Latest / Beyond Fulfillment Podcast / She Bet Everything on Puptique: Courtney Honda's Unlikely Pet Retail Empire

Transcript

She Bet Everything on Puptique: Courtney Honda's Unlikely Pet Retail Empire · Beyond Fulfillment Podcast

• 0:00
  Foreign.
• 0:06
  Courtney Honda, welcome to Beyond Fulfillment.
• 0:09
  Thanks for having me, Dave.
• 0:11
  Yes, thanks so much for being here.
• 0:13
  I, as we we spoke off camera, I was so excited to talk to you today.
• 0:19
  So, Courtney, you are the, the co founder and the president of Puptique, which is a company that's a few years old and is making some serious waves in the pet retail space.
• 0:32
  So if you could just, just set the stage for our listeners and tell us what is Puptique and, and how it got started.
• 0:39
  Well, we're a dog boutique and we celebrate the special bond with your dog.
• 0:43
  We started back in 2023 and it started just as an online passion business.
• 0:48
  I wanted to do something in honor of our dog.
• 0:51
  Oh.
• 0:51
  Who's still alive, but he went through a traumatic medical experience.
• 0:55
  He had flatlined in the hospital.
• 0:57
  And after he was revived, we just realized that special bond we had with him and it kind of related to all the other humans who have special bonds with their dogs too.
• 1:07
  So from starting on, the online business decided to open a brick and mortar store.
• 1:12
  When my husband and I got married, we decided that we had a special surprise or he made an announcement at our wedding that in nine months we were going to have a special surprise.
• 1:22
  Little did we know that special surprise was opening up a brick and mortar store.
• 1:26
  So fast forward, that's what sprung into opening our first Poptique, which is located in Temecula, California.
• 1:33
  Okay.
• 1:34
  Wow.
• 1:34
  So, so, so much to unpack just in that short little intro.
• 1:37
  Wait, so when he makes the announcement, did you know what he was talking about at the, at the wedding?
• 1:43
  No.
• 1:44
  No idea.
• 1:45
  But he surprised everyone.
• 1:47
  So this was the speech after we cut the cake and we're saying our.
• 1:52
  And we said, we have a big surprise in nine months.
• 1:54
  And immediately our family members and even our friends looked at us because in nine months you think it's going to be a baby or something.
• 2:03
  And it just happened to be Puptique.
• 2:05
  But we were getting text messages and calls after what is the surprise?
• 2:11
  And actually we got married in February and the store opened in November.
• 2:18
  So.
• 2:18
  So it was actually that nine month time frame.
• 2:20
  Believe it or not.
• 2:21
  It actually we manifested it.
• 2:23
  We got back from Hawaii because we had our wedding in Hawaii, and we started looking at locations and by April, come September, we were already in a lease and we opened up within 60 days.
• 2:38
  Wow.
• 2:38
  So he said nine months, just kind of almost arbitrarily.
• 2:42
  Right.
• 2:42
  But yet you, you actually opened within nine months.
• 2:46
  Nine months.
• 2:46
  And we talked about it, but it was nothing serious to the point that we were really going to do this and open up a brick and mortar store.
• 2:54
  It was a few months before that when I just started the online business for, you know, in honor or to celebrate that special bond with the dogs via more Japanese products and online products, not in the sense of
• 3:06
  having a whole entire store for dogs.
• 3:10
  Okay.
• 3:11
  All right.
• 3:11
  And I mean, you mentioned this in the very beginning.
• 3:14
  I just got to dig into this because this sounds incredibly dramatic, traumatic, but what is it like when you're.
• 3:19
  When your dog flatlines in the hospital?
• 3:22
  I mean, I can only imagine, right?
• 3:24
  Like, does.
• 3:25
  Was it an accident or like a.
• 3:26
  Some kind of medical emergency?
• 3:28
  Had a rush from the hospital?
• 3:29
  Yes.
• 3:30
  So he was going in and out of urgent care visits for quite a while, and none of the doctors could pinpoint what exactly it was.
• 3:37
  He was super lethargic.
• 3:38
  He wasn't eating.
• 3:40
  He wouldn't even move to the point where I thought he was dying, like, right in front of me.
• 3:46
  It was.
• 3:46
  It was so devastating.
• 3:48
  And finally we took him to the hospital, one of the emergency rooms in near where we're at.
• 3:54
  And I'm at work and I got a call and saying, hey, like, you know, your dog just fly.
• 3:57
  Like, can we revive him?
• 3:59
  And I immediately said, yes, of course.
