In 2023, Kylie-Lee Bradford’s organic Indigenous wellness brand, Kakadu Organics, began exporting to Singapore. The move was a roaring success. Singaporeans loved Kylie-Lee’s organic native foods, bush medicine, and wellness products, and the brand saw its revenue up 30 per cent.
Kylie-Lee isn’t the only Aussie SME tapping into the Southeast Asian market. The Australian Government is currently encouraging SMEs to capitalise on Southeast Asia’s booming investment and trade opportunities; Kakadu Organics previously worked with the Australian Trade and Investment Commission to export to the lucrative market.
In this Q&A, ISB talks to Kylie-Lee about exporting, bringing First Nations culture overseas, and the opportunities available for Australian brands in Southeast Asia.
ISB: What is the most daunting challenge that the business faced as a First Nations business and how were you able to overcome it?
KLB: In the beginning, we weren’t trusted to play with the big boys in manufacturing. Often I’d walk into a boardroom to pitch my products for larger partnerships and it’s a crowd of non Indigenous males. Straight away, almost like I knew before I even pitched, before I even had a chance.
It was challenging, but we purposely built the brand the way we did to overcome these sorts of challenges and to open doors for other First Nations women in business and give opportunities to other women, because it was really hard for me at the start.
ISB: How important is it for Kakadu Organics to showcase the benefits of native Australian botanicals?
KLB: Really important, because the native botanicals are a part of our culture, they’re a part of our history, they’re a part of our ancestors. To be able to show that on a global stage and a global environment is incredible.
When I grew up in a really small Aboriginal community in Kakadu called Patonga, it’s just second nature. Your mum boils down these berries and you’re drinking what you think is red cordial, but it’s to fix your tummy ache or boost immunity. Wild harvesting and buying from First Nations foragers and farmers is also really important to our business model, because they know the best practices. They’ve been doing this for thousands and thousands of years and it’s really lovely to showcase that to the world.
ISB: With your recent expansion to Singapore and plans to enter the Malaysian market, what makes Southeast Asia a viable market for your business?
KLB: Singapore and Malaysia have been a hot topic for us. Southeast Asia is really interested in Australian products and introducing them to that market. There are so many avenues where you can look at partnerships where people and businesses are already buying from other Australian brands.
Southeast Asia is also very close, transitioning over and being able to build those relationships over there is quite easy actually. There was a lot of interest and need in Australian products from consumers and corporations, the First Nations Space and the native ingredients. You just have to ensure you can educate that new market on your products effectively.
ISB: Kakadu Organics’ growth story is also part of a greater growth story of Australian beauty brands. What do you think are the factors for this industry’s recent growth?
KLB: I started as an organic baby range when we went on Shark Tank Australia, and that was when nobody was worried about organics, let alone an Aboriginal organics. So we formed a lot of traction by bringing that to market.
Then through COVID, I interviewed my customers to understand what they loved about us and what we were doing right. 90 per cent of the information that was coming back from my customers was about our storytelling. What we stood for by working with First Nations women to bring these micro businesses to life. They were buying for a purpose and not for particular products and that was a real eye opener for me.
So we moved completely away from the baby clothing range and we really sat heavily in the botanicals and native foods. That industry was growing so quickly with there being a lot of stuff around COVID and holistic health benefits. People were going back to wanting to know about First Nations and asking basically “heal me, heal me!”. This was great for us in the industry, because they were looking for organic, raw, real products that were coming from the land.
ISB: What is your vision for the growth of Kakadu Organics and the Australian beauty industry as a whole?
KLB: The brand has really grown in its own right and so now we sit with corporate partnerships like Qantas and other really incredible corporations that have invested in being loyal to our brand as well.
The growth for Kakadu is more so in the people, in helping other businesses grow. We want our women in rural and remote communities to be able to make sustainable products and sustainable revenue, making their communities better, without having to leave to get a job in town.
My biggest goal is to provide a platform where I can utilise what I’ve created and expose all these businesses to the world. We are constantly onboarding new beautiful women from all over remote communities across the land in places like Uluru to Arnhem Land. That’s the strategy I want to grow with. It’s about giving a voice to women that are in some of the most rural and remote communities in Australia.
If you’re interested in exporting to Southeast Asia, Austrade has a range of tools available for small businesses to help you get started.
