VBT 050: Interview with Eugene Wang of Sophie’s Kitchen

In this episode I interview Eugene Wang, founder of Sophie’s Kitchen vegan seafood company in Sebastopol, California. Eugene started the business in 2010 in response to his daughter Sophie’s severe allergic reaction to shellfish, along with learning about the devastating impact of overfishing. Currently available in more than 2m000 retailers across the US and Canada, Sophie’s Kitchen products are unique in that they use konjac (also known as elephant yam) to create the seafood taste, are soy-free, GMO-free, gluten-free, and contain no cholesterol, trans fats, preservatives, colors, MSG or sugar. Eugene has been involved in his family’s business, which manufactured and distributed vegetarian foods throughout Asia and North America for more than 30 years and he has extensive experience launching and developing growing businesses. This includes acquiring national distribution for the top US natural distributor, UNFI, and developing sales in the natural and specialty marketplace in Asia for leading US natural product companies. In this interview Eugene talks about: •    The three different types of meat alternative businesses and the importance of knowing which you are going to place your product in •    The importance of offline marketing, particularly for food products •    The importance of getting the right contacts to get your products into retailers •    The benefits of outsourcing your food manufacture rather than running your own factory •    The two types of entrepreneurs and the importance of defining which one you are •    Why you must keep a good credit rating and establish a relationship with your banker long before you start your business •    And much more Visit the Sophie’s Kitchen website Brands mentioned in vegan business news roundup: The Chocolate Story Temple of Seitan Wayfare Foods  Follow Vegan Business Media on: Facebook   Twitter  Instagram  Connect with me personally at: Facebook  Twitter  LinkedIn