• 4:00
  Like, of course.
• 4:02
  And they did.
• 4:03
  So he did survive that.
• 4:05
  And finally we did a bunch of tests.
• 4:07
  And with the power of social media, I had posted about his story, and it was actually someone from a different country that told me to do some tests.
• 4:17
  And it just happened to be those tests that led him to the diagnosis, which is what he has now, which is Addison's disease.
• 4:25
  But it was a lot of just hard nights and a lot of crying on my end to figure out what was actually going on with him.
• 4:35
  Okay, wow.
• 4:36
  All right.
• 4:36
  And then that whole experience spawned this business, right?
• 4:40
  Your husband's on board, you get married, he makes.
• 4:42
  Makes the announcement.
• 4:44
  Like you said, you kind of manifested the opening within nine months.
• 4:47
  So you start this.
• 4:49
  This, I guess you will call this Pup Pup or dog boutique, right?
• 4:53
  Which is like a specialty experience type of retail environment.
• 4:58
  So talk about what you finally get it up and running.
• 5:01
  What happens next once you launch the business?
• 5:04
  Well, everything happened so fast.
• 5:06
  Literally, it felt like everything was happening in the blink of an eye and you couldn't even grasp everything that was happening.
• 5:12
  We opened our doors before that.
• 5:15
  We were doing little pop ups along the way, but it happened so fast that as soon as we opened the doors, we had a community and we had people shopping with us, which turned into the idea of, let's
• 5:26
  create A membership out of it.
• 5:28
  So when we officially and originally started Puptique, it didn't have the membership aspect.
• 5:32
  It was just coming in for the experience.
• 5:35
  And we put everything our dog likes.
• 5:37
  So there's a pup bar, so.
• 5:38
  So an actual dog bar just for dogs.
• 5:41
  So we have dog beer, dog wine.
• 5:42
  We have a little bar set up on the bottom.
• 5:44
  We have a photo area, we have a dog house, we have ball pits.
• 5:48
  So it's really around the whole celebration of celebrating that special bond with your dog.
• 5:53
  But because of everything our dogs liked.
• 5:59
  And so that stemmed from creating the membership, bringing in the community.
• 6:03
  And from there it started to grow more than just that brick and mortar store.
• 6:08
  It became a community within a community.
• 6:11
  And then it grew.
• 6:12
  And we have members now all over the country.
• 6:15
  Okay, so members all over the country, but now you're physically in California.
• 6:19
  So they basically they'll come in just to visit the Puptique.
• 6:23
  Is that kind of what happens?
• 6:24
  Yes.
• 6:25
  So anyone can shop with us.
• 6:26
  And that's what separates us, that we do have the opportunity for anyone who's popping in.
• 6:33
  We're in wine country.
• 6:34
  So our first location is in wine country.
• 6:35
  It's in Temecula, California.
• 6:36
  So we have a lot of snowbirds and a lot of people traveling from out of town.
• 6:40
  So our membership is designed for people who are physically there for them to attend events, as well as to get the discounts on our products and be a part of that community.
• 6:50
  But then it's also designed for people who are traveling and all over the country to still get the benefits, which are the discounts in this, in this aspect.
• 6:58
  And it gets shipped anywhere, no matter if you're in.
• 7:03
  We have members in New York, we have members in Hawaii, we have members in Indiana, even Texas.
• 7:08
  So it's great to see a community not only in the Temecula area, but say, hey, I'm a part of Puptique and even if I'm in New York, I can still get the perks when I'm there or even remotely.
• 7:21
  Okay.
• 7:22
  Wow.
• 7:22
  Love that.
• 7:23
  So like you said, everything happens so fast when you're growing and scaling this business, right?
• 7:28
  Because the pet industry, it's a multi billion dollar industry and industry and I'm sure we all know people spend serious money on their pets and absolutely geek out over their pets like so you see that all the time.
• 7:42
  Right.
• 7:42
  But as you're right, it's a very competitive space as well.
• 7:46
  So as you're growing and scaling this brand new concept, brand new company, like what was the advertising and marketing like?
• 7:52
  Like how'd you get the word out?
• 7:55
  Well, at first it was just from word of mouth of the community and referrals and people talking about it.
• 8:02
  We really didn't have a social media presence prior to even opening the doors because it happened so fast.
• 8:08
  And then it became a viral effect in terms of people sharing and talking about it through social media, coming to the store, posting about it.
• 8:18
  So we focus less on the UGC concept and more on the CG C concept.
• 8:24
  So the customer generated content.
