The 26-Year-Old Building a Chilli Oil Empire | Little Empires
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- Опубліковано 20 кві 2023
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Ethan Yong started his business because of a DM.
Yong was a graduate student working at a prestigious financial firm when he began intensely making chili oil in his tiny kitchen. Then, he started giving his homemade recipe to family and friends while perfecting the formula with their feedback.
One day, while scrolling his Instagram feed, he saw a friend post about an off-the-shelf chili oil. So Yong messaged him and asked why he bought chili oil when he could have grabbed a free jar from his homemade batches.
“And he goes, ‘Yeah, but this one looked really good. Why don’t you do it? Why don’t you try and sell it?’ And that message was enough for me to go, ‘You know what, maybe I will,’” Yong says. “And that’s how it all started.”
Within two years of brewing flavors in his cramped apartment, Yong has built his chili oil startup, UmamiPapi, into business with thousands of customers worldwide. The chili oil is now stocked in stores across Australia, including retail giant Coles.
But UmamiPapi didn’t go from broken burners and DMs to industrial kitchens and retail orders just because of its delicious flavors. Instead, Yong says it was a decision to sacrifice plans for a purpose.
Yong grew up loving spicy food. At age five, his mother teased him into dipping his tongue into the fire,
At university is when Yong first tried to make chili oil. He says those first batches were simple and didn’t have any of the subtleties that the UmamiPapi recipe has today-but the period allowed him to experiment without the pressure of customer demands.
After school, Yong began his graduate finance job remotely, and because of the lockdown period in 2020, he naturally continued his hobby of perfecting his chili oil formula.
Yong says what separates UmamiPapi’s oil is its ingredients-crispy garlic, onion, shallot, mixed with three different chilies-and flavor profile that focuses on taste rather than spice.
Following a direct message conversation with his friend, Yong started selling his oil via Instagram.
Soon, strangers started messaging Yong asking for the oil. Without a proper setup, he made transactions by messaging bank information back and forth, all while cooking on falling-apart stoves with barely any room to store jars of chili oil.
When the raving reviews for the oil started pouring in via social media, Yong realized Umami Papi was more than a hobby.
In 2021, he started working in person at his day job, meaning he couldn’t check on the simmering sauces between Zoom meetings.
So, he rented a commercial kitchen, hired a staff, set up a Shopify store, and registered the business. Leaving his home kitchen paid off. Soon, he was racing to keep up with demand, working nights and weekends while managing the products, staff, and shipping.
Sitting in his office cubicle, Yong would pop in AirPods and listen to The Foundr Podcast with Nathan Chan.
The stories of founders leaving their full-time jobs and wholly committing to their businesses kept motivating Yong.
Yong’s manager understood his dilemma. He’d brought samples of UmamiPapi into the office and got orders from team members. People knew the speed at which the business was growing.
With support from his manager and team, Yong left his nine-to-five to pursue Umami Papi full-time.
In the two years since Yong left his career in finance, UmamiPapi’s brand continues to engulf customers on social and in stores. Intending to bring the most versatile chili oil on the market, Yong is working on expanding the brand’s global reach into North America while maintaining the quality that separates UmamiPapi in the condiment market.
“I may not be changing people’s lives in the way other companies do for philanthropic reasons,” Yong says. “But, I think I’m improving the way people enjoy their meals. And that on its own is quite special.”
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It's refreshing to hear a story about someone who gave up their career to pursue not just a passion BUT a business they're passionate about. Thanks for sharing this inspirational story 🔥🌶
Thank YOU for watching and for such great feedback. More stories like Ethan’s to come!
I bought my first jar of Umami Papi last weekend, and it has bloody revolutionised my lunch! I use it 4-5 days per week, and it is absolutely delicious. Great story, i'm fully on board, 100%
Super proud of this one and to share Ethan’s story!
Agreed, the story here is inspiring. Proud to share it!
Proud Mama ❤️
Well done, UmamiMama!
SO proud of what you have achieved in such short time, Ethan. Inspiring mate.
Glad you enjoyed the video Ashish :)
2:18 crazy that he’s gone from that to what he’s built now in 3 years 😮
Shows what you can do with perseverance!
Kudos to you 🎉
Thanks for watching. What was the part you liked the most?
Love it mate! We've mowed through many jars and will continue to! Great story!
That's the plan!
Awesome!
ThankYou!
❤️🔥❤️🔥❤️🔥🌏🌍🌎
Thank YOU! How’s your business going?
Amazing!
Glad you enjoyed Ethan’s story. What was your favourite part?
very inspiring story! 🌶❤🔥🔥
thanks for watching!
Superb video. But, let me share this here knowing it can uplift someone that comes across it. Effective financial management made me rich and it is all you need if you want to build a strong financial future tomorrow. I started with 1000USD, 3 years ago I invested in a diversified stock market and fast forward to now I am worth 500000USD and am currently finishing my 8 unit apartments. I'm only 35 years old. Diversified stock investments have always proven to be very profitable, especially with the help of experts.
I'm really impressed. At 35, i was worth a little over $200,000 from * in the stock market. But what you've done with your *finances* and numbers you worth, is pure genius.
*Investing* in diversified stocks is a real hustle that has made me . I have two active stock portfolios and hope to create a third, which will increase my total return on earnings to over 120000USD
You have done well. It's people like you who set the benchmark for people like us to know that achieving financial stability and transition of status from being comfortable to wealthy is possible with the right *investment* plan.
I'm curious, is *investing* in a diversified stock *market* a pretty lucrative venture? Can you share how you achieved these figures?
@@zychenkonicholas9923 Experience plays a key role when *investing* in diversified *stock markets*, which is why I have Rachel Hilda, whose experience has greatly helped me persevere in the diversified *stock market*. For three years she helped me grow my portfolio using her diversified knowledge of the financial *market*.
Best Chilli Oil out there 🌶
🌶 the umamiarmy is coming out strong
Chachi! 🎉🎉🎉
Amazing work, editing king!
You've created a chilli oil that's unique. Love the spicy version of it. Make it one notch hotter, please. There is a bunch of us who like it hotter. 🔥
Brisbane, Australia.
thanks for watching!
Awkward messy jar, would prefer a nozzle to pour from.