You don’t have to look hard to find a national brand that started from a single-family-owned restaurant. There’s In-N-Out: started by the Snyder family, McDonald’s: started by the McDonald brothers, and Chick-fil-A: started by the Cathy family. While we’re on the topic, go ahead and add Xiao Chi Jie into the mix (or XCJ for short). But unlike the previous three brands that spread primarily through new brick & mortar locations, our guest today started with a single restaurant and expanded into a CPG brand. Jen Liao and her then-boyfriend Caleb Wang (now husband) started the business as a way of connecting with their family’s history since they’re both second-generation Chinese Americans. Their modern take on Chinese street food was an immediate hit with the locals of Bellevue, WA, and they knew that their recipes were destined for a much bigger audience. So just like those other family-owned brands that came before her, Jen has her sights set on national recognition. Her goal is for XCJ to become the default Chinese food company in America.
Listen in as we cover everything from why most of her customers live in an Asian-food desert, why hiring someone to handle XCJ’s marketing was low on her priority list, and what it means to be a third culture kid.