussel. And we
4:05created our first product line as a
4:06powdered supplement and you can top it
4:08onto whatever you're eating, just, you
4:10know, enhance their food that way. The
4:11whole angle for what we were trying to
4:14do is how do we integrate healthier
4:16ingredients into our pets? So, adding
4:18functional mushrooms, superfoods, and
4:20clean protein. The main thing is to not
4:22have pet owners change their feeding
4:24habits, change the way that their their
4:26lifestyle is. And that was like it
4:28doesn't that was pretty much the big
4:29hole that we're trying to to bridge.
4:31There's a huge gap between commercial
4:34pet and very high barrier, high entry
4:37points for like holistic food, like raw
4:40raw food, cooked food, fresh food. What
4:41what do you feed your your dogs and
4:43cats?
4:43>> Yeah, so right now my dog is on he's on
4:46a I just give him a Purina Pro Plan.
4:48He's been Thankfully, I got got lucky.
4:50He's like the least picky eater in the
4:52world, so he's been eating that, you
4:54know, three times a day for the last,
4:55you know, four and a half He's on He's
4:57almost five. And then I started putting
4:59I've got one of those like a like a
5:01salmon topper that I put on there just
5:03for some extra, you know, healthy fatty
5:05acids. And then I've been starting him
5:07on like a like a joint supplement. So,
5:09he's kind of getting to that age where,
5:10you know, definitely need to start, you
5:11know, taking you know, taking that a
5:13little bit more seriously. I mean, I
5:14look look out for his health better than
5:15better than I do my own. And then and
5:17then my cat is on um Hill's Hill's
5:20Science Diet, I think it's called. Um
5:22yeah, same thing. He's been been eating,
5:24you know, the same kibble for for years.
5:25But I know there I know there's
5:26obviously, you know, way way better
5:28options out there and that's, you know,
5:30up to me to go out there and find them,
5:32especially living in Austin. This is
5:33like the most friendly the most
5:34pet-friendly city ever. So, you know,
5:37definitely a great place to
5:38>> Yeah, I think that's like in a way
5:40that's that's where we started. So,
5:42like, we were 5 6 years down the line my
5:44dog was having kibble the entire time
5:45and like, what else how can I make it
5:46more interesting for him?" So, I I would
5:48highly recommend adding like
5:49blueberries, eggs, yogurt. Kefir is a
5:51huge Yeah. So, that's that's pretty much
5:53where we started.
5:54>> Yeah, and it all came out of our
5:55product.
5:56>> Mainly for our pets, and then yeah.
5:58>> I I I always love talking to brands that
5:59have more of like a personal story
6:01behind behind behind the start of their
6:03brand. So, as you as you were going
6:04through this, like what was your like
6:06what was your big big breakthrough
6:08moment? Like what was that one moment
6:09where you're like, "Okay, like we're
6:10really onto something here."
6:11>> So, our first product line, the powders,
6:13like we launched this in Hong Kong. We
6:15got into Singapore and Malaysia. Powders
6:17are I would say this is like a
6:18concentrated We've got a lot of good
6:20feedback from pet owners that are like,
6:22"Oh, the skin is great. The poops are
6:23great. This old my old cat is like
6:26eating and jumping around again." So,
6:28we're like, you know, there's something
6:29here with the mushrooms and superfoods.
6:31With this form factor, we're like, you
6:32know, there's there's limitations.
6:35Powders are great and it's fun, but how
6:37do I make this even better? We looked
6:39into the category. I'm like, you know,
6:40how do we elevate this and make it in
6:43more into like a reward-based product
6:45instead of a supplement. So, when we
6:47looked into the treat category, we
6:49realized that the cats cat treats are
6:51huge, and the biggest biggest product in
6:54the cat category are the lickable
6:56treats. That's where I was like, you
6:57know, this format hasn't changed much
7:00over last 20 years, and it's a lot of
7:02additives, synthetics, usually single
7:04protein. But, cats love it. It's like
7:06cat crack. I'm like, how do I like maybe
7:08we can elevate this. What if we pump our
7:10functional mushrooms, superfoods, and
7:11like use nice protein, and just cut out
7:14all the fillers?
7:15That translated to like a whole new
7:17segment of creating a new product line.
7:20We We reached out to Dr. Barbara Royal,
7:22an amazing integrative vet in Boston.
7:24She actually inspired us to start Holy
7:26Cow with her her documentary Pet Fooled.
