Author: Penny Choong
Company: Penny Essentials | VitaChocs | The Ski Resort Report (Coming Soon)
Profession: Entrepreneur, Community Builder & Wellness Advocate
Position: Founder
People often smile when they hear what I do.
“You run a wellness community, a healthy chocolate brand… and now you’re hosting ski trips?”
It does sound like an unusual combination.
To me though, they’ve never been separate businesses. They’ve simply been different chapters of the same story.
That story didn’t begin with entrepreneurship.
It began in a dark room.
There was a season in my life when I measured my week by the number of days I could get out of bed. If I had three or four good days, it felt like a victory. The rest of the time, I was recovering from another migraine.
The attacks came without warning—blurred vision, dizziness and unbearable sensitivity to light before the pain took over. Eventually, I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia and TMJ disorder. More than losing my health, I felt I had lost control of my life.
With a background in Accounting and Finance, a career in Business Process & Systems Audit, and a Master’s in Information Technology, I had always believed every problem could be solved. For the first time, I had no answer.
So I stepped away from work for a year and focused on healing.
Looking back, it was the most important decision I have ever made.
As I searched for answers, I discovered holistic wellness, essential oils and preventative health. Slowly, my health returned. More importantly, I discovered a new purpose. Wellness isn’t something we think about only when it’s missing—it shapes our relationships, our confidence, our purpose and our ability to dream about the future.
That belief became Penny Essentials.
I never wanted to build a wellness business. I simply wanted to share what I had learned so someone else might find hope a little sooner than I did. Over the years, our community has touched more than 40,000 people and continues today as a close-knit community of around 3,000 people.
As my journey evolved, another question stayed with me: What if vitamins came in the form of chocolate? That simple idea became VitaChocs—a brand built on the belief that wellness and enjoyment should exist together.
Another lifelong passion eventually found its place in the story. Today, I host curated ski journeys across China and Japan, creating experiences that bring people together through adventure, culture and shared memories. Those journeys have also inspired my next chapter: building The Ski Resort Report, a platform dedicated to helping skiers choose the right mountain through trusted, experience-based insights.
People sometimes ask what connects everything I do.
The answer has always been people.
Whether I’m helping someone improve their health, enjoy chocolate without guilt or discover the magic of snow for the first time, my purpose has never changed: to help people make choices that allow them to live fuller, richer lives.
Looking back, I realise none of us rises alone. I’m grateful for the people who believed in me when I couldn’t yet see the full picture myself—especially my husband, Andrew, whose quiet encouragement has been a constant through every chapter of this journey.
Illness didn’t become the chapter that defined my life.
It became the chapter that introduced me to myself.
_Wellness is Everything, And in Everything.