Three colleagues who used to work in the corporate world joined forces and built United Baarde, Incorporated (UBI), the manufacturing company behind the cat food brand Dear Kat.
They are Douglas “Jiggs” Baarde, Jr., general manager; Julius Ladica, head of digital marketing and importations; and Wilson Samoranos, head of sales and operations.
Their common denominator: they are all pet lovers and pet owners.
Jiggs held executive positions in well-known companies in the past. He has four dogs and a cat.
Julius used to be a sales manager in a pharma company and has adopted 19 stray cats.
Wilson previously held managerial positions and has a pet dog.
Recounting how UBI was built in 2023, Jiggs told PEP.ph (Philippine Entertainment Portal): "We’re all from the corporate sector, and then one day, we decided to start this company mainly because of two things: One, is we thought that we wanted to start a business so that we can attain the kind of freedom we always wanted...
“Secondly, if we’re going to do that, might as well make it meaningful. Since we love pets, we’re not just experiencing this industry. We love pets. We have a lot of pets at home. Si Jules nga 19 ang cats.”
For Jiggs, putting up the business is not just “business”; it is personal.
Highlighting the company's mission, he said, “Our goal really is to push the human capacity to care for pets. In simple terms, raise the awareness of responsible pet ownership, including caring for strays.”
Jiggs' deep love for pets comes from his belief that animals contribute a lot in enriching their owner's lives.
Elaborating: “This is not just an observation in general, but also from personal experience…
“Pets have enriched the lives of people, and it has enriched our lives, and we would like to see how we can reverse it.
“If they [pets] have enriched our lives, what about humans caring for pets the best possible way? That’s what we want to do.”
UBI makes dog food, cat food, and aromatic cat litter.
Among UBI's products, Dear Kat cat food is the one that Jiggs tagged as the company's "special brand."
"We thought we needed a special brand that will have the ability to reach the masses in order for us to succeed as a platform for what we set out to be our mission in the first place when we started this," Jiggs explained.
Finding the right partner to manufacture the cat food was the biggest challenge.
Continuing, Jiggs said: "It was a long process. It took us a long time to finally find that formula, to look for that manufacturing partner, to allow us to launch this kind of product…
"To launch a cat-food product that meets all the requirements for the health and wellness of the cat, and at the same time, priced affordably. Yun yung naging challenge.
“It took a long time, but now we’re finally here.”
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DEAR KAT CAT FOOD
Dear Kat cat food is an "answered prayer" to a lot of cat owners.
With the commercialization of pet care and pet-care products nowadays, fur parents are facing the challenge of looking for affordable pet products and services without compromising quality.
And that is what Dear Kat cat food brand is all about, says the UBI owners.
Highlighting the company's commitment to better pet care, Jiggs said that this cat food brand is cheaper than its competitors, but formulated to give pet cats' nutritional needs.
“Not only will it address the nutrition that your cat needs because it’s affordable, it frees up your resources so you can care for your cat in other areas, [like] veterinary, buy toys, pet bed, grooming also…
“If you have more resources, you don’t have to spend unreasonably high amounts for nutritious food…
"You’ll have resources for other things that will make the welfare or quality of cats life so much better."
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