Barking Up The Right Tree

Nov 29

Retired? No way. Thanks to her love for doggos, the re-energised Sarah Chua merged decades of corporate experience and her passion for furry companions to create Barkaberry.

“Zorro is my loyal companion and baby. He’s helped me understand not only the needs of a pet parent, but also the pet’s needs itself.”

These are the words uttered by Sarah Chua, 60, pawrent of Zorro the mini poodle and the business owner of Barkaberry.

Fuelled by her love for her dog, Sarah launched Barkaberry at the end of 2022. It’s a pet gear store with a mission to support pawrents in giving their fur babies the best quality of life possible through pet accessories that don’t break the bank.

“I realised the importance of equipping my dog with the right accessories to integrate his lifestyle with mine,” Sarah said, while also sharing her difficulties in finding premium accessories that met her needs back then. But this all changed when she stumbled across an opportunity that kickstarted everything. “When I found a supplier in Korea looking to enter the Singaporean market with products that fulfill gaps in the market, I thought it was a fateful opportunity to turn my passion into a business,” she said.

“I realised the importance of equipping my dog with the right accessories to integrate his lifestyle with mine.”

She said, “Korean pet products are known for their style and quality. With a population of 50 million people consisting of many dog lovers, Korean customers are discerning and have high expectations. Their pet industry is also very competitive and developed.” Thanks to this, Sarah was able to identify a middle ground — high-quality, yet affordable pet gear.

But what makes Barkaberry stand out?

“Zorro has his own unique personality. I want to create something customisable to allow me to help him express himself.”

Before she knew it, Barkaberry was already forming itself based on her needs and desires to give Zorro the best life he could get via customisable pet gear!

Barkaberry’s First Steps

“Zorro is my Chief Product Officer. Every product is road-tested before it makes it to the storepage, so I get feedback from Zorro on each item’s performance.” She also sent the products to friends and family members who have pets, gathering insightful feedback from them.

*Zorro wearing a customised slim harness from Barkaberry*

Furry customers wearing harnesses from Barkaberry

If a product doesn’t fly with testers, Sarah scraps it and looks for different products to bring in. “The good thing about being a small business is that order quantities aren’t big. If something doesn’t work, I can always pivot.”

Starting from the Bottom

“Before starting Barkaberry, I told myself to do two things: stay agile, and stay humble.”

Sarah came from a corporate career, with over 30 years’ of work and leadership experience in sales, marketing and retail in telecommunications and technology industries. She’s familiar with what corporate backing can do. But starting out on her own, without the manpower, finances and connections that a corporation provides, she had to get her stuff together. That was the harsh reality that Sarah realised she was in when she started her brand.

*Barkaberry’s booth at PetExpo Fiesta 2025*

“Before starting Barkaberry, I told myself to do two things: stay agile, and stay humble.” Sarah said, recalling the early days of her business.

“If something doesn’t work out, I have to find a solution, fast.” Sarah shared as she recalled a challenge she faced during Barkaberry’s launch. “As a new brand that has yet to build brand trust, customers found it difficult to purchase from my website,” Sarah explained. Thanks to her quick thinking, she was able to resolve this by implementing an exchange and refund system on website orders, which helped her build trust with her customers quickly!

Beyond agility, Sarah reminded herself, “I have to roll up my sleeves and stay humble.” She had to start everything from scratch. “It wasn’t easy forming new connections,” she shared while also adding that building Barkaberry’s connections from the ground up required her to have an active presence in the pet community at events, and interacting with potential brand partners like other brands or pet influencers. Sometimes, she’d even host giveaways together with three or four other brands!

“Thanks to past contacts, it’s much easier to look for contractors and advertising agencies. Some of my contacts also offer helpful advice,” Sarah shared, reflecting on her time in the corporate world.

The Plunge

Furthermore, she learned the hard way of obtaining a booth at pet events. “It was very jialat, you’re not on anybody’s list and don’t have knowledge of industry events,” Sarah said while laughing. She scrambled to apply for every event, asking every one she met in the industry to find out about upcoming events.

Sarah explained, “Smaller events tend to rely on by-invite participation, so new businesses may have a tough time getting a spot. But larger-scale events like PetExpo have higher awareness, so they are more open to welcoming up-and-coming startups.”

Two years on, Barkaberry now gets invites, even to small events!

“We’ve participated in One Holland Village’s events three times now, so we’ve managed to secure invites from them,” Sarah shared with happiness.

Corporate Experience Meets Entrepreneurship

Despite her corporate background, Sarah said that entrepreneurship is an entirely new endeavour for her. She has to stay on her toes to pivot anytime. “I’ve had to accept that despite my age and experience, I still have a lot to learn. Life-long learning is very important to me,” Sarah admitted.

*Barkaberry’s booth at One Holland Village’s Weekend Christmas Market 2024*

*Sarah fitting a customer for its harness at Barkaberry’s PetExpo booth*

“The only difference between a young entrepreneur and me is our age.” Sarah laughed as she quipped. “I have experiences and business skillsets to leverage, as well as financial stability I’ve achieved that allows me to take risks. Whereas, youth entrepreneurs may not be able to afford these risks,” Sarah stated matter-of-factly.

“At the end of the day, I’m just as new to setting up a business as anybody.”

Barkaberry in the Big ‘25

What’s ahead for Barkaberry? Sarah is proud to share that the business has secured exclusive distribution rights within Singapore, and partnered with a leading Korean pet supplies brand! Thanks to Barkaberry’s reputation of 4.9 stars and above across three online platforms, it has grown to become a regular brand name at pet events, as well as a popular brand among Millennials and Gen Zs.

Not only has Barkaberry’s popularity grown, it has also expanded its market to cats! To Sarah’s surprise, she’s seen the popularity of her products among cat owners. “At recent events, I’ve had lots of customers shop for harnesses for their cats,” she exclaimed as she shared pictures she took of adorable kitties trying on her products, including a beautiful Bengal cat who became a returning customer!