If the idea of coming up with a special broth for babies sounds like an Epicurean soup made just for babies to savour, well, that’s exactly what Souper Baby is.
Eunice Phua, 32, decided to become one of the first broth specialists in Singapore in February 2020 with her 33-year-old husband, Jovan Chua, when their son, affectionately and famously known to customers as Souper Baby 1, started weaning. “He began his solids journey and went through a phase where he did not want anything but soups. So I started making broths on a weekly basis because I wanted to give him nutritious homemade meals without any preservatives or additives,” she said. Ms Phua realised it was a handy way to incorporate a good amount of vitamins and nutrients needed to support their growth. “Broths also helped with digestion, be it for noodles, porridge or stews,” she added.
However, both were working full-time. Mr Chua was a banker, while Ms Phua was a finance manager with a fund management firm. They could not find time to prepare the ingredients, portion the broth, and cook it daily. “I ended up sacrificing quality time with my son as there were not any healthy alternatives in the market which were unsalted and suitable for babies.” This problem impressed upon them the idea of a niche product. “Thus, (we planned) to create a convenient yet nutritious alternative for anyone who might be strapped for time and do not want to compromise on the quality of the broths and time with their kids,” said Mr Chua.
None had experience in running a business, let alone with F&B products. The notion was ludicrous. However, as first-time parents, a baby’s development and growth during formative years were critical. Their love drove them to pursue this path. Furthermore, the surrounding circumstances boosted the possibility of selling a product to serve other young, busy parents. The first half of 2020 was the period of the Covid lockdown, and working from home became the norm. It was inadvisable to go out, so online shopping and home deliveries became a lifestyle. Many parents started looking for healthy and convenient alternatives to prepare their meals for their babies and toddlers. So, the duo leapt through this window of opportunity.
They decided Souper Baby will only be made from 100% natural ingredients without preservatives, artificial colouring, MSG, sugar, and salt. “We pride ourselves in using only quality ingredients to craft out recipes with the aim of bringing out the essences of the bones and numerous health benefits for our son,” said Mr Chua.
Getting it off the ground while juggling full-time jobs and raising an infant was a handful. However, the founders invested in the work – waking up before the crack of dawn and sleeping only a few hours a night. “We immersed ourselves in the process to ensure strict compliance with Singapore Food Agency (SFA). We conducted extensive research to ensure the broths were of high quality to yield the highest concentration of benefits to our little ones, including our daughter, Souper Baby 2, who was born in June 2021,” said Ms Phua.
“Although we were both in industries that had nothing to do with F&B, we equipped ourselves with the necessary knowledge and also obtained a full-fledged food manufacturing license issued by the SFA; this was important – we knew credibility and qualification was the crux of trust.”
Eventually, as demand heated up, they quit their full-time roles to invest their energy solely in Soul Souper. “We were so shocked,” said Mr Chua. “Just within the first year, people were willing to wait three to five months for our broths!” Due to the volume of orders, Soul Souper had to stop marketing their products to control the waiting time of orders better.
The pork and chicken broths became their bestsellers. The other flavours are beef, threadfin fish, organic chicken, pork collagen, and chicken collagen. For parents preparing dry meals, Souper Baby Powderful Organic Kale and Spinach can be sprinkled in to add vitamins and antioxidants.
“The main issue we faced from the get-go was increasing production from the overwhelming support we received. We had fully booked delivery dates for months ahead and had to explore options of how to better meet the demand without (compromising) the quality of the broths in any way,” said Ms Phua. Soul Souper then decided to invest and manufacture the broths at premises licensed and approved by the SFA.
“The capital that was needed to start and expand the business was the main concern, and we are so grateful and thankful that we were able to purely from the support of our customers,” said Mr Chua. They also could purchase a van for deliveries. Previously, Mr Chua and his family made door-to-door deliveries personally, even on the weekends.
He also felt that starting a flagship factory was critical in their commitment to their customers and brand – to show that they were in it for the long term and to be part of their parenting journeys.
