The direct-to-consumer Chinese food startup
partners with Imaginary Ventures; debuts Chinese noodle
kits, including new plant-based options in collaboration
with Impossible Foods
SEATTLE, Oct. 13,
2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Growing direct-to-consumer
Chinese food brand Xiao Chi Jie
(XCJ) ー founded by second generation Chinese
Americans Jennifer Liao and Caleb Wang ー has raised
$10 million in their Series A
financing round led by Imaginary Ventures, joining actor
Simu Liu, Goldhouse Ventures, and
Hyphen Capital along with founders Colin
McCabe (Chopt), Jason Wang
(Caviar), Gabi Lewis (Magic Spoon),
Katrina Lake (Stitch Fix),
Scott Cutler (StockX), Shan-lyn
Ma (Zola), and more. The startup
ships restaurant-quality soup dumplings and Chinese BBQ skewers
nationwide, and today debuts new noodle kits which include a
plant-based option developed in collaboration with Impossible
Foods, featuring the brand's Impossible™ Pork product.
Liao and Wang started XCJ in 2018 as a restaurant passion
project after years of frustrating searches for honest
representations of their favorite Chinese street food specialties
stateside. The Seattle-based fast
casual concept flourished, but the pandemic forced them to
innovate; instead of serving hot takeout meals, they started
freezing batches of handmade soup dumplings and making local
deliveries. Word (and demand) spread like wildfire, and when they
started receiving inquiries about national shipping, the founders
had their lightbulb moment. They officially launched XCJ as a
direct-to-consumer company in late 2020, and have since sent over
ten million soup dumplings to home kitchens across the country.
"Despite its prevalence in the U.S., Chinese cuisine is woefully
underrepresented ー especially in the CPG space," says Liao.
"We're excited to partner with Imaginary to change that and
continue sharing the diversity and rich depth of the food that we
grew up loving."
IMAGINARY invests in iconic, generationally defining brands and
the technology businesses that empower them.
"When you break down the $50BN
Chinese food market category, it's evident there is a powerful and
accelerating consumer demand," says Logan
Langberg, Partner at Imaginary Ventures. "While the category
is massive, it's in large part comprised solely of restaurants.
What's missing from the market is a CPG brand that is an honest
representation of Chinese food with the ability to dominate online,
wholesale and food service to become a staple in American
households. We believe XCJ is that. Excellent quality products,
technical founders, vertical integration capabilities and 300%
growth just this year further underscore that belief, and we are
beyond excited to partner with them."
As trend reports continue to point to the explosive popularity
of Asian cuisine in the U.S., XCJ is in a position to supply an
increasing demand for consumer food brands that both thoughtfully
represent their offerings and are run by diverse founders. The
brand's current lineup includes restaurant-quality xiao long
bao (soup dumplings); bamboo steamers; sauces (including chili
crisp); shāo kǎo (Chinese BBQ skewers); and ice creams.
Today, that lineup will grow to include various noodle kits
inspired by different regions of China: Sichuan Dan Dan Noodles, Beijing Zha
Jiang Noodles, and Shanghai Scallion Oil Noodles. The first two
will have the option of making the dish plant-based (a rarity in
the Chinese food landscape) by substituting Impossible™ Pork.
With this funding round, the two-year-old DTC company will
continue to focus on high-quality products and customer experience,
lean into cultural experiences and education, and explore paths to
increase accessibility. XCJ will also rebrand in 2023 to reflect
their continued expansion because, as Liao notes, "we want a new
name that can continue to grow with us as we invite more people to
learn about our food and culture."
For more information about XCJ and to order your first delivery,
visit www.thexcj.com.
About Xiao
Chi Jie
Growing direct-to-consumer Chinese food company Xiao Chi Jie (XCJ) was founded in 2020 by
second-generation Chinese Americans Caleb
Wang and Jennifer Liao, who
are on a mission to share honest representations of the food they
grew up eating and open consumers' minds and palates to new and
exciting flavors, textures and aromas. Available nationwide,
XCJ's product line includes restaurant-quality soup dumplings,
Chinese BBQ skewers, sauces, bamboo steamers, ice creams, and now,
noodle kits inspired by different regions of China. For more information, visit
www.thexcj.com.
About Imaginary Ventures
In 2018, Natalie Massenet and Nick
Brown launched Imaginary Ventures to invest in the
tech-enabled brands and platforms that are changing the way we live
by providing best-in-class products and experiences. IMAGINARY is a
dynamic ecosystem of brands, forging meaningful partnerships and
fostering symbiotic relationships within their portfolio, going
beyond capital to provide strategic and operational support to
drive profitable businesses with staying power. The firm is
headquartered in New York and
currently has over $1 Billion under
management.
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SOURCE Xiao Chi Jie