7:28I highly recommend watching it cuz it's
7:31it really changed our perspective of how
7:33we feed pets and why why we're feeding
7:35them the way we want to feed them. So,
7:36she helped us formulate the products,
7:38and it took us a long time to find a
7:40manufacturer that was willing to create
7:42the product for us from scratch. A lot
7:44of manufacturers that we speak to,
7:45they're like, you know, here's a
7:46templated formula, but you have to use
7:48it because, you know, it has good
7:49results. But, we finally found one,
7:51very, very good one in Thailand, and
7:53they were willing to work hand-in-hand
7:55with us to build it from the ground up,
7:56like our own formulation. But, we
7:58managed to create a product that we're
8:00very happy with. Um so, it's like treats
8:03for dogs and cats, but it's just pumped
8:05with superfoods, functional mushrooms,
8:07and and clean proteins. So, it's it's
8:09been a journey, and that's that's what
8:11we were showcasing in Expo West when
8:13when you had met us. So, so that was our
8:15big entry point for the US market, just
8:18to debut our new product line of these
8:20Ollie Cap Squeezies.
8:21>> It's a that's the place to do it for for
8:23for debut. And if you're if you're going
8:24to do a big, do it as big as you can
8:26with with Expo West. So, yeah, really
8:28glad we we bumped into each other there.
8:30Now, going more on to like the business
8:32side of things, so as you started to to
8:34grow this brand, what did you do to
8:37first like how did how did you first get
8:38your first customers? Were you more
8:39retail focused? Were you more online
8:41focused? Like what was your guys' a
8:43sales strategy as you were getting
8:44started off?
8:45>> Um back in Hong Kong, we were definitely
8:47more retail focused. Now, it's I think
8:49with the US segment is it's a bit
8:51different. We want to go
8:52direct-to-consumer, and and I think
8:55learning from our experience in Hong
8:56Kong, going direct-to-consumer is the
8:58way to go because, you know, you have
9:00more control your customer data, you get
9:02much more direct com- communications
9:04with with your clientele as well. So,
9:07that's that's our main strategy, like
9:09we're on Amazon. Shortly after Expo
9:11West, we're now on Amazon. It's going
9:12well, like things are picking up. We're
9:14very excited for for with the growth.
9:16Next steps is solidifying our TikTok,
9:18getting onto TikTok Shop, and doing
9:20launching our Shopify 3PL. At the same
9:23time, we're talking to brokers and
9:24retailers that might be interested, but
9:26the main main piece for us is how do we
9:28build and build on TikTok?
9:30>> Absolutely. Yeah, I think Tik- TikTok is
9:32is such a huge lever these days. Um so,
9:34I don't know I don't know if if if we
9:35talked about this. I actually come from
9:37a Tik Tok background, so I worked at Tik
9:38Tok shop for for two years starting back
9:40in in 2023. So I've been seeing the
9:43growth and evolution of not only the
9:44platform, but a lot of the brands. Like
9:46seeing some of these these brands that
9:47came on a Tik Tok back in, you know,
9:50early you know, early mid-2023, early
9:522024 and seeing, you know, it it's a
9:54completely new business now. I think
9:56what Tik Tok has done is it's showed
9:58that you can like the kind of
10:00accelerated growth that you can get as a
10:01business in such a short period of time
10:03is very possible. Because with like the
10:06old model before social media, before
10:08social commerce, it was just like super
10:10long, lengthy, you know, took years and
10:12years and sometimes decades to to grow
10:14to, you know, a certain valuation or if
10:16you wanted like to exit and to sell. But
10:18now we just saw with with Grooons, you
10:20know, a year and a half in business. I
10:22think it was like I and and then sold
10:24for it was like 1.2 billion dollars.
10:26Yeah, I mean they're like they were they
10:27were super super heavy in Tik Tok shop,
10:29you know, that was a huge lever for
10:30them. So in terms of Tik Tok becoming,
10:32you know, a priority for you, like how
10:33do you see you guys how do you see Holy
10:35Cap leveraging Tik Tok moving forward?
10:38>> Yeah, it's going to be a big piece for
10:39us. I mean coming from Hong Kong, it's
10:40banned over here. So we never really
10:42used the platform too much or built on
10:44it too much. Our focus more is more on
10:45Facebook and Instagram, but now it's the
10:48whole game has changed. And our
10:50learnings from XTool USA is like no
10:51one's talking about IG anymore. Every
10:53single brand, everyone that we're we've
10:55spoken to, all the up and coming brands,
10:57focus on Tik Tok shop. That's the
10:59biggest thing. Definitely leveraging
11:00that. Um I think like working with you
11:02guys was great. I think you guys have a
11:03great platform to use get UGC content
11:06and that's biggest component for Tik Tok
11:08right now. Especially for our type of
11:10product, you know, who doesn't like
11:11watching their pets use use this and
11:13then and I think pet related content
11:15works really well on on social media as
11:17well. And from what we've been seeing is
11:19that like it's it's a whole new era of
11:22UGC like pet based UGC content creators
11:25coming out. Kind of think that's a huge
11:27huge category.
