Olivia Chen Transcript
Abena Anim-Somuah:
Hi, everyone. You're listening to The Future Of Food Is You, a production of The Cherry Bombe Podcast Network. I'm your host, Abena Anim-Somuah, and each week I talk to emerging talents in the food world and they share what they're up to as well as their dreams and predictions for what's ahead. As for me, I'm the founder of The Eden Place, a community that's all about gathering people intentionally around food. I love this new generation of chefs, bakers, and creatives making their way in the worlds of food, drink, media and tech.
Today's guest is Olivia Chen, co-founder of Twrl Milk Tea. Twrl Milk Tea is a company offering an innovative take on the classic milk tea drink and boba toppings. Olivia and I chat about her Taiwanese American upbringing, her career in beauty and PR before she made the leap into the food world, and how she thinks about representation as leader of an Asian and female-owned brand.
Thank you to Kerrygold for supporting today's show. Kerrygold is delicious all-natural butter and cheese made with milk from Irish grass-fed cows raised on small family run Irish dairy farms. Kerrygold's farming families passed their craft and knowledge from generation to generation. This traditional approach is the reason for the rich taste of Kerrygold. You can enjoy delicious sliced or shredded Kerrygold cheddar cheese available in mild or savory flavors. The shredded cheddar is perfect for those who love making mac and cheese. And now that grilling season is year, the cheddar slices will take any burger or veggie burger up a notch. There's also Kerrygold's classic salted butter in the gold foil. It's perfect for slathering on corn on the cob, always a summer fave. And the unsalted butter in the silver foil is an absolute must if you're turning sweet summer strawberries into strawberry shortcake. Visit kerrygoldusa.com to find the Kerrygold retailer nearest you and lots of great recipes.
Let's check in with today's guest. Olivia, thank you so much for joining us on The Future of Food Is You podcast.
Olivia Chen:
So excited to be here. I'm a bit fan girling right now. You can't tell I'm a little bit nervous, but I'm super excited. I listened to all your episodes and so honored to be here.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
Wow, thank you. That's so kind. So I'm sure you'll know this, so we always start with asking our guests, can you tell us where you grew up and how did food show up in your life?
Olivia Chen:
Yeah, so I was born in the Midwest and I moved to California when I was three. We went to Berkeley, California where my dad was a grad student, and food showed up to me in so many different ways. In particular when I was in kindergarten, my parents actually shipped my brother and I to Taiwan. My parents are immigrants and a funny story, kind of a side story is my mom was a bit of a celebrity in college. She took a national exam in high school that all students take and she was number one and so she was very famous. It was really, really hard to become number one in all of Taiwan and that's how you determine where you go to college. But when my parents came to the U.S. they actually had to work twice as hard, maybe even three times as hard just to kind of find jobs, to find their ways around.
My mom when I was in kindergarten decided to go back to get her master's in business. So she wanted to do it in a year, compress it so she shipped my brother and I back. She took us back to Taiwan and we didn't speak any Chinese or Taiwanese. My grandmother only spoke Taiwanese and that was a magical year even without my parents. I lived with cousins, I learned Taiwanese, I learned Chinese, I played in my grandparents' factory and my grandmother was an amazing cook. So food showed up in such big ways because she was just a prolific cook, and then the night markets in Taiwan, the street stalls, the daily wet markets. So all of those memories of food, the smells, they were kind of etched in my mind. And then when I came back to the states, I lost a little bit of that to be honest because in California my mom was a big baker, so she baked pumpkin pie, pumpkin bread during the fall, zucchini during the summer, and she was really a really amazing baker.
So it was actually much more American kind of desserts and foods. So those are almost two different worlds. I had this Asian influence and Taiwanese influence, and then when I was back in California there was just so much produce like peaches and cherries and we went apple picking, cherry picking, strawberry picking, all of those, but really just different parts of my life that had food influenced.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
What are some of the main dishes that you experienced in Taiwan or what are dishes that you can also find if you were to go to a traditional Taiwanese restaurant?
