Kevin Hennessy is a finance broker by day and environmentalist by… well, any other time, really. Born and raised in Cork, Ireland, he arrived in Hong Kong in 2017 and co-founded Island Life, an online store for all things resourceful living. He tells us about the idea behind his business and where he hopes it’ll head in the future.
Can you tell us a bit about yourself and your background?
I grew up and studied in Cork, Ireland and have worked in finance since I finished University. Initially in Malaysia, then Sydney, before moving to London and finding the position I still hold, as Securities Finance Broker. I moved to Hong Kong in 2017, transferred internally to work in APAC markets as well as continued working with EMEA clients. I met Sunny at VCM when I arrived. Coincidentally, he had arrived in Hong Kong a couple of months before me.
What inspired you to start Island Life and what it offers?
Growing up in the countryside in Ireland, I have always been conscious of the damage household waste can have on the environment. I have always tried to keep my household waste to a minimum; buying groceries from wet markets, using water filters, buying dry goods from bulk stores. As an expatriate in Hong Kong, I have the privilege of being able to afford to purchase my household goods and body care from refill stores, something many in the city cannot do.
I had Sunny over to my apartment one night and we started to discuss the merits of refills stores and the impact they have on the environment. Given the hassle involved in bringing old bottles to stores and the price point of the products, we felt the positive impact didn’t go far enough. That was when we started to research household products, looking for more convenient ways for people to reduce their waste and carbon footprint. That’s pretty much how Island Life began. Being stuck in Hong Kong during Covid both gave us the time to work on it, so we thought we’d give it a crack.
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What is your favourite memory while running your business?
I would say probably taking part in the sustainable conference, Re:Think. Island Life was really just an idea we were toying with, something to keep us interested in zero-Covid Hong Kong. When we were asked to participate as a start-up at Re:Think, it kind of forced us into action, setting up the company, working on the branding, creating the prototypes. It was all a bit rushed but we managed to get everything done in time.
The conference itself was great fun. We didn’t really know what we were doing, to be honest, but we had some great traffic through our stand. It was great to meet so many people and the feedback we got on the concept and samples gave us the confidence that we had something worth pursuing. It was pretty cool to see all the innovation going on in the sustainable community here in Hong Kong. We got to meet people far more interesting and knowledgeable than ourselves. It’s a great community, people will always lend a hand and offer advice when they can.
What are your business and personal goals for 2022?
Business goals – just want to grow our business as best we can. Every tab we sell means another plastic bottle has been prevented from ending up at the landfill or turning up on our beaches. We’d be delighted if we can save 40,000 bottles. We’re working on expanding our product offering in the second half of the year. Hopefully, we can add laundry tabs and some other interesting refills for our customers to enjoy.
Personal goals – I have never been a strong swimmer, had some lessons last year and then the pools shut, unfortunately. I was targeting a 1km non-stop swim this year, so I am looking forward to the pools re-opening. I will need the practice.
Other than that, I have been trying to keep meat consumption to four meals a week. Not as easy as I thought but it’s okay.
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How do you make yourself happy and ritzy in life?
Nothing out of the ordinary. I find exercise the best for switching off. I have been running a lot this year and kickboxing outdoors with a friend. Or, catching up with friends for drinks, playing cards and board games. Always great to get out of the city by hiking and camping too. I love how it’s so easy to get out of the concrete jungle to the open countryside so quickly here – not many cities in the world offer this.
