Kris Buckley wanted to find a way to earn some extra money – so she turned to something very unusual. She now raises money by breeding snails
Young Kris Buckley from Munich, in Germany, developed an interest in snails while taking care of her child who was hospitalized for several months with a gastrointestinal perforation.
+ Watch Kris Buckley’s videos with her snails
At that time, she couldn’t work as he needed all her attention, and she also had another child to look after.
Due to their financial situation, the family had to rely on government benefits, and also received food donations from the church.
This eventually led her to buy a pet African land snail.
Kris said, “I was a single mother of two kids living on state money.
“My life was about caring for others. I had nothing of my own and the idea of a snail was very appealing. They don’t require any attention.”
She then began to share videos of her pet snails on TikTok in 2019 – and people couldn’t stop watching.
“It was a very quick change,” she added.
“People recognize me now. It’s strange because I’m a very private person, but thousands of people ask me questions about snails every day.
“I was just posting pictures of my pets, and the second video I posted blew up massively. I suddenly became an influencer.
“My older son is this age, so he helps me with my social media. He was the one who suggested I go on TikTok.”
Two years later, she now runs her own snail breeding business and has over 5,000 snails.
She keeps them safe in a warehouse, and the business took off so much that she no longer needs to rely on benefits.
Kris now has three employees and earns a five-digit income per month.