What was your first job? What did it involve? I thought I would try a lot of things and would eventually find what was right for me. Jing Gao: I always knew I wanted to be an entrepreneur, but didn’t know what kind of business it was going to be. In the following interview, Gao discusses the challenges of moving Fly By Jing to Los Angeles, relying on customer support during rough patches, and taking Chinese food out of the “ethnic aisle.”Įater: What did you originally want to do when you started your career? Now, she plans to continue growing, with her sights set on adding more items from regional Chinese cuisines to her repertoire. The success of the Kickstarter led Gao to expand the brand with products like zhong sauce, frozen dumplings, and finishing oils. Nearly 1,700 backers pledged $120,000 in funds. Gao launched a campaign on Kickstarter to raise capital for production and gauge if there was interest in the U.S. As the market for chile crisp heated up in the last two years, Gao bet that people would be willing to pay more for higher-quality ingredients and better taste, and she was spot-on. The brand’s numbingly spicy Sichuan Chili Crisp is its most popular offering, despite the fact that it’s more expensive than the classic Lao Gan Ma brand that many consumers know. She opened a restaurant in Shanghai and then ran a traveling pop-up that eventually evolved into Fly By Jing, a modern Asian food company bringing flavor-packed pantry staples to kitchens around the world. After working in brand management and tech, Gao pivoted to food as a way to reconnect with her family and her heritage. That’s why Jing Gao - a native of Chengdu, China, the capital of Sichuan - built a business around it, transforming her own career in the process. The Chinese hot pepper oil, which usually gets its signature crunch from fried shallots and garlic, significantly upgrades anything it touches, from noodles and soups to eggs and ice cream. Today’s installment: Jing Gao.Ĭhile crisp has transformative powers. So in addition to selling directly to customers via the brand’s website, Fly By Jing is now available in more than 400 stores across the country, plus giant grocery retailers like Costco, Whole Foods, Wegmans and Sprouts.In How I Got My Job, folks from across the food and restaurant industry answer Eater’s questions about, well, how they got their job. People have realized that it is not any different from Cholula or sriracha, and that it’s nothing to be scared of,” she says. “Because of that messaging and because of our active insistence on marketing our products that way why chili crisp has become such a popular condiment in the US. with local branding, Gao chose to use English lettering to make her products more accessible. And unlike several Asian pantry staples sold in the U.S. In addition to her bold neon branding that just begs to be Instagrammed, the jar and packets themselves have detailed instructions on how to use the items, and the brand’s website also features a wide range of recipes for more ideas. Gao’s secret sauce to success lies in her deep understanding of marketing foreign pantry staples to a largely American audience. Making Chinese Ingredients A Staple In American Cooking “We want to be the go-to source for the highest quality Chinese food in the world,” notes Gao, sharing plans of slowly expanding her product line to include a lot more condiments and pantry staples in the coming months. She also stocks premium pantry staples from local manufacturers like a 10-year aged black vinegar, 3-year-aged doubanjiang and preserved black beans to name a few. For anyone new to the joy of digging into a hot pot, all you need to do is stock up on dipping ingredients (noodles, tofu, meat, vegetables.you get the point) to create your very own delicious hot pot to share with friends and family. To prove that Fly By Jing is more than just a sauce brand, Gao has recently launched a Fire Hot Pot Base, the first all-natural soup base option available in the west.
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