I Dropped Out of Regulation Faculty for My Snack Model. This is How We Thrived.

• Chris Hwang, cofounder of The Golden Duck, began the snack model in 2015 with one product — salted egg yolk chips.
• A decade on, it is offered in over 3,000 shops and plans to broaden into the US this yr.
• From promoting off his vehicles to afford payroll within the pandemic, here is how he constructed the enterprise.

This as-told-to essay relies on a dialog with Chris Hwang, the 33-year-old cofounder of The Golden Duck, a Singaporean snack model. It has been edited for size and readability.

At 23, I dropped out of legislation college to start out The Golden Duck, a connoisseur snack model that reimagines Asian flavors like salted egg yolk; a decade later, it’s offered in over 3,000 shops worldwide. We have set our sights on increasing into the US in 2025.

I haven’t got any culinary expertise, however I like meals.

The concept for the model took place when my cofounder, Jonathan, approached me in the future and requested, “What do you consider salted egg?”

I assumed, “Salted egg is nice. I find it irresistible in a Chinese language Zi Char restaurant. I like salted egg crab.”

I requested him what he had in thoughts, and he stated, “How about we make salted egg yolk potato chips?” I assumed it could be the sort of chips that include dips, a Western idea that does not actually promote properly in Singapore.

He stated, “Hear me out. I discovered a approach to put it on a chip in a dry format.”

I sat down with him and a chef pal of ours, and I attempted it. It was so mind-blowingly good. The flavour, with the chilies and curry leaves, completely coated the chips. I stated, “We’ve to do that enterprise.”

Cooking out of 1 tiny kitchen

We launched in 2015 with only one product — salted egg yolk chips.

At the beginning, our capability was so restricted that we have been simply making it out of a house kitchen, producing solely about 50 packs each day.

We began promoting them at a tiny seven-foot-long pop-up sales space in Singapore’s Suntec Metropolis mall for $7 a pop.

On the primary day, the gross sales weren’t too loopy. However on day two, a queue began forming. By day three, we had offered out by 3 p.m. and needed to put a most order of 5 packs per order.

Our merchandise are sometimes given as presents or purchased as souvenirs, and I believe that is the place it began. Folks began bringing their pals down to assist them purchase extra packs, and it grew to become a present merchandise for family and friends.

An enormous alternative for genuine flavors

We now have two traces of merchandise: our snack bins, which comprise flavors like salted egg crab seaweed tempura and salted egg fish pores and skin chips, and a line of canister potato chips.

Asian flavors are gaining traction within the West, and I believe individuals all world wide are craving genuine experiences.

Everyone knows what bitter cream and onion taste or barbecue tastes like. However why not have bitter cream and Sriracha?

That is one in every of our latest flavors within the canister line of chips that we launched in 2024, together with others like truffle wagyu and Himalayan pink salt.

Challenges in scaling up

We have been hesitant to scale up initially, scared that it was only a flash within the pan and it could flame out quick. So we have been very, very hesitant to place in capital to arrange a retailer.

We did pop-ups for a number of months till we lastly acquired a tiny retailer in Chinatown, which had simply sufficient house for one individual to work in.

From there, we saved increasing. From 2016 to 2018, we grew to 10 shops in Singapore and extra shops abroad. On the peak, we had about 15 shops, and we have been additionally promoting to retailers like 7-Eleven and different grocery store chains.

A number of the largest surprises in our enterprise got here from scaling up our personal manufacturing. The second we tried to present a product a shelf life, we needed to take into account, “How will this style after six months?”

Hiring the proper individuals was key. If you happen to rent somebody who hates being in a scorching place, your merchandise will come out fairly unhealthy. We would have liked to rent individuals who care about their meals.

Weathering the pandemic

The bottom level within the enterprise got here through the COVID-19 pandemic when our tourism income evaporated in a single day.

I subscribe to the ideology that leaders eat final. I assumed — if the corporate cannot afford payroll and can’t meet its obligations to proceed its enterprise, I will promote my vehicles.

From 2019 to 2021, I offered three vehicles in order that I may lead the fundraising efforts through the pandemic.

We additionally needed to restructure the crew, going from 200 head rely to about 120 over the course of 1 yr.

We needed to inform pals that we would introduced on board that we would not be capable to work collectively and that we have been sorry for the place the enterprise was.

We now have a crew of 25 individuals, producing outcomes near what our crew of 200 was producing simply 5 to 6 years in the past.

Eyes set on a US enlargement

A few years on, we now promote in nations world wide, together with China, Australia, Germany, and even Trinidad and Tobago.

Now, we’re eyeing the US as our new market.

I simply returned from the US in December. It is an enormous marketplace for snacks, second to none. And the US shopper is so discerning and excited, and so they’re completely satisfied to eat and check out new issues.

We needed to develop one thing that they might discover fascinating and thrilling however nonetheless acquainted, so we did not need to reinvent the wheel.

This new line of canister chips is principally like Pringles however higher. It is really easy to clarify to People as a result of we do not have to inform them what fish pores and skin is or what seaweed tempura is.