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Photo: Clement Goh
“Walking is very underrated,” Sunnystep founder and chief executive officer Ting Mao declares. While many have embraced the activity for its ample benefits to the body, mind, and soul, Mao, at the age of 28, found herself compelled to appreciate its merits due to a devastating pilates misadventure five years ago. This incident left her in excruciating pain, rendering her unable to carry her first newborn or even sit comfortably.
Guided by advice from over 20 doctors and physiotherapists, walking became Mao’s refuge. However, recovery was hindered by the lack of suitable walking shoes. Aesthetic appeal was sacrificed for functionality, she discovered. By that time, all 20 pairs of her regular shoes had also been put aside.
Six months into her debilitating injury, shrouded in prolonged periods of rest and grappling with physical agony and despair, she contemplated the potential market for supportive and stylish walking shoes. Simultaneously, given her dire health situation, she hoped to help inform the community about the importance of self-care and the benefits of walking.
Customer relations
Photo: Clement Goh
Infusing Sunnystep with personal struggles to provide value has become the cornerstone of its mission. “We want to help people move freely and happily,” emphasises Mao, highlighting her dedication to actively engage with customers, seeking ways to enhance their lives through innovative footwear.
This includes her soon-to-be-launched sustainable shoes featuring uppers made of used coffee grinds and outsoles produced with algae-blended foam rubber. “We are constantly testing new ideas in terms of making shoes that perform better and reduce stress better,” she states, adding that sustainability is close to her heart.
Mao also recently introduced a new Sunnystep outsole, testing it with 50 pairs for staff and selecting customers, including herself. This meticulous approach extends to each product launch, aiming to meet Mao’s standards and facilitate functionality testing. Upon launch in small batches, input on colours by long-standing customers fosters brand investment and an ongoing conversation.
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Ting’s user-centric approach, refined during her stints at Facebook and Grab, drives Sunnystep’s product development. For her, product development entails “pushing the frontier in science and technology and research and development”.
In line with this belief, Mao previously sent her shoes to a mechanical engineering professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, her alma mater, to study the benefits of Sunnystep footwear. The outcomes were promising.
Building on these encouraging experiments, Mao is intensifying research efforts with the prestigious American university and is presently in the final stages of formalising the necessary legal documentation to officially sponsor an extended-term research project slated to begin in early 2024. The project is focused on comprehensively exploring the effects of Sunnystep footwear.
Photo: Clement Goh
“I don’t see shoes as a ‘shoe’ product; I see them as a solution to people with walking and movement problems. Or those who want comfort and style.” This perspective challenges the dominance of performance running shoes, redirecting attention to the broader market of everyday walkers.
Extending beyond mere transactions, Sunnystep’s customer engagement takes shape through monthly walking events and talks by healthcare experts, embodying a holistic approach to customer well-being. The mother of three also highlights the fulfilment derived even when customers leave without a purchase but are armed with valuable advice on selecting better shoes or proper stretching after a long day at work.
Profit vs Purpose
Her ethos appears to be working. With minimal marketing, the brand’s growth during the pandemic speaks volumes about the power of a quality product and word-of-mouth recommendations.
Sunnystep generated $1 million in revenue over three years and has sold at least 150,000 pairs of shoes to date, even during the pandemic when retail was at a standstill. The four-year-old brand has seen its number of brick-and-mortar stores grow steadily to 10, with plans for two more by the end of 2023. Every year, it welcomes three to five designs selected from 300 to 500 prototypes.
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In the conventional sense, Mao and Sunnystep are irrefutably a success story. “Making money is the operative component. In order to help people, you have to survive, you have to make a profit, and you have to use money wisely.”
And, no, she does not consider herself successful. “Success as a generic concept is not something I think about. It’s also really not something that drives me. Failures and achievements are what I look out for to push me. What we do at Sunnystep is a constant process — doing meaningful work together, building meaningful relationships, and impacting life positively for our customers, staff and factory workers. For me, this is success.”
Global Aspirations
Mao intends to amplify these individual pockets of success through overseas expansion. Which markets exactly, she does not know yet.
Undoubtedly, the decision is a substantial leap. With scaling, there’s a likelihood that Sunnystep will lose its boutique brand status. “Being bigger doesn’t mean that your customer focus will be diluted. Our mission will remain the same. Your closeness to customers can be even better when the right structure and processes are established.”
She recalls how Sunnystep began with a staff of just two — herself and her intern — juggling a multitude of responsibilities. The staff strength has now grown to 40, with dedicated departments spanning customer service, user testing, and the supply chain.
Photo: Clement Goh
And even as Mao galvanises the company to greater heights, she consistently roots herself. Throughout the interview, expressions of gratitude pepper the conversation. Maintaining a vigilant eye on her weaknesses also keeps her grounded. “I actively seek out failures and view them as opportunities for improvement. Rather than being discouraged, I find excitement in identifying weaknesses and failures, using them as stepping stones to enhance our capabilities.”
Exciting times invariably lie ahead. While Mao is acutely aware of Sunnystep’s enviable progress in all aspects, the most profound lesson is her acknowledgement that she would give it all up in a heartbeat to restore her health to its pre-accident state.
Although she has regained 80 per cent of her pre-incident self, she ruefully shares, “I’m still unable to sneeze freely as it causes a lot of stress to the spine, and prolonged sitting is not possible. My daily life continues to be impacted. Health truly is priceless.”
