The Bud guarantees a loyal customer base

  • Business: Apples and Sage Wholefoods
  • Location: Balwyn, Melbourne
  • Products: Home to 5,000 certified organic products
  • Customers: About 3,000 customers per week

Servicing more than 3,000 customers per week, Apples and Sage Organic Wholefoods in Balwyn in Melbourne’s eastern suburbs, has noticed firsthand shoppers are drawn to Australian Organic Limited’s The Bud Logo.  

The store’s owners, Jenny and Leo Watling, who oversee the thriving organic hub spanning across 220 square metres and housing more than 5000 certified organic products, said The Bud streamlined the shopping process for their loyal customer base.

“The majority of consumers recognise The Bud and it is something that gives them peace of mind. It means they don’t have to do the hard yards of reading the packets and labels,” Jenny said.

“They see The Bud and know it’s up to standard, they can simply buy the product and they don’t have to go through every fine detail; someone’s already done that job for them.”

Watch the story behind Apples & Sage

The Watlings’ store is frequented by a consistent base of customers, but Jenny believes those people, many who return “three or four times every week”, may not be so loyal if it were not for the stamp of integrity given by The Bud.

This immense trust in The Bud, has solidified Jenny’s opinion the industry should unite behind a singular, clear label for all organic Australian produce.

“It’s really important that there is just the one logo because it streamlines the process of finding certified organic goods for the consumer. If there’s five or ten different logos out there it just becomes confusing,” she said.

In a timely reminder to the industry about the importance of The Bud logo, the Australian Organic Market Report 2021 reported 31 per cent of shoppers who purchased an organic product in the past year believed they had previously been misled by labelling.

Jenny said it was reassuring, however, that 62 per cent of Australian consumers recognised The Bud symbol, which assured the buyer that all the product ingredients have been certified to the Australian Certified Organic Standard and had met rigorous certification checks.

“What The Bud really means is the producer has a certification certificate for the product, so their farms have been checked to ensure there are no synthetic chemicals, they have not tested on animals, and, they have looked after their employees… people have done all the work to ensure the consumer is getting a really strong, wonderful product,” she said.

The Watlings are deeply proud of their store, and reflected the business, in many ways, was a tribute to the organic food industry.

They have taken their organic dedication to the next level, and their entire store is certified under the Australian Certified Organic Standards (ACOS), to provide further reassurance to shoppers.

“That means customers can trust that anything we put in here has been checked,” Mrs Watling said.

“Our main focus is on certified organic product, so this further gives the consumer peace of mind about what they’re buying.”