# #137 Plant-Based Dumpling Kings: Eric Wu and Adam Yee, Sobo Foods

- Show: [The Startup CPG Podcast](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-startup-cpg-podcast)
- Published: 2024-04-09
- Length: 59m
- Episode: 29
- Page: https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-startup-cpg-podcast/2024-04-09-137-plant-based-dumpling-kings-eric-wu-and-adam-yee-sobo-foods
- Listen: https://share.transistor.fm/s/9ace3e1a

## Summary

Eric Wu, co-founder of Sobo Foods and former founder of Gainful, and Adam Yee, food scientist and co-founder of Better Meat Company, discuss launching Sobo Foods, a plant-based Asian American frozen dumpling brand. They detail their journey from meeting at Kitchentown to scaling production, emphasizing the importance of authentic branding, nutrient density, and navigating the current venture capital landscape for early-stage CPG companies. The founders share insights on targeting retail buyers in the Bay Area, leveraging their previous industry experience to accelerate decision-making, and the surprising demographic trends driving plant-based adoption among Asian Americans and parents.

## Outline

1. Introduction and Founder Backgrounds
2. Meeting at Kitchentown and Early Product Development
3. Branding, Name Origin, and Cultural Authenticity
4. Funding Strategies and Venture Capital Realities
5. Product Formulation, Nutrition, and Consumer Trends
6. Retail Expansion and Sustainability Initiatives
7. Marketing Strategy and Advice for Product Developers

## Topics

- [Starting a product company](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/starting-a-company)
- [Validation & product-market fit](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/validation-and-product-market-fit)
- [Fundraising & investors](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/fundraising)
- [Marketing & brand](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/marketing-and-brand)
- [Scaling production](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/scaling-production)
- [Sustainability & circular products](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/sustainability-and-circularity)

## Most relevant to

early-stage companies

## Mentioned

- Sobo Foods (company)
- Gainful (company)
- Better Meat Company (company)
- Kitchentown (company)
- Motif Foodworks (company)
- Target (company)
- Berkley Bowl (company)
- Whole Foods (company)
- Sprouts (company)
- Erewhon (company)
- Gelson's (company)
- Molly Stone's (company)
- Raley's (company)
- Luke's Local (company)
- Gus's Bayrite (company)
- Collabtree (company)
- Y Combinator (company)
- WeWork (company)
- Function of Beauty (company)
- Purdue Farms (company)

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- [Dang Foods: Vincent and Andrew Kitirattragarn](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2022-01-24-dang-foods-vincent-and-andrew-kitirattragarn) (How I Built This)
- [339 - Beyond the Dieline ep 1 with Tom Seymour and Jessica Kwon from Moka Energy!](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/people-of-packaging/2026-02-05-339-beyond-the-dieline-ep-1-with-tom-seymour-and-jessica-kwon-from-moka-energy) (People of Packaging)
- [Sukhi’s Gourmet Indian Food: Sukhi Singh and Dalbir Singh](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2022-03-14-sukhis-gourmet-indian-food-sukhi-singh-and-dalbir-singh) (How I Built This)
- [Magic Spoon & Exo: Gabi Lewis and Greg Sewitz](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2024-02-12-magic-spoon-exo-gabi-lewis-and-greg-sewitz) (How I Built This)

## Citing this page

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