11:28>> Absolutely. I know but pet talking I
11:29mean that's a majority of my feed right
11:31there. I mean well my dog is a chocolate
11:32lab and I follow all these other
11:34chocolate lab pages and it's just like
11:35just this non-stop of just a bunch of
11:38bunch bunch of little Mavericks on my on
11:40my page. It's a very tight-knit, very
11:41trusting community because obviously
11:43like like you were talking about before,
11:44how people are taking their dog health
11:45much more seriously. And people at the
11:47end of the day, like people aren't
11:49necessarily, you know, listening to TV
11:50commercials. They're listening to each
11:52other. They're listening to, you know,
11:53other pet owners. And TikTok, with how
11:55with how viral and how shareable and how
11:57social and interactive it is, allows pet
12:00owners to to interact with each other.
12:01So, definitely excited for, you know,
12:03for for the campaign you've got with us.
12:04I think that's going to continue doing
12:06well. In terms of what you guys kind of
12:09look for initially, um what are some
12:11things you guys look for with a creator?
12:13Like what is like what is a good video
12:15look like for for your brand?
12:17>> I think coming from like a branding
12:18background, it's even for ourselves, we
12:21have like very high standards in terms
12:22of like appealing with connects with the
12:24audience. But definitely makes a good
12:26video for us is more like if the creator
12:29understands our product and brand and if
12:31they can align themselves with the
12:33narrative, like to tell their story of
12:35how they use a brand or product and why.
12:37Obviously has to be like well-shot,
12:39well-lit, has a good hook and all that
12:41all of the creative aspects of it. But I
12:44think the narrative and storytelling is
12:46is a lot more important these days as
12:48well.
12:48>> Yeah, absolutely. And I know with the
12:50like with the relationship between a
12:52brand and creator, like there's always
12:53kind of like a a debate that you see
12:55back and forth. In terms of in terms of
12:57making the content, like who who kind of
12:59steers the ship? Brands, obviously like
13:01there like there's the brands out there
13:02that want to have like full 100%
13:04hands-on control. They want to control
13:05every single word that gets said. And
13:07then there's some brands that like to
13:08give the creators a little bit more a
13:10little bit more creative freedom and
13:11kind of, you know, let let them go with
13:13it. Because obviously like the creator,
13:14they have they've got their own brand.
13:15They've kind of got their own niche that
13:17you built their audience that their
13:18audience knows them for. I'm so curious
13:20to hear how you've been going about
13:22this. Like how much how much how much do
13:23you like to control the narrative and
13:25how much do you like to kind of give the
13:26creator some freedom to work with it?
13:28>> that's yeah, to be very frank, that's
13:30been one of the the things that we've
13:32been working on as a brand, letting go
13:34of branding. We like having things like,
13:37oh, you know, it has to look this way,
13:38all that stuff. But when it comes to UGC
13:40content, we're very open. We're very,
13:42very open to the creators taking the
13:44lead, like, here's the branding
13:46foundations and go, go run with it. Be
13:48as creative as you like. I think the
13:50creativity aspect of it is something
13:52that we really value as well. I guess
13:54it's always exciting to see what the
13:56creators will come back with, our
13:57foundational prompt. See what you can
13:59make with it and create a fun, fun
14:01video. I would love to see that.
14:02>> At the end of the day, you're hiring a
14:03creator for their creativity. Like if
14:05you just want someone just to, you know,
14:07to read off of a script, I mean, you can
14:08you can hire, you know, you can hire
14:09anybody to do that. Yeah, I know that
14:11that's always tough as a brand. Like you
14:12obviously like you build up your brand
14:14with, you know, a certain a certain
14:15image in mind. You want to make sure
14:16that's represented properly. And I think
14:18there definitely is a balance of making
14:20sure that there is that there are those
14:22points like, hey, like you're like
14:23you're hitting on the key benefits, you
14:24know, you're you're representing, you
14:25know, the product properly, you're
14:27making sure you're going over, you know,
14:28the different, you know, the benefits
14:29that it offers and kind of like hitting
14:31on the main points cuz you do want some
14:32sort of some sort of consistency across
14:34the products making sure that, you know,
14:36are getting articulated in each video,
14:37the way that that's presented. Like I'm
14:39not a creative person at all. I'm very
14:41like I don't know if it's like right
14:42brainer or left brainer, whichever one
14:43is like the mathy numbers, like 1 + 1 =
14:462 kind of stuff. Like that's me. I'm I
14:48don't have a creative bone in my body.