• 8:27
  So a lot of when the customers come in, they have, they take a picture or a video of their dog at the photo bar and then that spreads to other dogs coming in when they're in town or people
• 8:37
  coming out of their way to drive, whether that be one hour or two hours or even longer to come and even have birthday celebrations with for their dog.
• 8:46
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• 9:28
  Wow.
• 9:29
  Okay, so the dog birthday parties, that's a big thing there.
• 9:31
  Okay, you mentioned dog beer there earlier.
• 9:34
  So did the, do the dogs actually like, like get like intoxicated?
• 9:39
  Like it's not alcoholic beer but it's.
• 9:44
  We have dog beer, we have dog tequila, we have dog wine and they get, they get buzzed on just happiness.
• 9:53
  That's the best way to put it.
• 9:55
  They can come up to the pup bar, the human can choose.
• 9:59
  We have a rotating menu every single week.
• 10:01
  So the pup bar itself is completely free for customers.
• 10:04
  We have a rotating menu of dog friendly whipped cream and also different treats as toppers.
• 10:10
  And then we also have the other aspect where we serve the dog wine, dog beer, dog tequila, dog bourbon.
• 10:16
  It's just really depending on their humans preference of what they want to serve their dog that day.
• 10:23
  Okay, all right.
• 10:25
  So when you're, when you're growing and scaling this because I mean again, you just launched in 23, we're in 26 and we're going to talk about kind of the new direction you're heading and, and really experience some phenomenal
• 10:36
  growth and some other awards.
• 10:37
  But when you're just getting starting out, too.
• 10:39
  Was there any challenging times where you.
• 10:41
  You thought about giving up?
• 10:44
  Oh, almost every single day.
• 10:46
  I think we opening up a brick and mortar store is a lot harder than I had ever imagined.
• 10:52
  And it's not something that I look back at and I regret because I don't regret anything at all.
• 10:59
  It's been a great learning experience, and I'm so happy we've come this far.
• 11:03
  But when we were in it and we were going through the day to day, we live about an hour and a half away from our actual brick and mortar.
• 11:11
  So we were driving almost every single day when we first opened.
• 11:15
  Back and forth.
• 11:16
  We one that's so tiring, especially when you're there from the time it opens to the time it closes.
• 11:21
  And then also that turnaround, not giving enough time to just sleep because you're worried about so many other things.
• 11:28
  Making sure that, you know, the daily operations, rent's covered, employee wages are covered, and just making sure the store is to the best standard of products.
• 11:39
  So for the first, I want to say, year, it was just like a.
• 11:43
  In a way, you kind of feel like a hamster in the wheel, to be honest.
• 11:46
  It's every single day trying to find the best solutions to keep it, keep it going.
• 11:50
  I remember at one point I even pawned my wedding ring.
• 11:56
  So this is a full circle moment because we were just trying to figure it out.
• 12:03
  And at the time I really thought about quitting.
• 12:06
  My husband and I were like, you know what, let's just move on.
• 12:09
  It's okay.
• 12:09
  We try.
• 12:10
  Let's reopen somewhere else where it will make sense and our quality of life is a little better.
• 12:15
  But we're like, no, we've built this community and we're going to make this work.
• 12:20
  So I decided to pawn in my ring to have enough capital to cover rent, to cover payroll, and to cover inventory during the holiday season.
• 12:33
  And on the positive note, though, after getting through that six months, my husband got the ring back.
• 12:41
  So that was like the full circle moment that if sometimes you have to sacrifice and sometimes you have to do things that you never imagine you would do because you believe in something so much.
• 12:53
  And yeah, that's my story.
• 12:54
  I pawned in my ring to keep the business alive.
• 12:58
  Okay.
• 12:58
  Wow.
• 12:58
  So I've interviewed hundreds of entrepreneurs.
• 13:01
  I've never heard a story like that.
• 13:02
  So, I mean, what.
• 13:03
  What was like.
• 13:05
  Because I get, okay, you're newlyweds, you're in this business together, you're committed.
• 13:10
  Right?
• 13:11
  So, I mean, I.
• 13:12
  But I can't imagine that was an easy conversation between you two where you made the decision to do that, Right.
• 13:17
  No, you know what?
• 13:18
  It was actually my idea.
• 13:20
  We ran through so many scenarios, and I'm super blessed and that my husband was on board with it.
• 13:28
  It's a beautiful diamond ring, and it was more of a motivation that if we're making this commitment, we're making this together, and we are going to find a way to get this back.
• 13:39
  And it was a temporary solution for a bigger picture.