Olivia Chen:
Yeah, so my favorites are probably Taiwanese sticky rice. So it's made with a sweet rice. There's dried shrimps and mushrooms. It's a very laborous process, and in Chinese it's called you fan. and it just means oily rice. So it doesn't sound super yummy, but it's just a really beautiful, delicious dish and it brings me back to home. I love desserts. Anybody who knows me, I love ice creams, but there's so many fun Taiwanese desserts. There's a tofu pudding that you have made with a ginger, kind of like a brown sugar sauce, and it's just really delicious in the summertime. And there was actually a savory version that my mother loves, like a tofu pudding and so those are things that I grew up with. My parents when I was in middle school started getting a shaved ice machine. You put a bowl and then you freeze it and then you actually shave ice, and so then you put it with red beans and then condensed milk. And what I loved about it was just so fluffy and so delicious and so nostalgic.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
Before you worked in food, you had roles in so many different industries. You were in entertainment, you were in beauty, can you tell us a little bit about those roles and how they relate to the work that you're doing today with Twrl Milk Tea?
Olivia Chen:
Yeah, I want to maybe even start back when I was in high school. So one of my first jobs I worked at Target, I was a cashier and then I was a bank teller. And so those two jobs really solidified the importance of customers. How you engage with customers, how you chat with them, how you talk with them, how you make sure they feel valued. Fast-forward, when I started doing my other more real professional jobs, I landed in beauty and I also worked in tech and tech was when I first met Pauline. So we worked at a software company both doing marketing and we worked under Glenn Kelman who's the CEO of Redfin. And Glenn was an amazing marketer, very detailed oriented in data, but also he would test us literally in the elevator and he'd be like, "Give me the elevator pitch. In two seconds tell me what are we about?"
It would be so nerve wracking, you'd go to lunch and you'd think you're having a nice lunch and he'd be like, give me the elevator pitch. And so that really solidified the need to be succinct and brief and on point with what you wanted to communicate. So those were skills that I've taken over into all my other careers. The most fun one probably would be working for Estee Lauder Company where I did beauty and I've been in marketing. There's a lot of similarities between beauty and beverage. It's both very competitive. There are a lot of brands in beauty, there are a lot of brands in beverage. So you go to a supermarket and you look at the gold case, it's just filled with drinks and that competitive landscape, how do you stand out? I remember Estee Lauder similar to kind of Target and as well as being a bank teller is training is so important, how do you show up for customers?
The most important thing we did was train for a few weeks with the beauty consultants on the floor selling, and there's nothing more exhilarating as well as alarming as being on a sales floor. Imagining yourself in Times Square Macy's, all these customers are just walking past you and you're trying to get them to stop and try your beauty product. That's a little bit of what it's like to be on the floor in a supermarket as well and be like, "Oh, do you want to sample our drinks?" So that type of sales tools, I would say is the most important of launching a new brand. And a lot of people ask, what's it like to start a new brand? And I said, I think one, you have to be really confident and very passionate about sharing and educating others about what your product is about. And those are kind of the skillset sets that I took from my past careers is customers are number one.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
What are some tips and tricks based on your experience that you've had in the beauty and marketing world that you feel have applied to being successful in how you market and how you create events around Twrl Milk Tea?
Olivia Chen:
I think that's a great question. I think by nature I love planning events. So in my past life I was a publicist for authors, specifically Asian-American authors. When you represent authors, a lot of them are actually introverted. And so what you find is the ability to help draw them out and actually you have to do a publicity tour essentially, and it basically is putting on mini events at different bookstores and also non bookstores. So you can try to help them get their books onto Amazon bestseller or New York bestseller or just try to get people to buy their books. And essentially when you have a beverage brand, it's the same. You're also trying to have different events, host different outings so people can come and know you, get to see your drinks and buy your drinks. It's exactly the same concept.
Something that we decided to do early on in our company was actually to do collaborations with other AAPI founders and entrepreneurs. And so we did three limited edition boxes, and we actually partnered with them where we created the box, we actually had them give us the items, and then we promoted it. And then by doing that, we did kind of a Summer Delight, we did a Mooncakes Moments, and then we did a Twrl Me Up box. And all of those had different themes. The one I love the most would probably be the Mooncake Moments and the Twrl me up. And so the Mooncake Moments, the Moon Festival is my favorite holiday, and so it's something that's not as commonly known in the U.S., but it's very, very well celebrated in Taiwan especially and all of other parts of Asia. But the way they celebrate, its barbecues, you all have palmettos and you celebrate with friends and family and it's usually done on a rooftop because in Taiwan it's all apartment buildings.
