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She got rejected by every single investor when pitching her “Chinese hot sauce”. Today, her $50M Chinese food brand is sold in 5,000 stores, including Whole Foods, Target, and Costco.
Here’s the story of how Jing Gao quit her tech job, raised $120K on Kickstarter, and produced her first batch of Sichuan chili crisp👇
Jing Gao is the founder and CEO of Fly By Jing, a company specializing in Sichuan flavors, like its ultra-popular chili crisp, hot pot kits, and frozen dumpling line.
Jing was born in Chengdu, China, but lived all over the world as her father was a traveling professor.
After living in Canada for over a decade, a job offer brought her back to Asia, where she lived in Beijing, Shanghai, and Singapore.
“When I was in China,” she reflects, “it was the first time I had realized how disconnected I had become from my heritage.”
Jing quickly reconnected to her culture through the local flavors of Chengdu.
She started an underground supper club showcasing Sichuan cuisine, hosting private dinners across the world.
Her Sichuan chili crisp was a big hit at her dinner parties, most guests asked if she had extra sauce they could take home.
That was the exact moment when Jing realized this could be a business. She continued to host dinner parties all over the world.
While in California, she attends Expo West, the natural food industry’s biggest trade show.
She was shocked to find out that only 5 out of 3,000 food vendors were Asian food brands.
She did what every entrepreneur would do: figure out if there’s any demand for her business idea.
She launched a Kickstarter campaign.
Campaign goal: $35K
Actual money raised: $120K!!!!!
Consider the idea VALIDATED! She had proven that there was a ton of demand for her products and yet…
Investors told her it was “too niche” and they passed on investing 🙃
But guess what happened next?
Her Sichuan chili sauce blew up, revenue 20x’d, and she raised $12M through private equity.
Today, her $50M Chinese food brand is sold in 5,000 stores, including Whole Foods, Target, and Costco.
3 takeaways for entrepreneurs:
1) Validate your idea. Jing launched a Kickstarter to confirm whether there would be actual demand for her Asian food brand. After she got an overwhelming response, she went all-in 👏
2) Find a gap in the market. Jing recognized an untapped market opportunity in the Asian food brand space. The best way to find business ideas is to pick an industry you love & keep studying it.
3) Persistence pays off: Despite facing rejection from investors who deemed her idea “too niche,” she kept going. The reward for not giving up? Every time Jing goes to Whole Foods, she now gets to take a selfie holding her own brand 🙌
Want to get business advice from a CPG industry expert? You can now book Jing Gao on Intro.
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