For all of the interesting startup activity in the tech sector, there’s exponentially more variety — and a bunch of equally interesting stories — in the consumer product startup community in Oregon. Like the story of Lisa Tran and Tan Tan Foods, a collection of Vietnamese sauces inspired by family recipes.
She recognized that her family’s cuisine could be branded beautifully, distributed on a wider scale, and even become a more mainstream part of U.S. food culture. But as she pushed toward her entrepreneurial vision, she faced resistance from the very person who created the product she was trying to sell: her mom.
For more on the entrepreneurial journey that was generations in the making, read “Her Mom Sold Rice Cakes in a Refugee Camp. Now She Sells Her Mom’s Hot Chili Sauce in Gourmet Grocery Stores. Her Mom Isn’t Impressed… Yet.” in Entrepreneur.
[Full disclosure: Tan Tan is an alum of PIE Consumer. I am the cofounder and general manager of PIE.]
