DayDayCook Acquires Yai’s Thai
Hong Kong-based DDC Enterprise, which operates the DayDayCook brand, announced today it has acquired Thai American foods brand Yai’s Thai for an undisclosed sum, further expanding its presence in the U.S. market.
Founded in 2012, DayDayCook is a self-described “content-driven food consumer brand” specializing in ready-to-heat, -cook and -eat products with a presence in both the U.S. and Chinese markets.
Yai’s Thai, a maker of stir-fry sauces and ready-to-eat curries, represents the second acquisition of a U.S. consumer brand by DayDayCook this year, following its August purchase of San Francisco-based noodle, broth and stir-fry kit brand Nona Lim.
“Yai’s Thai is an important addition to the DayDayCook family, as it expands our presence into key food retailers and helps increase awareness among U.S. consumers of what DDC has to offer to the market,” said Norma Chu, DayDayCook founder and CEO, in a press release.
“Yai’s Thai and DDC share many important core values – our dedication to natural ingredients, commitment to product excellence, and passion for promoting Asian cooking culture,” Chu added. “Founders Leland [Copenhagen] and Sarah [Hughes Copenhagen] have built an incredible foundation with so much potential to bringing new product innovations to more consumers in the U.S.!”
According to the release, Yai’s Thai is currently available in around 4,500 stores nationwide – including Costco, Whole Foods, Safeway, Sprouts and Kroger – and is projecting total 2023 revenue of $8-10 million.
“We are excited and honored to join the family of brands under the DayDayCook umbrella,” said Yai’s Thai CEO Leland Copenhagen in the release. “We feel incredibly fortunate to find a partner whose mission and values so closely echo our own; authenticity, bold flavors, and clean labels have been our guiding pillars all along.
“This transaction is a meaningful step in our aspirations for Yai’s Thai and will allow us to achieve the goals we have set out for the future of the brand.”
DayDayCook’s expansion into the U.S. arrives as consumer interest in Asian foods and flavors is rising and many grocery chains have begun to revamp their international aisles to bring in new, entrepreneurial brands.
The acquisition comes less than a month after DayDayCook began trading publicly on the New York Stock Exchange. In an interview with NYSE TV, Chu said the company aims to be a global Asian foods brand portfolio business.
“It’s not just really limited in the U.S.,” she said. “The growth and demand for convenient Asian meal solutions, we’re really seeing it across different markets in the world. So we are also finding some very interesting opportunities in other parts of the world like Europe, Southeast Asia and also in Australia.”
