Founder Feature: Jen Liao of MìLà
Jen Liao, co-founder of MìLà, explains how the brand pivoted from a local restaurant to a nationwide direct-to-consumer frozen food business during the pandemic. She details the technical challenges of developing a frozen soup dumpling that survives shipping, the high costs of cold-chain logistics, and the strategic decision to subsidize shipping via cheap ad spend. Liao also discusses securing investment from Simu Liu, navigating the complex timeline of retail expansion into Costco and Whole Foods, and the operational shock of moving to a larger facility.