FLY BY JING reposted this
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. -- Found this valuable? Repost and follow Intro to learn how the world's most successful entrepreneurs built $100M+ businesses.
Chengdu is known for their spicy foods 🌶️ Which makes this even tougher 💪🏽 S/O to you Jing Gao Some of..if not the spiciest food I’ve had So can only imagine the sauce with the 🍱 🤯😤
I love this story for several seasons. Believe in yourself, do what you know and love, and validate, validate, validate! Way to go!
That's a true example of Perseverance. Identifying the need by finding the gap is the way to validate your idea.
I even brought some back to Shanghai with me. Got it from New York’s Wegmans Food Markets in Geneva, NY!
Appreciate your sharing – it's a sentiment I, as a Canadian immigrant, relate to deeply. Navigating the VC landscape can indeed be daunting, often with a missing element of empathy – a cornerstone of human-centered design. Yet, stories similar to this remind us of the vital shift in perspective: from tirelessly seeking external validation to fostering self-belief, constant improvement, and resilience. Earlier this year, I discovered the wonder of chili crisp and have since been in its culinary thrall, though it's rarely available in stores. Now, knowing a brand that does more than just deliver a product but also supports a vision, I know which new favorite to rally behind. Let's keep giving our support to such impactful journeys.🌶️💙
Asha Patel does this sound familiar at all to you?
I love that entrepreneurship can come in so many different forms -- from a tech startup idea, to a condiment!
I am a big fan of the brand, the story, and the branding. The colors of the website are exactly right. That's one of the reasons why I also love the Day Job agency
It's so damn good, too!!
I help emerging leaders manage people & teams with empathy to drive impact with customers (90 days, 100% growth) | Project Management, Customer Success, Coach
6moGood on you Jing Gao! The reason for not getting investment because it's too "niche" is the same reason I've been hearing from businesses afraid to "over invest" in "very small groups". Ask them if they have data and a baseline; they don't. It's pure assumptions. There are so many examples of your story and how they crushed it so quickly. You're meeting people's needs and this is proof that it's not "niche". Plus, don't investors continuously say to find your "target market"? Sichuan food and sauce is AMAZING! I've never had that level of spicy food until I moved to Beijing and experienced it! Mind-blown! Keep it up!