• 13:43
  And looking back at it, there were a lot of, you know, tears along the way and just frustrations and just a lot of back and forth if this was the right thing to do.
• 13:53
  And I think looking back at it now, it was the right thing and we did the right thing.
• 13:59
  It was just a matter of getting through all of that.
• 14:02
  Okay.
• 14:02
  And then how did.
• 14:03
  It was my idea.
• 14:04
  A lot of people.
• 14:06
  It wasn't your husband.
• 14:07
  No, it was my idea.
• 14:09
  Wow.
• 14:10
  Well, and then how did he get it back?
• 14:15
  He.
• 14:15
  He bought it back.
• 14:16
  Oh, he just went back to, like, the pot.
• 14:18
  The pawn shop.
• 14:19
  Yeah.
• 14:19
  Whatever it was.
• 14:20
  Okay.
• 14:21
  Wow.
• 14:22
  Wow.
• 14:22
  Incredible.
• 14:23
  We took a loan against the ring.
• 14:25
  Okay.
• 14:26
  Enough to cover the.
• 14:28
  Oh, okay.
• 14:30
  All right.
• 14:30
  And then you went.
• 14:33
  Wow.
• 14:33
  Yeah.
• 14:34
  What.
• 14:34
  What a.
• 14:35
  What a bet on yourself.
• 14:36
  And what a great story that you got it back.
• 14:38
  And like you said, looking back on it now, you said it was the right thing to do, but, boy, that's a tough decision in the moment, especially.
• 14:45
  When you have a timeline, because they only give you a short amount of time if you really want that back.
• 14:51
  Right.
• 14:51
  So we had to make sure whatever we did, we made it work.
• 14:55
  And.
• 14:56
  And we did.
• 14:57
  So that was in the positive of everything now.
• 15:01
  And it's just a story to be shared.
• 15:04
  Looking back at everything now.
• 15:06
  Yeah.
• 15:06
  Wow.
• 15:07
  So, like, you shared.
• 15:08
  Right.
• 15:08
  You're going through this tough.
• 15:09
  It's a retail store.
• 15:10
  You're brand new at this starting out.
• 15:14
  You feel like you're giving up or you want to give up.
• 15:17
  Many times, like, what did I do?
• 15:19
  What did we do?
• 15:20
  Right.
• 15:20
  You're having those type of mental conversations, but you grit through it when.
• 15:24
  What was the inflection point where things really started to take off.
• 15:29
  For us?
• 15:30
  I think it was just.
• 15:33
  It was more.
• 15:34
  More or less believing in it.
• 15:36
  It was more so putting more effort where we were seeing the return.
• 15:42
  And that's investing more in our.
• 15:45
  Our employees, investing more in our community, in our members, and providing the best hospitality that we could.
• 15:54
  That's what really separated us from the rest.
• 15:57
  And after winning Pet retailer of the year, in the US in 2025, that really propelled us forward, and it really made us be a little bit more confident in what we're offering.
• 16:09
  And also on the other end, it didn't make us comfortable, and it hasn't made us comfortable.
• 16:13
  If anything, it's continued to push us to do better than what the community as well as customers expected of us.
• 16:21
  Okay.
• 16:21
  And yeah, let's talk about that award.
• 16:23
  So Pet Retailer of the.
• 16:25
  Of the year for 2025.
• 16:27
  And that was issued by who?
• 16:29
  Pet Innovation Awards.
• 16:30
  Pet Innovation Awards.
• 16:32
  Okay.
• 16:32
  And so, like, how did that come about?
• 16:35
  How they, like, did you have to submit something?
• 16:37
  Did they just find you?
• 16:39
  People write you in, like, how'd that happen?
• 16:40
  Yeah, it was based on a nomination.
• 16:43
  I really don't know exactly how it happened, but it did.
• 16:47
  And I think that was the most rewarding part of everything.
• 16:52
  That when the nomination was submitted, whoever submitted it, it was a win.
• 16:59
  That when we did hear from the company or Pet Innovation Awards, that we did win the award, it was exciting and it was a very, like, humbling moment.
• 17:10
  And it was a reflection of our team as well as, you know, the community that supported us from day one.
• 17:17
  But it was a very exciting moment.
• 17:19
  Looking back at it.
• 17:20
  Okay, all right.
• 17:21
  And now as we are, we're just about midway through 2026 at this point, but you're going in another direction now where you're launching franchises.
• 17:31
  So tell us how that came about.
• 17:34
  You know, my husband and I were having a conversation and a lot of people were asking us, oh, is this a franchise business?
