While Asian cuisine is the most popular among consumers when it comes to eating out, it’s the least represented in supermarkets.
No one is more attuned to that dichotomy than Lucy and Nancy Chen, co-CEOs of Mr Chen’s Dumplings, the Asian cuisine brand sold through supermarkets and to Asian restaurants across Australia.
Lucy Chen was a guest of Amie Larter, CEO of Octomedia, the publisher of Inside FMCG, and Angeline Achariya, Asia Pacific chair of the Food Systems Innovation and Resilience Wing, G100 Mission Million in the latest edition of Women Transforming Food, the monthly podcast from G100 and Inside FMCG.
“As you know, with Asian cuisine, it’s always like 10 to 15 ingredients just to make a soup or a stir-fry that tastes authentic,” Chen says. “That’s been really important in how we’ve developed our food to make sure that it’s authentic tasting and the steps are easier than having 20 different condiments in your fridge.”
The Chen sisters’ parents migrated to Australia as refugees from Vietnam and grew up in public housing.
She recalls her father always being fussy about food – where they bought their meat, how they cut the Chinese broccoli, and even how to angle the knife to slice ingredients so they tasted the best.
“As far as I can remember, food has always been a big part of our family. We always eat dinner together every night at the dinner table. So it’s always been a part of our upbringing and culture. A kind of passion for food with business.”
That family experience and passion for food play a huge role in ensuring authenticity and flavour remain absolute priorities for Mr Chen’s, in order to maintain growth and build market share.
“Going back to our values and knowing who we are – and who we’re not – has been really important for growing our team,” she shares. “While it is always tempting to become mainstream, it is crucial to preserve the brand and product culture.
“Typically, a lot of Asian flavours have gone on the side of sweet to kind of be able to cater for what is considered mainstream, but we’ve always been trying to stay as authentic as we can because we think the Australian palate has become way more sophisticated over the years. We think everyone’s ready and people want to eat those authentic flavours.”
Chen observes that social media is making the world a smaller place, with new brands popping up all the time and larger brands entering the Australian market. “Australia is unique with our close proximity to Asia and our love for Asian food, so for us to maintain our legacy and the brand Mr Chen’s, we need to stay agile, stay on top of trends and also be really conscious of our authentic roots.”
However, she is confident that locals love Australian businesses, her brand’s story, and its growth. “That’s helped us a lot, along with the trust around our brand.”
Chen believes Australians’ taste and knowledge of Asian food is continuing to evolve.
“The younger mainstream generations haven’t grown up with meat and three veggies. They’ve grown up with sushi, they’ve grown up travelling to Asia, … so I feel like [it is important to be] on top of those trends and make sure we are giving authentic flavour to the mainstream consumers, really bringing them into Asian food.”
The sky was the limit
Chen’s parents came to Australia with nothing but gave their children an education. “So the sky was always the limit with my sister and me running the business. We thought: They came here with nothing; we should be able to build something amazing.”
From two sisters with a bold plan, Mr Chen’s now has more than 40 staff and boasts more than 100 SKUs.
The Mr Chen’s business is divided into two channels: The consumer products sold in the aisles of mainstream supermarkets, and a second selling into Asian grocers and restaurants Australia-wide.
In the latter, Mr Chen’s is able to supply products that appeal to very authentic customers; lines that would never be mainstream. Items like pickled Vietnamese leek and pickled fish. Some products have crossed channels, however: Mr Chen’s dumplings were selling well in Asian grocery stores and restaurants, so they successfully took it mainstream.
Early in the business, Chen recalls how the pair wrote down their vision and values. “I think we knew early on who we are, and that’s important to us.” Authenticity was a key: Being true to who you are. “After we wrote down the values, we went out and found people for our team who aligned with them.”
“It’s a bit of a catchphrase, but we really do live our values in our business.”
- Listen to the podcast to learn what happened when Chen approached major supermarket retailers with zero experience and how one product was rejected multiple times before finally being ranged; the unorthodox way she interviews job applicants, and what happened in the quest to find the perfect chilli oil.
