Cat Lover Chen Xi’s New Business Venture Is Selling High Quality And Affordable Cat Litter

Yes, you read that right. This new local celeb business venture is all about cat litter.

8days.sg first came across Mediacorp artiste Chen Xi’s new venture through an Instagram Story by actor and dedicated cat dad Lawrence Wong, who shared this picture of an absolutely adorable cat litter pack, tagging Chen Xi to show his support.

And of course, we just had to find out more about it. Chen Xi? Selling cat litter? What’s up with that?

Yep, that's cat litter right there.

Well, as it turns out, Clump A Dump is the 31-year-old’s latest passion project. Over a phone call, Chen Xi shared more about the cat litter brand, which was started in 2020 by Aileen Koh, co founder of The Cat Vet and local café Tiramisu Hero.

"I came into the picture 'cos we wanted to make it more available to the mass market,” Chen Xi shared, revealing that he was a long-time customer before getting onboard.

“We both love cats in our own ways, and this friend of mine deals with fostering cats, so she has actually been bringing lots of cat products,” he added.

Chen Xi and his celeb family, Xiang Yun, Edmund Chen and Chen Yixin, have two kitties of their own, Miwa and Mugi.

He's a cat dad.

Prior to discovering Clump A Dump, Chen Xi shared that he started off with the “cheaper" brands.

"But I realised that [the litter I was using was] really cui [lousy]. It ends up fragmenting, and when it fragments right, the dust comes out and I get sinus [problems] like nobody's business. And it's not very good lah 'cos when it becomes powder, it harms humans more than anything else,” he said.

"I was looking out for something good quality rather than just cheap 'cos I don't want to end up spending more money on medical bills. So I was talking with [Aileen] and I realised I could buy it from her. But over time, I was like, you know what? Instead of buying from her, why not we try collaborating and make it into something that we can send out to other people,” Chen Xi continued.

And so, they set forth with a goal in mind — to "make high, great quality cat litter more accessible to the mass market”.

“I've always been drawing cats. I have my own other cat artwork commission service called nekolour, and [Aileen] was like: 'Eh, why don't we do something together, so it reaches more people?” he recalled.

For the art direction and marketing, Chen Xi chose to keep things cute and comic-like, showing that high-quality goods don’t always have to be “scary”.

“The brand has been around for a while, this is really more of a face lift, partnering it with my existing cat illustration service, sharing and spreading the love to the rest of the cat people,” he said.

Cat's the way.

Describing their litter as an option that is "better, low-dust, non-toxic and more environmentally friendly,” Chen Xi shared that he has invested “a bit” of money into this brand, but declined to give specific figures.

"For us, the cost is really just the importing of the litter, so it really depends on how many orders we get also. So it depends lah, I cannot give you an exact figure, 'cos it really depends on how many people order from us per month,” he shared.

"Honestly speaking, I'm not looking at this like it’s a cash grab, raking in the big bucks kinda thing. It's really a service here for the cat people 'cos [our profit margin] is really damn minimal. This really came about 'cos I didn't want people to start having asthma, or health issues from their cat litter. The most important is that it’s non toxic, so you know that your house is safe,” he said.

“[It’s a passion project], it’s really just for the [fellow] cat lovers out there,” he added.

“We also deliver to your place, so you don’t have to lug your cat litter all the way home,” he shared, later adding in a voice note that customers might just catch Chen Xi or his business partner doubling up to deliver their orders.

Finally, Chen Xi, who also sells art prints and conducts art workshops at thexiatelier, as well as cat-related art commissions on nekolour, added: "For me, art can just be art, but art that has meaning and represents something, is more meaningful for me. So as an actor, I act out a character, and hope to connect with people this way. As a visual artist, I hope to connect with people in a different way, so in the end, I'm just a creative finding different mediums to connect with people. And most importantly, [hoping] to find some good use behind it. So Clump A Dump was something that came about not just 'cos of art but ‘cos [it’s also] something people could use.”

Clump A Dump is available on their website here, or on Lazada.

Pretty cute, no?

Photos: Chen Xi/Instagram, Clump A Dump