Our journey from kitchen lab dreams to a certified organic reality
In 2000, our founders, siblings Siew Peng and Kian Kheng (KK) Soo made a decision to leave their secure careers and take a leap of faith. KK was a chemical engineer while Siew Peng was Chief Financial Officer with a Fortune 500 company. Together, they shared a dream: to create a brand that will be as sustainable as it is successful; and to grow a business that will be aligned with their own ethical convictions.
So with their complementary skill sets, a lot of hope and a modest capital, the company formally began operations... in Siew Peng’s kitchen! Unused pots and pans were put to good use by KK as he set up his first R&D lab and workshop. After months of intensive research, trials, re-trials and fine-tuning, the pilot range of products was rolled out with a baby oil, lotion and bath wash. This humble offering was to become the seeds of our flagship brand, known today as Buds Organics, the world’s largest collection of certified organic babycare products.
As a fledgling in the vast organic products market, Siew Peng and KK knew that the company would have to work much harder to gain the trust and loyalty of consumers. How would we, as a newcomer prove our commitment to zero harmful chemicals, highest quality, cruelty-free organic products? Usage of the word ‘organic’ was largely unregulated, and the market was saturated by unscrupulous manufacturers jumping on the organic bandwagon with the least of requirements met.
So we decided that just ‘organic’ was just not good enough for us. We knew that certification with an internationally recognized body was the only way forward. Although the process proved to be a sharp learning curve in the beginning, it has instilled integrity into every aspect of our work. Today, all Buds products proudly carry the ECOCERT marque, the gold standard worldwide in organic certification of sustainable practices. But our efforts won’t stop here. The work to maintain this prestigious certification is an ongoing one, with regular audits to determine our eligibility. We are proud to have achieved and maintained our certification consecutively since 2009.
Over the years, our organic family grew and we were able to diversify our product ranges to cater for the needs of babies, kids and adults.
In time, we were able to move out of Siew Peng’s kitchen and into our own premises. Over the years, as our markets grew from niche local consumers to ten other countries worldwide, our manufacturing facilities grew in tandem. After relocating twice to larger facilities, in 2020 we moved into our latest, specially commissioned facility, with manufacturing, warehousing, research labs, event spaces and offices under one roof.
Today we are proud to adopt our founders’ unwavering beliefs as our own corporate culture. Visitors to our new premises are welcomed by five exquisitely handcrafted Kumiko panels, each constructed the traditional way and hand-assembled with an accuracy of 0.1mm. Each piece, delicate yet durable, represents one of our honored values:
Quality
A commitment to excellence in workflow, process and end result.
Integrity
Doing what is right for our customers, our communities, our shareholders and ourselves, even when no one demands it of us.
Respect for People
Promoting a culture of diversity and an environment of mutual respect for our employees, our customers and our communities.
Leadership
Leading by example, taking pride in what we do and inspiring others along the way.
Collaboration
Recognising individual talents and working together to achieve our common goals.