Fly By Jing Raises $5M to Move into Retail

What Happened?
D2C condiment brand Fly By Jing announced late last week that it had raised $5 million from investment firm Prelude Growth Partners.

The deal came together quickly in under two months, said Fly by Jing Founder and CEO Jing Gao, and was prompted by Prelude’s interest in partnering with the company rather than Fly by Jing seeking out investors.

What Is Fly By Jing?
Founded in 2018, Fly By Jing evolved from a popup restaurant series Gao ran in Shanghai. She said she was inspired to start a CPG line after attending trade show Natural Products Expo West and becoming dismayed by the lack of diversity among founders. While research firms and retailers alike spoke of the rising interest in global flavors and spice, she said, there were few brands creating products that spoke to these trends authentically. Meanwhile, she added, consumers were under the perception that Chinese cuisine had to be cheap, or saw authentic products as intimidating.

“I really wanted to rewrite some of these false narratives about Chinese food that have existed for so long,” Gao said.

Gao launched the company through a Kickstarter campaign, ultimately raising approximately $120,000 through the crowdfunding platform. Since then, Fly By Jing has largely focused on direct-to-consumer sales, with the bulk of its business coming from its own website.

Having launched with a single product, Sichuan Chili Crisp, its portfolio has since grown to include a Mala Spice Mix and Zhong Hot Sauce. Over the last year the company has also developed new, bold packaging meant to reflect an evolution from simply eye-catching to also now challenging consumer assumptions.

“What we really wanted to do was illustrate the fact that this is a product that is not going to fit into your expectations or perceptions of what Chinese food should be,” Gao said. “We wanted to illustrate that [Chinese food] is not a monolith. Your perception of it or your strong belief in what it should be is probably due to a lack of exposure to what else is out there.”

At the same time, the rebranding also served as an evolution for Gao herself. In 2020 she “reclaimed” her given name of Jing, in place of the moniker Jenny she had gone by for years.

What’s the Capital For?
It’s time for Fly by Jing to take the next step, Gao said, and in order to “be where our customers are,” that means heading into retail.

Over the next few months the company will debut in Sprouts stores nationwide along with launches in some regions of Target, Whole Foods Market and Costco. The company has also recently launched with delivery services FastAF and Gorillas, both of which promise to deliver products directly to consumers in two hours or under ten minutes, respectively.

To support these efforts, Fly by Jing plans to invest in marketing and sales, as well as hire more staff, Gao said.

New products are also on the docket. Though the company’s trademark includes product types such as dumplings and frozen foods, Gao said in brick and mortar retail the brand will focus on its signature chili crisp and spice offerings. Other innovations, she said, will likely remain as D2C only launches, with the channel offering more room for “experimentation.”

When Gao first launched the brand, chili crisp was relatively new to mainstream consumers. But over time, more craft options have emerged — particularly during the pandemic as former foodservice employees and restaurants looked to create alternate streams of revenue. Meanwhile, even Trader Joe’s launched its own private label option.

While Gao said she hopes that more authentic products can help contribute to the larger goal of educating consumers, she takes umbrage with large corporations trying to make a traditional product trendy, stripping away its cultural associations.

“I think that when brands or retailers do that it kind of is an attempt to literally whitewash. It’s like white labeling whitewashing and making something devoid of its cultural background,” Gao said. “I think that what we can do is just continue to have a real voice.”