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During the pandemic years, the beauty industry saw a spike in the number of consumers wanting organic, plant-based products. For Kylie-Lee Bradford, the founder of Kakadu Organics, the spike was starkly noticeable.
“The medicinal properties, the healing elements of our bush foods, our practices and our methods was just really highlighted over that COVID period where everyone got locked down and they were scared,” she said.
“Going back to country and being healed by country and by plant based options and bush medicine was absolutely a spike and why things really shifted in the native food and native botanical space.”
Bradford, a proud Murrumburr woman, founded her organic beauty brand in 2014, specialising in skincare and wellness products made from wild-harvested, organic native foods and bush medicine. The beauty line’s hero ingredient, Kakadu Plum, has been a staple in Indigenous culture for generations, Bradford explained.
Growing up in Kakadu, she understood the power of its natural qualities and knew the benefits it would afford alongside modern beauty philosophies of hydration, brightening, and natural radiance.
“The shift towards native botanicals is here to stay, and I believe the organic beauty movement will only keep growing,” she said. “Having a simple skin care routine that is kind to the planet and doing beautiful things to you, I think, is something that just won’t go away now. People are really conscious about what they’re doing to the planet, how they’re sourcing their products, where their products are made.”
For Bradford, who is a mother of four, the company was founded as a tribute to her mother, a traditional owner of Kakadu known for her work as an advocate against mining and creating inclusive community gardens.
“Creating Kakadu Organics is definitely a legacy piece for my mum,” she said. “Really trying to build sustainability within our communities across various industries and work that she’d done. I really wanted to keep her legacy alive and all the work that she’d done.”
Before her beauty and wellness line, Bradford had run a children’s clothing brand, called Kakadu Tiny Tots, which utilised her mother’s artwork. Bradford and her team created sample designs with her mother’s artwork, including pieces inspired by dream time stories.
The move into the native food and wellness space was natural, Bradford explained. “During that time we were exploring what our customers wanted to see from us, and not just making things because they were nice, lovely little baby clothing,” she said.
But selling high quality, organic beauty products was not all that she wanted to do. Bradford is also a staunch advocate for other Indigenous businesses. Through Kakadu Organics, Bradford offers business coaching and mentorship programs to assist Aboriginal women in rural and remote communities to build their own enterprises. Bradford is especially keen to help other Indigenous businesses grow in the Southeast Asia market, where natural remedies, high-quality skincare, and organic botanicals are in high demand.
“We’ve seen continued demand from Southeast Asia, where skincare rituals focus on gentle, effective, and botanically rich products,” she said. “That demand helped us expand into the region, solidifying our place in the native food and botanicals market. They know and love Australian brands, culinary and wellness products, they know how gourmet they are, they know how beautiful they are and that we have some of the best produce in the world.”
Recently, the Australian Government released a new initiative designed to encourage Australian businesses to broaden their trade with companies in Southeast Asia, including those in Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Timor-Leste, and Vietnam.
The initiative was based on the Invested: Australia’s Southeast Asia Economic Strategy to 2040 recommendations, that will improve two-way trade and investment between Australia and Southeast Asia. According to the government, Southeast Asia is tipped to be the fourth largest global economy by 2040, with a projected GDP growth of 383 per cent—rising from US$3.60 trillion in 2022 to US$13.86 trillion in 2040.
Bradford said that Kakadu Organic’s recent expansion into Southeast Asia, particularly Malaysia, is about more than just growing Kakadu Organics—it’s about paving the way for other First Nations businesses to enter the export market.
“There’s a huge learning curve when it comes to international trade,” she said. “You need to understand regulations, supply chains, and cultural expectations. But the more knowledge I gain, the more I can share with other Indigenous entrepreneurs who want to take their brands global.”
“If I can help eliminate some of those barriers, we’ll see more First Nations businesses—especially those led by women—thriving internationally.”
Bradford knows that for First Nations communities, economic empowerment is key. “Many women in rural and remote areas don’t want to leave their communities just to find work,” she said. “If we can help them create sustainable products and generate revenue through global markets, they can build better futures for themselves while preserving their cultural knowledge.”
Beyond championing for other First Nations entrepreneurs, Bradford is working on herself. To run a business, she said, one must work on their own personal agendas.
“You have to have a lot of inner strength and just have your routine down pat,” she said. “Be caring for yourself, be kind to yourself, because if you’re not kind to your inner self, and you’re not working on yourself continuously, you’re not actually any good for your business. The better you can be within yourself, the better you’ll be within your business.”
She admits that it took the first five years of running her business, trying to juggle parenting four children and hitting burnout that finally made her realise the key to successfully managing a business.
“By working on myself and taking time out to do my running and to do yoga and to meditate…it definitely showcases within my business,” she said.
“Letting go of control and trusting that I’ve trained or given enough information to my staff to be able to run with the brand and be proud of the brand. Being able to let go of control for another manager or another Operations Manager is huge, and it takes a lot of self discipline to not micromanage them.”
Image: Kylie-Lee Bradford.
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