I wanted to take that same love for the Moon festival to the U.S. And so we collaborated with Ruth Chan who donated like a postcard, we have Mooncake items from different vendors and just different things to celebrate and have that feeling of being together as a community. So those are kind of things that we try to do to uplift and give a voice to others because I think Pauline and I naturally come from a marketing background so we feel that that's an easy way for us to gather everyone together. Because as a small brand and a small business, you have limited time, limited resources, but collectively you have the ability to be stronger together. And that's what we really try to do from an event background.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
Let's take a quick break and we'll be right back.
Kerry Diamond:
Hi, everybody. I'm Kerry Diamond, the founder of Cherry Bombe and the editor-in-chief of Cherry Bombe Magazine. The Cherry Bombe online shop is temporarily closed because we're switching warehouses. If you are looking for the newest issue of Cherry Bombe, be sure to visit one of our amazing stockists. Cherry Bombe is carried by great bookstores, cafes, magazine shops and culinary boutiques across the country and abroad, places like Stella's Fine Market in Beacon, New York, Matriarch in Newport, Rhode Island, and Good Egg in Toronto. Visit cherrybombe.com for a stockist near you.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
Team Cherry Bombe is headed to Philadelphia. We're doing a live Future Of Food Is You event on Thursday, September 7th, and I'll be moderating a panel of local food folks. We'll be at the new High Street event space and there'll be great food, drinks and networking. For tickets or more information, check out cherrybombe.com. Thank you to Kerrygold for supporting this event, and I hope to see you there.
I want to talk about the idea of Twrl Milk Tea, these delicious milk teas and bobas that you have out in the world. How did the idea come to be with you and Pauline, your co-founder?
Olivia Chen:
Yeah, so Pauline and I have been friends for 20+ years and I'm super grateful for that friendship. When people ask, how do you start a company? How do you do it? And I said, well, first of all, really think hard are you going to do it alone or are you going to do it with a co-founder? And I think the reason Pauline and I have been successful is partly because we've been friends for 20 years, we've worked together in past capacities, we have a shared love of food and most importantly we have this shared sense of aesthetics. So she really focuses on topography because she was a food and packaging designer for many, many years, for 20+ years and I focus on events and business development sales. When we joined forces, it's an easy way to think about how to bring Twrl to life.
It almost began on the conversation we had 15 years ago. We were thinking about lotus chips and barley popcorn, and those were Asian inspired snacks that didn't exist. So I remember going to the aisles of Whole Foods and looking around, and there really wasn't anything either in the ethnic aisle or the main grocery aisle. So we started iterating, but then our jobs, motherhood took over and we were like, okay, let's put a pause. The pandemic came around and Pauline was really iterating. All the boba shops had closed and she's vegetarian, and she said, "I can't find anything great, but you know what? My fridge is full of plant-based milks and different concoctions of teas." And I was like, "Seriously?" She's like, "Yeah." So she started iterating, iterating, iterating and she ran some focus groups and from there, I have to give all the credit to Pauline, she really dove deep, found a co-packer, made it in her kitchen, scaled it and was doing it in her car.
We were chatting and we were like, "Do you want to do this together?" And I was like, "Sure." We were really optimistic. I think a bit of naiveness, a bit of optimism. We're like, oh yeah, we could totally do this. It's like we've been marketing for other people all our lives. It's time that we do it for ourselves. And it really stemmed back to the idea that we could not find a really great tasting milk tea that was using clean ingredients, low sugars, low calories, and we wanted to really change the conversation I think at the end of the day of having a great tasting product that didn't compromise on sourcing, that didn't have a huge impact on sustainability. So globally, six million boba cup milk tea cups are consumed a day. That's plastic lids, straws and cups that are filling the landfills. We chose non-dairy options because one Pauline's vegetarian, but the second is also the greenhouse emissions from dairy products, the byproducts. So they do have an impact.
Pauline and I are both moms, so we think a lot about the impact to the next generation. So we worked really hard to find small family farms to support them because they support biodiversity, they plant in season, they care about soil health. So those are the teas that we use. They're loosely beautiful, and then we chose Pu'erh milk. So Pu'erh milk, they're great because they're great for the environment, they don't use a lot of water. Those were some conscious choices that we made to bring Twrl to life in that manner.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
What were some of the things that you really wanted to hone in on, and what was the reception as you were transitioning into being more of a staple on shelves in and around the country?