14:49And some of the stuff that you see
14:50creators make is something that I
14:52wouldn't even think of in a million
14:54years. And I think that's I think that's
14:55something that that that brands enjoy,
14:56too, cuz, you know, if it's, you know,
14:58whether it's kind of more like comical
15:00or more, you know, in a in a creative
15:01sense, like whatever whatever it is. I
15:03think there definitely is is some
15:04benefit to kind of kind of letting go to
15:06the creators.
15:07>> Yeah, and it's I would say just like
15:08jumping back to our
15:10the use of your platform, the campaigns
15:11that we're running, we're seeing a huge
15:13range of variety, which is fun. And it's
15:15it's fun because I guess within the pet
15:18category or that pet treat category,
15:20it's fun to see that interaction between
15:22owner and dog, owner and cat, and seeing
15:25how different people interact with their
15:26pets as well.
15:27>> Now in terms of in terms of building
15:29building this brand, obviously there's
15:31there's a lot that goes into building a
15:32brand from zero. As you've been building
15:34this brand, what is something about
15:36building a brand that you might not have
15:38anticipated that was kind of like a
15:39shock?
15:40>> There's a lot of challenges with
15:42building a brand. I think everyone has a
15:45dream vision that they're like, "Oh, I'm
15:47going to make this product and it's
15:48going to go well, like everyone's going
15:50to buy it." But the amount of steps in
15:52between create till you get to that
15:55product, like the amount of iterations
15:57that we had to make to get to the
15:58product or even just like finding the
16:00right ingredients, making sure their
16:02sourcing is good, and the certifications
16:05are right, and then finding the
16:06manufacturer, traveled the world to find
16:08our manufacturer. I went to like New
16:10Zealand, Vermont, South Korea, Thailand,
16:13and there's so many in between that
16:16aren't great. So I think it's finding
16:17the right partners that align with your
16:20values and your brand values as well and
16:22your own core personal values, making
16:24sure you can trust them. There's there's
16:26a lot that I have learned throughout
16:27this journey, but biggest thing is you
16:29have to have like an endless pit of
16:31optimism that and like you just have to
16:33keep pushing forward cuz for every win
16:35you get there's probably like a hundred
16:37setbacks that you will get and everyone
16:39around you is like, "You know, you're a
16:40bit crazy. Like you're risking a lot."
16:42>> Probably one of the most common themes
16:43that I hear talking to like brand
16:45owners, agency owners, entrepreneurs,
16:47like there's there's a couple common
16:48themes that you see across you know,
16:50people who have you know, kind of paved
16:52their own path and started their own
16:53business, brand, agency, whatever it is.
16:55And one of those is kind of like a
16:56healthy amount of for lack of a better
16:58term delusion. It's just like that
17:00there's like that unphased optimism that
17:02like, "Hey, I'm going to get knocked
17:03down a million times, but you know, as
17:04long as I keep getting back up and you
17:06know, whatever something happens, just
17:07know, you know, hey, that's you know,
17:09that's part of business. That's just
17:10part of the day. You know, let's you
17:11know, instead of you know, getting you
17:12letting it consume you, let's figure out
17:14how to you know, get past it and move
17:15forward."
17:16>> Yeah, totally. It's I mean if it was
17:18easy everyone would create an amazing
17:20product, but if you can get through it I
17:22think there's there's a massive reward
17:24on their side, but it just it's takes
17:26time and a lot of patience, a lot of
17:28dedication. But we are I mean a part of
17:31what we're building and what we're
17:32trying to do is I'm out to prove that it
17:34is possible to create a product that is
17:36that has good margins, but at the same
17:38time you're using nature's best
17:40ingredients. It just shows that all the
17:42other brands are out there that are, you
17:44know, making sub par products. Imagine
17:46the margins that they make. It's insane.
17:48Yeah, hopefully hopefully we can do
17:50something big.