• 17:41
  Do you have any other stores across the country?
• 17:45
  And when people were coming in, we said, no, this is actually the first store.
• 17:49
  And this is.
• 17:51
  We created this just because it was something that a passion.
• 17:55
  We did this because of our dog.
• 17:56
  And that propelled us, with my husband's background in franchising, to franchise.
• 18:02
  And at the end of last year, we did the fdd, and at the beginning of this year, we started franchising.
• 18:08
  And we're excited because within the last five months, we're already expanding to Texas and Florida as well as California.
• 18:16
  But it was the fastest way to bring Puptique to different communities across the country through franchising.
• 18:23
  Okay, and what's that process been like, given that, you know, a retail store was a brand new experience?
• 18:30
  There was all these kind of unforeseen obstacles, a lot of challenges.
• 18:35
  You know, you made it through.
• 18:36
  But now when you're going through the franchising model and adding that component to your business, what's that been like as far as the technical details of it.
• 18:46
  Well, the last six months has really tested our just the management between running a brick and mortar store, so our own store, and also franchising.
• 18:56
  So franchising is a whole nother business and we're lucky to have a manager as well as a team who run the day to day for our Puptique in Temecula.
• 19:06
  So that can operate without us being there, which is great.
• 19:10
  We're a semi absentee, which means we just drop in and we're on the leadership aspect now.
• 19:15
  But we have a great team that's doing the store on that level so we could focus on the franchising.
• 19:21
  The last six months has really allowed us to see what works, see what doesn't.
• 19:26
  We've worked with marketing teams, we've also worked with different brokers and we've worked with different individuals who are consultants in this franchising area.
• 19:36
  And what we've learned, and it took us, we're lucky to learn this early on, is that we're bringing a lot of that control now in house.
• 19:44
  So we're able to now be able to talk about the franchise from our point of view instead of relying on other people.
• 19:53
  And I think a lot of brands do it the opposite and we're just doing it early on.
• 19:59
  Okay, wow.
• 20:01
  All right.
• 20:01
  So you're already going to Texas, Florida and another location in California.
• 20:06
  How many franchises do you like, do you expect to come out of this?
• 20:12
  I mean, our goal is to get to 200 by 2030, and that's just looking at across the board, across the country and seeing the opportunities on how Puptique can be integrated into the communities.
• 20:24
  Because we're a very community oriented store and we're very passionate about bringing people together in those communities.
• 20:33
  So it's not just coming in to shop for your dog's needs, but it's really coming in to celebrate their bond, come in for events, come in for a Pup Cup, a photo op, and just make new friends.
• 20:45
  And over the last couple of years, we've seen strangers become best friends because of the community that we've built.
• 20:54
  We've also seen members who are strangers get married, have a baby, all within two years.
• 21:00
  So it's been a vessel for not only the dog community, but also the humans being friends, especially after the pandemic as well.
• 21:08
  Love that.
• 21:09
  Okay.
• 21:10
  And Courtney, when you look at this whole journey, how, how it started with the traumatic experience with your dog and everything went through and the first full circle moment of pawning your wedding ring and then getting it back
• 21:21
  and all the hard nights and now to be really, you know, get that Pet retailer of the year award and now expanding into other markets.
• 21:30
  What's been the best part of this whole journey for you?
• 21:35
  I think there's two things.
• 21:37
  It's one, being able to work with my husband on a project that we've started, from an idea to the concept that it is today.
• 21:45
  So that's the first thing.
• 21:47
  And the second thing is seeing the vision grow into the community that it is today and it will become in five, 10 years.
• 21:59
  So those are the two things that I'm excited about and I'm really passionate about as we grow this business.
• 22:06
  Okay.
• 22:07
  All right.
• 22:07
  And, Courtney, if people want to learn more about Puptique or reach out to you online and, you know, get in touch for about the Puptique or anything else, what's the best way people can find you online?
• 22:18
  You can Visit us at www.puptqe.com.
• 22:24
  So puptique.com you can follow us on social media.
• 22:27
  So it's PUPTQE and you can send me an email.
• 22:32
  I always love to connect with dog lovers, dog businesses, dog owners.
• 22:37
  @Courtneyuptique.com okay.
• 22:40
  And we'll link all that in the show notes for everyone.
• 22:42
  All right.
• 22:43
  Well, Courtney, thank you so much for taking the time to be here and sharing all this incredible wisdom from your journey with our listeners.
• 22:49
  We great, Appreciate it.
• 22:51
  Thanks, Dave.