Olivia Chen:
So what we really strived to do was create a brand that could be well received by all, be very inclusive. We were very intentional. So our teas, we have a black tea, we have a jasmine, we have a green tea when we first launched those three, but they all have a little bit of a twist. So our jasmine is made with a Pu'erh tea. So Pu'erh is a fermented tea, so it has these herbal notes. And our green tea is a Hojicha green tea, and then our black is a Taiwan style that's made with a dragon well tea. So they're a little bit all unique, but at the same time, when people are new to a milk tea, which essentially is a tea latte and instead of a coffee latte, it's this tea latte. They can be like, oh, I've had a black. I've had a green. I've had a jasmine.
And then for the people who are more advanced or more familiar with boba milk tea or just tea drinkers they're like, oh, that's interesting. That's a Pu'erh tea. That is a Taiwan style dragon well. That is a Hojicha. So that idea of how do you balance out everyone, but still be inclusive to people who are more connoisseurs of tea? That's one thing that we thought about as we were scaling and thinking about how do you take something you created that we loved in the home kitchen and then move it to a co-packer and eventually to the shelves across the U.S. and even now abroad. Those are kind of things that we've thought about. We actually spent the last year really not taking a lot of distribution because we wanted to figure out how to use scale. So in the U.S. it's very coffee centric. Even though tea is number two the number two beverage consumed in the world, coffee is actually still more predominantly dominated in co-packers and manufacturing and in just the beverage set.
But because tea is number two in the world, Asia, India, England, all tea drinkers, there's been very little innovation within tea. There's no nitro-infusion, we were the first to introduce that into the tea, the first brand. We were the first brand out of everyone, the major players', nobody had it, but we were the first. We were also the first to create the milk tea category, the tea latte category in the retail world. So two and a half years ago when we started Nielsen's and SPINS which are national trackers for food and beverage, they didn't even have the category. We actually went to them and said, "Hey, we would love to learn more about the industry. Are there any data points?" They're like, "We don't even track it." And so we actually had that conversation started the whole tracking of milk tea and tea lattes. So to this day, when you think about the beverage set, there's like tea, there's dairy, there's energy kombucha, but there's no tea latte.
And so we are the first in many, many retailers to create that whole set so it's actually a very, very big untapped market for us. Because of recognizing that, we spent the last year really focused on scaling, building out two different production facilities, building out two warehouses, really streamlining our team. And so those are the things that I would say when a founder is thinking about that, it's not just about taking what you love and create it in your home kitchen and saying like, oh let me test it out at the farmer's market. But if you really think you want to be here for the long haul, you really need to focus on cost of goods. You really need to think about, well are you going to be able to meet demand? And that's what we found when we went to our first Expo West two years ago, which is considered the Super Bowl for food and beverage companies where you demo there and you try to meet buyers. We had so much interest, we even got on TV. We were one of the only brands picked out by Fox 11 News to be featured and that feature led to the Whole Foods global buyer coming to see us.
We had a lot of different buyers come and reach out, but we quickly saw that there was going to be a limitation. And that limitation is because of how the U.S. is set up. That's one. And then two, just understanding how do you actually be able to streamline the productions to have efficiencies with costs.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
Totally. You're in some of the biggest retailers across the country. Obviously you can't just show up to Wegmans and say, “Hey, I have 20 pallets of Twrl Milk Tea, here you go.” What was the process like in convincing retailers or shops to take on the product and how do you bring in your sales background to make those deals happen?
Olivia Chen:
One thing is that our packaging, our messaging, a lot of it Pauline and I work on a lot, part of the sales strategy is one, having a great tasting product. Two, is having the right packaging on your product. So when you're leaving the product in the store your baby's there and you're not there to actually stand by it and tell people about it. Can it tell the story on its own? So that's part of why packaging and design is so important is because you have to have it be able to sell on its own when you're not there. That's really important. The second is, I would say, when you think about how do you explain to a new buyer who's not familiar with milk tea or boba milk tea? I would say the good thing is Boba milk tea is the number one growing category in tea. So it has 9% CAGR, which just means a lot and so there's a lot of growth potential. So I think grocery buyers recognize it. They'll say like, oh my wife or my children, or I've seen it on the streets of San Francisco or New York, but they might not see that in the grocery set because it's brand new.