17:51>> Speaking of Speaking of margins, that's
17:52one of the kind of the interesting parts
17:53of the conversation that we have around
17:56around TikTok cuz I feel like TikTok
17:57Shop is a very unique sales channel when
17:59it comes to margins cuz obviously like
18:01we all know we all know, you know,
18:01Amazon keeps on increasing their fees,
18:03so they're kind of squeezing margins.
18:05TikTok fees in and of itself aren't that
18:07bad, but there's, you know, there's, you
18:08know, the fees that you have to pay to
18:10to to creators, you know, for a good
18:12campaign you're paying, you know, 15,
18:1420, 25%. So there's definitely, you
18:16know, some fees with TikTok that kind of
18:18that that that kind of stack up. But a
18:20lot What a lot of brands I think I think
18:22missed the mark on, I'm not sure if this
18:23is something you guys are you guys are
18:24doing, but something I want to share.
18:26TikTok is not so much just a commerce
18:28stream, but you're also going to notice
18:30that it's a major market. So a lot of
18:32I've heard a lot of a lot of big brands
18:34talk at massive expos, massive trade
18:36shows talking about how they use TikTok
18:38essentially as kind of like a break even
18:40platform. At the end of the day like
18:41with with the virality of TikTok like
18:43you guys obviously have other streams if
18:44you want to focus on your retail DSC,
18:46the kind of halo effect that you're
18:47going to see from TikTok Shop once you
18:49guys get started on that is something
18:51it's it it's kind of tough to measure,
18:53but I can promise you you're for sure
18:54going to notice that. So I just want to
18:57say like make sure you're ready for
18:58that. You know, you'll see, you know,
18:59Shopify sales will go up, Amazon sales
19:01will go up. A lot of brands that kind of
19:03started on TikTok became, you know, a
19:05TikTok brand and that was able to get
19:07them into, you know, Target, Walmart,
19:09all that. Do you guys have plans on
19:10getting into retail or what is the next
19:122-3 years look like for you guys?
19:14>> I mean, yeah. I think going back to your
19:16point about the TikTok and marketing
19:17spend, I think I do agree like in the
19:19same same sense, you pick your demons,
19:21you pick your battles as well. Like if
19:23you go Shopify direct to consumer, you
19:25don't have social media, you have to
19:26spend a lot of money onto, you know,
19:28digital marketing, all that kind of
19:29stuff, too. And then on the other side
19:31of spectrum, if you're going to Target,
19:33Sprouts, or Whole Foods and stuff, you
19:34have to make sure your product sells.
19:36So, the amount of marketing that you
19:37spend into it is the same if not more.
19:40So, I thought Yeah.
19:41>> Yeah, how do you decide where to go?
19:42>> Yeah, I mean, you just have to figure
19:44out where how to target your demographic
19:46best, I think. So, for us, we have been
19:49We are fairly I would say we're very new
19:50to the US market after debuting in Expo
19:52West in March, but we have big ambitions
19:55and and the the momentum has been
19:56building and we're very excited. Like
19:58Amazon's good. I want to double it down
20:00and strengthen it with TikTok and TikTok
20:03Shop. At the same time, we're talking to
20:05brokers that believe in what we're
20:07doing. I want to get into national
20:09grocers. I feel like
20:10>> So, the angle that we've been kind of
20:12going down is like I would say like
20:14Target, Whole Foods, Sprouts, that kind
20:16of angle would be amazing for us because
20:18what we find is that pet owners are
20:20buying the modern pet pet owners are not
20:22just shopping for themselves, you know,
20:24but they're shopping for their pet as
20:25well. So, if I'm in Whole Foods on in
20:27the supplement aisle looking for
20:28mushroom powders or mushroom
20:30supplements, uh superfood supplements
20:31for myself and I go to the pet aisle, I
20:33see something similar like, oh, you
20:35know, it'd be a much less hesitation to
20:37try that for my pet. Because I would say
20:39the level of
20:40>> knowledge and understanding of pet
20:42wellness and nutrition for the modern
20:44pet owner today is is crazy. They feed
20:46their pets better than they feed
20:47themselves. They're looking at the
20:49ingredient list much more carefully than
20:52for the food that they feed themselves,
20:54you know. That's that's been the
20:55the direction that we've been trying to
20:57take. We're we're a very very early on.
20:59So, I'm more than happy to have these
21:01conversations just like to see how we
21:02can build and expand in the US.
