Jakarta-based upstart doughnut and dessert brand Butter Baby has a backstory like no other.
“There [are] these ancient Sumerian texts on clay tablets that tell the story of the Anunnaki,” says Butter Baby’s co-founder Nick Burch. “The Anunnaki [came] to Earth 400,000 years ago because they’re having environmental problems on their planet, so they try to solve these problems [by acquiring] gold, and Earth has a surplus of gold. We switched gold with butter, and that’s where the story of Butter Baby came from.”
Nick launched the venture with his twin brother Henry in Indonesia just last year, and the twins rant over each other excitedly at lightning speed, geeking out over the discovery of ancient mythical deities whom New Age theorists consider to be extraterrestrials. If the premise sounds a little crazy, that’s because it is – as Nick admits himself.
South Korean singer Jaehyun of NCT attends the opening of Butter Baby’s store at Jakarta’s Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in June 2026. Photo: HandoutThe twins may have inherited their creative genes from their famous mother, American fashion designer Tory Burch, but the wacky, borderline unhinged ideas bringing Butter Baby to life are entirely their own. Never could one have guessed that Butter Baby’s mascot, who looks to me like a butter-yellow cross between the Michelin Man and the Pillsbury Doughboy, was inspired by the history of the earliest civilisation known to man.
“It’s a butter alien who’s a failed inventor in Butterlandia,” Nick explains. “No one believes that he has invented interdimensional travel. But then Sour Baby, the evil villain, takes over, and they lose their core source of butter. Butter Baby is their last hope, and he travels the cosmos and crash-lands on planet Earth to find butter to save his planet.”
This wild creative universe stems from the twins’ deep dive into “esoteric studies of multiple different religious beliefs”, Nick says. Meanwhile, the conflict between Butter Baby and his arch-nemesis embodies “unity, consciousness and connection between all human beings,” Henry adds. “I don’t want to get too deep here, but it’s representing the yin and yang of humanity.”
Thai actor and singer Bright Vachirawit Chivaaree attends the opening of Butter Baby’s store at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in Jakarta in June 2026. Photo: Handout
Whatever it all means, it is clear Butter Baby has landed on a winning formula. The brand has expanded rapidly since its launch, with five locations across Jakarta already – including a prominent outpost at Indonesia’s primary travel hub, Soekarno-Hatta International Airport.
It has earned millions of media impressions from new openings and pop-ups, as well as a devoted celebrity fan base. In the age of the ugly-cute Labubu doll obsession, it’s easy to see why. Some of Asia’s biggest stars like Thai actor Bright Vachirawit Chivaaree, Hong Kong singer Jackson Wang and K-pop idol Vernon of Seventeen are all members of what the brothers call the Butter Baby community, posing with the brand’s burgeoning line-up of collectible toys and snacking on new flavours. The daughter of Kanye West and Kim Kardashian, North West, is a certified fan of Butter Baby’s antics, too.
Butter Baby’s store at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in Jakarta. Photo: Handout