'First Past the Pot!'- Kabuto First Noodle Brand to Go B Corp

Kabuto, maker of Kabuto Noodles, is now part of a community of 5,575 global businesses who have certified as B Corps. The B Corp community in the UK, representing a broad cross section of industries and sizes, comprises over 950 companies and include well-known brands such as The Guardian, innocent, Patagonia, The Body Shop and organic food pioneers Abel & Cole.

Kabuto Noodles founder Crispin Busk said: “This is an incredible achievement for the Kabuto team who have been laser-focused on achieving B Corp status. 

"We've been striving to make our business as sustainable as possible in recent years, not only for the company but also as a responsibility to our customers too. 

"As a family-run business it's vitally important to us to leave a legacy which means our products had as little impact on the planet as possible.  Becoming a B-Corp is a great validation of the ethos we've always had at Kabuto, that a company should be about more than just money, but trying to operate in a way that's good for our staff, customers and planet. 

"We've always aimed to be leaders in the competitive world of instant noodles, both in taste as well as environmentally, and now we've proved quality instant noodles needn't cost the earth.”

Achieving B Corp status has been the culmination of a number of actions made by Kabuto over recent years, including creating jobs that incorporate social and environmental issues that are regularly reviewed, ensuring workers are paid above living wage, and were the first instant noodle brand to have a 100% recyclable product, offset of carbon emissions, as well as the highest level of customer service.

A recent reformulation of the entire Kabuto Noodles range to a 100% Vegetarian, non HFSS ingredient list aimed to recruit the more health-conscious customer to the instant noodle category. 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. Kabuto is now sold in all major retailers.

Founded in 2010, the company now employs a team of 7 in Bristol and has sold over 23 million pots to date, and launched in the US in 2019 under the brand name Kusari.

A keen and dedicated foodie, Crispin started off on his food career with Bristol-based success story Pieminister as a Sales Manager for five years. Constantly scouring the supermarket shelves for new ideas, he saw a gap in the market between the ready noodles stocked in supermarkets and the noodle dishes available in restaurants. 

"We've all been through an 'instant-noodle phase', often when we're students and Busk's mission was to catch people who are considering giving up on noodles and give them another reason to carry on eating them - with grown-up flavours, and premium, authentic ingredients.

www.kabutonoodles.com.

So what are B-Corp businesses? 

"Certified B Corporations are leaders in the global movement for an inclusive, equitable, and regenerative economy. Unlike other certifications for businesses, B Lab is unique in our ability to measure a company’s entire social and environmental impact."

https://www.bcorporation.net/en-us/certification