21:05>> Yeah, absolutely. And and you and I will
21:06continue to work together, especially as
21:07you get rolled out on Tik Tok. I would
21:09say like working with a brand that is
21:11brand new Tik Tok shop like that excites
21:13me so much just because there's so many
21:15like there's so many creative avenues
21:16you can go down in terms of like create
21:18like creating social proof. Like Tik Tok
21:20the cool thing about Tik Tok shop now
21:21versus a couple years ago is like back
21:23when I first started there it was like a
21:25total wild wild west. Like no one really
21:27knew how it worked. No one really knew
21:28how to grow. You know, you know, someone
21:30would get a viral video and then
21:31suddenly you know, they're selling
21:32online courses saying you know, I oh,
21:34I'm you know, the Tik Tok shop expert
21:36and I've got my own thoughts about it,
21:37you know, those course sellers, but but
21:39with Tik Tok shop now has enough social
21:41proof, has enough case studies and has
21:43enough, you know, platform credibility
21:45where there's much more of a a refined,
21:47you know, cold start strategy. So we'll
21:49we'll we'll definitely be be working
21:51with you guys very very closely hand in
21:52hand with that because I think this is
21:54something that can definitely be be
21:55really big. There's still a lot of
21:57opportunity on Tik Tok shop for brand
22:00like there we we've got a like there's a
22:01there's a bunch of brands. I'm sure you
22:02know the ones that are that are selling
22:04on Tik Tok right now, but there's really
22:05there there's definitely still a lot of
22:07opportunity for for new players to come
22:09in and really take a big part of the
22:10market share. So I definitely see this
22:12being being one of those. So you know,
22:13we're kind of coming up on on our time
22:15here. Just had one final question here
22:17from my end. If you had a message that
22:19you'd give right now, if there's someone
22:20watching right now who is looking to
22:22start a brand or is you know, thing is
22:24in the works of it in the very early
22:26stages, what's one piece of advice that
22:28you would give to someone starting a
22:29brand?
22:30>> I'd say go big. Make your mistakes early
22:32and just keep going. Go for the biggest
22:34market, I think. For us, we were so
22:36focused on perfecting the product and
22:38perfecting the brand. And then we we did
22:41our test pilot was in Hong Kong, but I
22:43think if we launched in the US from the
22:45get-go, I think it'd be a different
22:47story, but it's all learning. The
22:48biggest thing is just believing in
22:49yourself and go big cuz any hesitations
22:52will set you back. And if you're not
22:53100% in it, people will feel it.
22:55Customers will feel it. It shows in your
22:57brand and product as well.
22:58>> Absolutely. I feel like I feel like Tik
23:00Tok Tik Tok users have become like as
23:02people have been been on the platform
23:04longer and have seen you know brands
23:05come in and out. I feel like people can
23:07much more easily tell which brands are
23:09authentic versus one that just kind of
23:11like threw together an idea on chat GPT
23:13and are just in it just to you know make
23:14a quick buck and get out. So I feel like
23:16there's definitely more of a more of a
23:18more more of a desire for those those
23:20authentic brands with you know good
23:21quality products, a good story, like a
23:23good cause behind it. So I I think you
23:25guys you guys definitely fit that.
23:26>> Authenticity aspect is a big thing
23:29nowadays. Like especially with AI,
23:30right? Like what we're seeing brands
23:31like I feel like people are getting a
23:33bit exhausted with AI seeing AI content,
23:37AI captions, all that kind of stuff.
23:39That's why I think UGC is huge. I think
23:40it's it's not going to go anywhere. If
23:42If anything it's it's only going to grow
23:44cuz people want to see how authentic
23:46people are or like their real reactions,
23:48use cases, and whatnot. So it's it's an
23:51exciting I think it's an exciting era.
23:53Navigate it properly is it'll be huge.
23:56>> Absolutely. I love that. Yeah, just you
23:57know go go go big, go all in, be
24:00confident, and and don't look back. It's
24:02It's It's easy to write an idea out on a
24:03board and you know talk about stuff with
24:04your friends, but actually taking action
24:06and you know taking that first step and
24:08and not being afraid to to fall flat on
24:09your face is that's how you make it.
24:11>> I know a lot of people that have like
24:13great ideas, but you know taking the
24:14plunge is is not easy.
24:16>> Well, definitely excited to see to see
24:17the continued growth of of Holy Cap. You
24:19know you you me you and the team will
24:21will continue to work very closely
24:22together on on your current campaign and
24:24any kind of future campaigns. You know
24:25I'm excited to to work hand in hand with
24:27you and in helping you guys go. Well,
24:29Brian really appreciate that you hopping
24:30on. Hope you have an awesome rest of
24:31your day and we'll we'll chat real soon.
24:33Awesome. Thanks, Brian.

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