The boom in demand kept blowing up. It impressed upon their hearts the need to ultimately bring their products to a brick-and-mortar store because it was “a proper and more reflective distribution channel for customers to better know our products.” explained Mr Chua. “This would also allow customers to self-collect, have a feel of the products, and personally meet us at the shop to have a better understanding of the products and how best to incorporate it into their meals.”
Ms Phua said the perk of a physical store is it reaches a larger audience and adds value to the customers with the flexibility and convenience of a retail store. “It serves as a one-stop baby shop with a wide range of curated baby essential items that our customers can buy at one go,” she added.
When Souper Baby officially launched, queues formed even before opening hours at United Square on Sept 23 and Sept 24 mornings. There was a promotion for the first 20 customers, and parents were literally showing off the printed queue number on social media in relieved elation, like scoring a BTS concert ticket.
“We did an official launch partially as a form of customer appreciation for the support from 2020,” said Mr Chua. “We initially launched pre-order forms so we could reduce waiting time on launch days for the customers and queues. However, pre-orders came in much more than we had expected, and we had to close off pre-order and only reserve the forms that had already been submitted,” he added.
For all subsequent customers, items were first come, first served on the launch days. “We calculated the volume of sales. If we had continued with pre-orders, there would not have been any stocks left for walk-ins,” said Ms Phua.
On the first day of launch, many flavours were sold out by the late afternoon. “It really fills our heart with so much warmth. We were able to put faces to names (whom) we were only able to communicate online with all these years.”
Part of the appeal of Souper Baby was their charming ambassadors: four-year-old Souper Baby 1 and their two-and-a-half-year-old Souper Baby 2. They accidentally dived into fame when their parents posted regular content on Instagram of their adorable, larger-than-life personalities.
“Most importantly, we wanted to show that our kids were the resounding reasons and the biggest factor as to why we created these broths. It is our promise that we will only list food items that we will feed our own children and every food item listed is tried and tested.”
Jaslin Chew said the broth was “light but flavourful.” Her four-year-old son enjoyed it as it was, while her daughter, a 10-year-old, preferred a stronger palate. Ms Chew said that for children with these tastes, the broth paired well with just a little soy sauce to lift its flavour.
Veronica Ho, 37, opined that Souper Baby is thriving because the idea of broths for babies is brilliant. “It is super fast and something that is nutritious and tasty,” she said. Ms Ho has a three-year-old son and a seven-year-old daughter. “The soupy broth with macaroni was not salty and comfort food for my daughter; it was the only food she was willing to (eat). It smelled great too. The next day, she had it with chicken udon.”
Son Min Ju, a 35-year-old Korean who has lived in Singapore with her family for three years, said that her children have been craving macaroni soup for a long time. “I couldn’t find any suitable broth which tasted good to make for them, but the chicken broth fitted it perfectly.” She has a three-year-old daughter and an eight-year-old son.
Souper Baby also imports a range of nutritious and healthy snacks directly from Korea for babies and children, which can be enjoyed by adults, too. The juices are 100% natural and organic fruit juice with no sugar added. It comes in purée juice form, too. Speciality snacks pack probiotics, which boost a baby’s developing immune system and aid gut health.
Ms Son added that these Korean snacks are popular in her country and safe for children.
The Bye Bye Mucus Syrup by Rose Organic helps in the recovery from flu, cough, and ulcers because of its rich platycodon and saponin. Premium seaweed brands, both seasoned and unseasoned, are stocked, too, to conveniently sprinkle flavour into the broths or family meals. On-the-go snacks like porridge pouches, yoghurt cube melts, and rice puffs are as tasty as practical and convenient.
As though 2023 has not already been going stellar for Soul Souper, the brand was awarded the Singapore 500 SME Company of the Year 2023 by SME 500 Singapore.
“We will always be grateful and thankful for all the love and kind support all these years. If we are fortunate enough, we plan to open more outlets at different locations in Singapore to make it more convenient for our customers,” said Mr Chua.
“If we can venture abroad in other countries too for further expansion, that would be amazing,” added Ms Phua.
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