So there's a recognition of that. And then I think by being moms as well as Chinese and Taiwanese, boba milk tea started in Taiwan and started in the '80s it exploded, and being able to authentically talk about these are flavors and profiles that I grew up with. I first was introduced to boba milk tea actually when my cousins and aunts came from Taiwan and they brought a shaker, they brought dry tapioca balls and I remember spending time in the kitchen with them and like boiling these tapioca balls, but you couldn't boil them too long, couldn't boil them too short 'cause then they wouldn't be the right consistency. Draining them, brewing tea and then putting tons of cream, tons of sugar and then shaking it, shaking it, shaking it, shaking it so you get the froth and then pouring out. And it had these the smoothie straws, the big, big straws. And so that experience, those stories, being able to authentically tell them to the buyer and educate them what is boba milk tea? Essentially it's a tea latte, but then it's fun without the bad sugars and all the bad ingredients.
So that education is so important for the buyer and being able to share that story. And I have to give credit to the buyers, buyers themselves, especially the food buyers. They're on trend. They know. And so we've been extremely lucky because they recognize our story. In fact, many have been very supportive 'cause we're a 100% women run. Our whole team is actually all women. We're a very small-
Abena Anim-Somuah:
Congratulations.
Olivia Chen:
Yeah, thank you. Yeah, we're a very small team. It mainly was Pauline and I for like two, two and a half years. And so now we've brought on a few more women, all different stages of life. So we love that inclusivity. But being able to have all of us work together to bring Twrl Milk Tea to life has been kind of a dream for us. And then circling back to that education piece, I tell founders all the time it's not just about educating the consumer, it's also about educating your distributor. It's about educating your buyer. It's about sharing that messaging. It's letting them see the vision because they're in some ways the gatekeepers to what you see on the shelves. And I think Pauline and I are very, very passionate about working on Twrl. We've had many careers before this, so this is a bit of a passion project. It's not something that we're just doing because this is something for fun. This is a true passion project.
And I think it's because when I was growing up, the brands that I saw on shelves and in my fridge and my pantry, they didn't reflect me. I grew up having Wonder Breads, Skippy peanut butter, those were the things I saw. I grew up in TV dinners sometimes. Those are what you saw on TV so that's what you asked your mom and dad for to be part of kind of the American diaspora or just feeling like part of what your other friends were having. When I think back of what I want to create with Twrl with Pauline is the idea that you can open up your pantry and see brands that reflect my own upbringing, my being a daughter of immigrants. And that part of those flavor profiles and the importance of culture and food is so important.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
How did you come up with the name Twrl?
Olivia Chen:
There's a legend that a Chinese emperor was walking through a garden holding a cup of hot water and a leaf twirled into his cup and that's when Twrl Brew Tea was born. So at Twrl we love puns. We have vibrant colors so we always say we're like steep in tradition, we're twirling in excitement. So that's how we came up with Twrl Milk Tea.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
I love that. Steep in tradition, twirling with excitement.
Olivia Chen:
Yes.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
That's so cool. If you guys don't have that on merch yet, you should.
Olivia Chen:
Yeah, that's a great idea. We should do that. We should do that.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
Something I want to talk to you about is I really admire you went to the University of Pennsylvania at the Wharton Business School and I feel like with a business degree you get to really understand the way to grow a food business while also getting to do something that you love. As someone who who has an MBA, what principles and lessons do you bring from your degree into your work? And if there are any MBA listeners listening right now that want to get into food, what advice would you have for them as well?
Olivia Chen:
I think the things I took away from being at Wharton and I was also at the Lauder Institute which is where I did my master's in international relations, I think there were a couple of really key important classes I took. One was Professor Diamond's class, negotiations. I would say that class was really, really unique because when you went into class, you were given a set of scenarios. Everyone was different scenarios and you then started negotiating. And what I learned from that was when you're dealing with your co-packers, when you're dealing with your buyers, you're having to actually negotiate all different terms. So understanding what did you really want? And I tell this to my team and to even to Pauline when we talk about it, it's like we really need at the end of the day know what we want. What do we want out of this conversation? What do you want out of where we want to be?
