Infant formula brand Bubs Australia saw revenue dive 23 per cent in the first half of the fiscal year, as the Covid-19 pandemic closed borders and brought the key daigou trade to a sudden halt.
However the worst of the damage was in the first quarter after which the company adjusted its business model, leading to a 36 per cent quarter-on-quarter improvement in the second three months.
Bubs founder and CEO Kristy Carr said the external forces brought on by Covid-19 led to “extensive channel disruption and supply and demand volatility” across the sector.
Carr said the company “reactivated” its daigou channel into a “Daigou 2.0 omnichannel selling model”, including online to offline, live-streaming e-commerce and social selling, offering delivery from Australia or from Chinese warehouses.
At home, Bubs continued to post the fastest growth of any infant formula manufacturer across Woolworths, Coles and Chemist Warehouse, tripling its market share, reporting overall sales up 55 per cent.
In China, Bubs’ Goat Infant Formula revenue surged 36 per cent, which helped partially offset the 55-per-cent decline in daigou channel sales for the group.
The company reported an EBITDA loss of $14.4 million.
