The last year has been so pivotal for us - here’s a quick run down of everything we got up to.
We became the first instant noodle company to be awarded B Corp UK certification - a global recognition that the brand has met the highest social and environmental performance standards, transparency and accountability. We were assessed on a cumulation of several activities including creating jobs, ensuring workers are paid above the living wage and customer service. After exploring many ways, we decided to work with Ecologi, a carbon-offsetting subscription service. As the famous Chinese proverb says: “The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second-best time is now.” Since beginning our Ecologi journey 12 months ago we have planted 1,549 trees and offset our carbon emissions by 107.38t (which is pretty wild!).
We went 100% Vegetarian, non-HFSS (non-high fat, salt and sugar) ingredient list which we hope ticked a few boxes for the more health-conscious customers out there. Kwoklyn Wan, TV Chef and Author, recently worked with the Kabuto Team to create a series of recipes with the pots, turning them into wholesome home-cooked style meals. It seems there is a little bit of Flexitarian in everyone now and we are here for it!
We truly believe that good food should be available to all, so we decided to make ourselves more affordable. In a world full of cost increases, have a cost decrease! Reducing the thickness of our plastic (good for the world and pockets) and removing the ‘meat’ from our pots meant that we had a little more room to recalculate the cost of our product.
You thought we were all about noodles, right? We also launched of our Mac n’ Cheese pots. They burst onto the shelves in both original and scorching Sriracha Chilli flavour and creamy, oozy original variations to tantalise the tastebuds and take you on a fun, fusion flavour journey. This new cheesy direction for Kabuto has been a hit!
We are selling by the pot load in Waitrose, Sainsbury's and Ocado, and soon-to-be Tesco. We are also in exciting conversations with a range of other UK retailers and exploring opportunities in Europe, the US and UAE.
The other kind of more important measure is our success as a team. We have grown from a team of 4 to a team of 6 in the last year and pride ourselves on being a great place to work. From a personal brand manager perspective, I have never worked with such an open-minded, welcoming group of individuals. We truly feel valued here and are encouraged to express our creativity and selves in a safe environment.
In terms of keeping it local, we have worked closely with the Bristol-based charity “Caring in Bristol” by donating pots throughout the year and many other charitable donations to small businesses/charities in and around the Bristol area.
We have recently worked with ‘Access Creative College’ to provide a day of learning for the photography/videography students offering a prize and exposure. Providing opportunities to this young generation of creatives in our local community is something we hold dear here at Kabuto. We will continue working with the college and bringing more young creatives to offer experience.
Our values are Audacious, Experimental and Honest. We care! and want everyone that encounters our brand to live their best lives!
So thank you again Bristol Life - and here’s to 2023 and embracing all of the challenges it may bring.
Love, Holly X