A lot of times there's so many shiny unicorns and shiny things that are happening, different opportunities but you have to center back and say, look, what do you really, really want? And that's what that negotiation class taught me. The second class I took that was life changing that I still talk about all the time now was a human resource class, and that was about how do you manage up and how do you manage down? And a company can break down because of co-founder issues, they can break down because of employee issues, and so how do you manage up? Well, managing up for us is dealing with our buyers, dealing with our retailers, developing a relationship. I would say relationships are where I have built our Twrl Milk Tea from and having a great relationship with a buyer and communicating. Making sure they feel heard, making sure we understand what their needs are. And then on the other side is just as we're building a team, as we're building a culture, we're still a really young company. How do you keep those things in mind?
And then I would say the last thing is what we spent the last year on, cost of goods. How do you scale? Where do you scale? A lot of people think that when you scale you'll be able to have more savings. I actually think that's not true. I think when you scale, yes you'll have more volume, but you actually have also more issues. You have more points of distribution, you have more staff, you have more buyers. So just managing that, that's all infrastructure.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
How did you and Pauline think about financing and what advice would you give to anyone that's trying to start out with as little or as much money as they can get?
Olivia Chen:
I think it's a great question. I think especially in CPG, it can be such a barrier just having all your money sitting in inventory. That's what I think a lot of people don't realize that when you create something like this, it's not like you can just produce it right away and then ship it and sell it right away. You have to actually pre-make these in months in advance. So when we first started it was bootstrapped. We used savings, we put money in, we had some savings from our previous jobs and then we worked out a lot of credit cards, we have so many different credit cards. Which one has the best points? We used points to book hotel stays or car stays if we have to do events. We're very, very scrappy. I would say that's probably our Chinese and Taiwanese hustle where we saw our parents as immigrants make due with what we have. So we're very, very capital efficient. We don't overspend, we don't do a lot of gifting to be honest. And it's because we are completely bootstrapped.
We've applied for a bunch of different grants and I would say we're a part of Naturally Bay Area. We won a Pitch Slam for that so we were able to go to a trade show from there. We've won other grants from Spark Accelerator, which is focused on Taiwanese Americans. I highly recommend. And so I would say looking for those different opportunities. At the end of the day it's also working out a relationship with your co-packers and your ingredient suppliers and seeing if there's creative ways. We have a especially one co-packer that we work with, very generous terms with us. They really believe in us, and so that's very unusual I'd say in the co-packing world, but we are able to produce and ship and then we pay, which is unheard of. Unheard of.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
Wow.
Olivia Chen:
So just finding that and building those relationships.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
I know we've talked a lot about your representation and and how Twrl exists in the world, both as a female company and an Asian owned company. How have you found support from those respective communities and how can the society be more accepting of these demographics and these women and Asian owned founders as they continue to grow and build their companies?
Olivia Chen:
I think we've been really lucky that we are coming to age in such a way where there is such an acceptance and such a welcoming of Asian American founders and BIPOC founders and really a hunger for foods and cultures that represent them. So that's the first and foremost. So we see that from the buyer level. We see that from the media. I would say that there needs to be more. I think there's a lot of diversification within the Asian American community. We're Chinese and Taiwanese, so we represent that diaspora and we feel very confident in talking about that. And I think that there needs to be more nuances in that because the BIPOC Asian American community, there's so many of us and when you think about the grants that are out there, there's only a handful of them and we're almost in a way some ways all vying for the same pie.
So I would say being in the women community or the BIPOC community, but I would say I would want to encourage more. It can't just be like, oh we'll have this grant for that community and that's it. I think it should be opened up to more and so there's more opportunities. That's why I would say that part. So we've been very fortunate to benefit. We were picked as Instacart's Women Grant, so as part of their $1 million campaign, we are one of three organizations and we were the only-
Abena Anim-Somuah:
Congratulations.
Olivia Chen:
Thank you. And we were the only one of color I would say. Having more organizations do that type of legwork where it's not just focused on women or focused on BIPOC, but just more opportunities for all of us.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
You know we're huge manifesters on the podcast. How do you hope to see Twrl grow in the next few years?
