Founder Samantha Tan reflects on the ups, downs and lessons learnt from one year in the business
When the Movement Control Order (MCO) started last year, Penang homemaker Samantha Tan Yen Yee found she suddenly had excess free time. Cooped up at home with nowhere to go, she did what many Malaysians did—head into the kitchen.
Tan, however, wasn’t satisfied with cooking just anything. Inspired by the increasing popularity of keto diets, she wanted to create something healthy but one that would also remind people of their favourite dining experiences.
She eventually settled on kombu butter, which is butter flavoured with cured kelp. Having previously tried it in Japan and Singapore, Tan loved how it added a good amount of umami to her food.
“I wanted to make a little something from two of my favourite cuisines, French and Japanese. Then add nuances of what I believed Malaysians enjoyed of late, for instance, truffle in everything!” Tan quips. “I love how kombu is a natural source of stock. It can boost the humble tastes of good butter without the need for artificial flavour enhancers.”
Tan dedicated herself to this idea, trying out online recipes and passing homemade samples to her friends. In August 2020, she launched her Butterbae.Co. on Instagram.
See also: Flavoured Butter And Where To Buy It In The Klang Valley
One year later, Butterbae.Co has expanded to a variety of butters, spreads and cakes. Everything is made with thick cut Hokkaido kelp, which is much sought after for its good texture. Today, Butterbae.co sells between 400 and 500 jars a month; once, they even reached 700 jars, Tan proudly proclaims. Her bestsellers are truffle butters, which include truffle kombu, truffle caviar, and a new truffle honey flavour.
“The popularity of truffle honey has caught me by surprise. Many were a little wary to try it at first, as they knew our truffle butters were quite robust. So imagine it with honey? But when they tried it, it was love,” she laughs.
Reflecting on her journey, the entrepreneur says there had been many challenges but hearing the positive feedback from customer has made everything worthwhile.
“It has not been easy but what we’ve learned and gained in experience are priceless. The quest to come up with attractive flavours that are not only creative but also enjoyed by our customers is definitely difficult,” says Tan who describes Butterbae.Co as an ‘almost one-woman show’.
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