Dr Chris Brown – Puppy Love

When Australia’s most-loved TV veterinarian, Dr Chris Brown, launched his pet and wellness brand, Drool, the career pivot was born out of a need for better education around pet food—and a frustration at not being able to find locally made, quality products to give his own pets.

The focus on everyday pet health, dental care, anxiety management and joint health for cats and dogs was no easy walk in the park —because, let’s face it, Brown himself admits he is a perfectionist.

With 838,000 followers on Instagram and nearly a million signed up to his free blog, which he started 12 years ago, he knew the need for better education around pet food and safety, as well as raising healthy pets, was an area in need of a reboot in Australia.

Driven by his own personal desire for pet welfare, it took years of research before he could launch Drool to the market in 2022.

“Drool came about because I couldn’t find the quality in pet food and snacks that I felt my pets deserved, so I decided to make it myself,” Dr Chris Brown tells Australian Life.

“Never in my wildest dreams did I anticipate just how much work it would be to do it properly. I set the bar pretty high when I do something because I want to do it well,” he adds.

“And when you create a brand with your face on it, there’s a large degree of expectation that it has to be good, because my worst nightmare is people walking up to me on the street and saying ‘Chris, I bought your product and it doesn’t work’,” says Brown.

The TV personality, who became a household name thanks to his appearance on Bondi Vet in 2009, says developing pet products takes up a lot of his time.

“I’m deliberate about what products we have at Drool, the emphasis is on what can we create that is the best it can be, and the approach is if we can do it better than what’s out there, then let’s do it, or if, let’s leave it alone,” he says.

“Drool is a labour of love; and only when I am comfortable with a product does it come to market. With so many treats on offer for customers, I rarely found basic health products I respected and would give to my own pets. I personally didn’t feel they were doing the job they were supposed to be doing, and that in itself inspired me to get this business off the ground,” he says.

His attention to detail means he brings an inquisitive side to the business. “I’m very clear from the start with any supplier I’m working with that I am not their ideal customer, because I have lots of questions before we start working together. I want the best ingredients for pets—there’s no compromise there,” he says.

Drool is 100% Australian-owned and made. The product range is available online and stocked at Pet Barn nationally. There’s everything from pet food to wee-detector torches (yes, that’s right!), bedding and snacks for cats and dogs.

Brown is also a prominent face on Channel 7, where he has appeared on TV shows such as Dream Home and Dancing with the Stars, and is also the host and co-producer of the new series, Once in a Lifetime.

For someone who has become part of the furniture in Australian living rooms, he is quite shy and reserved when it comes to brandishing his career accolades. At heart, he’s all about caring for animals. It’s like a sixth sense—inherently part of his DNA, and he’ll talk for hours about pet health and wellbeing.

He still works at the Bondi Veterinary Hospital in Bondi Junction, and while he became known as the Bondi Vet, home is actually in nearby Coogee.

“I still do regular shifts at the clinic for my own satisfaction because I love it,” says Brown. “I find it incredibly grounding to go in and be covered in a variety of bodily fluids within minutes of arrival,” he jokes.

“In all seriousness, it’s nice to talk to people, and many ideas for Drool were born out of the people I meet at the clinic—hearing what’s important to them and what their biggest challenges are with their pets. The products I have made have come from conversations with clients,” says Brown.

It’s his new TV show, Once in a Lifetime, which he’s most excited about right now. The show follows Brown around the world as he visits remote locations to help endangered and threatened animals across all continents.

“I often get called up by vets I know around the world with problems they’re seeing, which gave me the idea for this show,” he says.

“The twist is I get to travel to remote places and treat the world’s most challenging animals and take a celebrity as my completely untrained veterinary assistant,” says Brown.

He takes food personality Matt Preston, long-time friend Amanda Keller (who joined him in Namibia), Mick Molloy (who travelled to Colombia) and actress Kate Ritchie along for the ride.

“They’re confronted with some of the most physically and mentally challenging animal situations you can ever imagine. It’s adventurous, funny, exciting and enlightening too,” says Brown.

Holding down the fort at Drool while he’s travelling for work and filming is his life partner, Lorraine Monforte. He met Monforte at Network 10 while filming The Living Room—where she worked as a publicist.

“It was never the intention to work with my partner, but it’s worked out that way,” says Brown. “She’s a remarkable publicist, a great human, and everyone who works in the media knows it. It just made sense to bring her in to be part of the Drool team, and it’s going really well.”