Olivia Chen:
So I think for me and for Pauline, we believe that Twrl can be synonymous with tea lattes. So similar to how frappuccinos are synonymous with Starbucks, we are dreaming that big. Basically milk teas are the alternative to coffees, lattes. And so it can be just as big as the coffee latte. We also believe that milk tea and our boba toppings, we have these boba toppings that they should be out of the ethnic aisle and in the main grocery aisle. I think that there are still some retailers when they first meet us, they're like, oh, I think you should be in the Asian aisle or the ethnic aisle. And I'm like, well I think bobas are the new sprinkles. I think they can be in any aisle, they can be in any end cap. I think milk teas can be in the beverage set right next to the tea and coffee lattes and we have done that with other retailers.
So there's still a bit of that education, but that's where we vision Twrl Milk to be. Some of the manifestations, I think about who I might want to work with. I love Joanna Gaines to be honest. And Molly Yeh for the Magnolia Network. I think they just have this fun spirited side and they're both Asian Americans as well and so kind of that related beautiful aesthetics. I'm a secret interior designer at home and so is Pauline, so we have-
Abena Anim-Somuah:
So cute.
Olivia Chen:
That little bit of... But then there's also this food side. I have a secret crush on Francis Lam, his voice crush.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
The Splendid Table.
Olivia Chen:
Yes, The Splendid Table, a great podcast and really advocating all different types of food brands and cooks and chefs and restaurants. I grew up watching Martha Stewart reading all her magazines, so I have a secret love for that. And last shout out to Alice Waters in Berkeley, we're really big fans of Chez Panisse.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
So we're going to do our future flash five. How are you feeling? You excited?
Olivia Chen:
I'm so excited. I'm ready.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
Okay, let's do this. The future of food businesses.
Olivia Chen:
Global.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
The future for female founders.
Olivia Chen:
Change makers.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
The future for consumer packaged goods.
Olivia Chen:
Diverse offerings.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
The future for sustainable products.
Olivia Chen:
The norm.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
And finally, the future of milk tea.
Olivia Chen:
Tea latte.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
Amazing. Olivia, thank you so much for joining us on the podcast. If we want to continue to support you, where are the best places to find you.
Olivia Chen:
Please look for us on Instagram @twrlmilktea.com. It's T-W-R-L Milk Tea. And then connect with us on LinkedIn, on our website. It's the same URL and same handle and we'd love to connect with you.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
Amazing. Well, can't wait to keep drinking some milk tea.
Olivia Chen:
Thank you.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
Before we go, our guest is going to leave a voicemail at The Future Of Food mailbox just talking to themselves 10 years from now. You have reached the Future Of Food Is You mailbox. Please leave your message after the beep.
Olivia Chen:
Hey Olivia, fast-forward to 10 years and I hope you and Pauline have built Twrl Milk Tea to be a global food and beverage brand, where Twrl Milk Tea is now synonymous with tea lattes and continues to push the boundaries in an innovation sourcing and flavors. And both of you continue to be leaders and change makers in the community advocating for sustainability and the importance of clean ingredients and better for you options. Knowing you, you'll be the doing the publicity tour around the world to share the stories about culture and food and why it is so important to all of us, especially as children of immigrants. Hopefully mommy and daddy would've had a chance to read it and share it with all their friends. As a mom, I hope that I continue to have a close relationship with my son and he knows that I'm so proud of all he does and hopefully always be able to share a good meal together, especially dessert.
On a personal note, you'll have finally achieved your dreams of splitting your time between the Bay Area and Taipei, crossing your fingers that you found a beautiful and cozy place to call home in Taiwan. Somewhere where you continue to have a vibrant and active lifestyle while exploring the amazing wet markets of Taiwan and its beautiful culture. Most importantly, I hope you continue to choose the projects that speak to you and allow you to have the creative freedom to be you. Nourish those collaborations and friendships that feed your soul and support the Asian American community, especially your fellow Taiwanese and Chinese entrepreneurs and their endeavors to be the best they can be. 10 years has sure flown by fast. Can't wait to see what the future holds for you.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
That's it for today's show. Do you know someone who you think is the future of food? Tell us about them. Nominate them at the link in our show notes, or leave us a rating and a review and tell me about them in the review. I can't wait to read more about them. Thanks to Kerrygold for sponsoring our show. The Future Of Food Is You is a production of The Cherry Bombe Podcast Network. Thanks to the team at CityVox Studios, executive producers Kerry Diamond and Catherine Baker, and associate producer Jenna Sadhu. Catch you on the future flip.