XCJ Adds $21M in Funding, Readies for Rebrand
Frozen Chinese Street food maker Xiao Chi Jie (XCJ) filed a Form D with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on January 31 announcing a capital infusion of $21 million. The Seattle, Washington-based XCJ told NOSH the filing represents “additional new capital put into the business” but declined to provide more details. The company previously raised $10 million in February 2022, which it formally announced the closing of in October.
Julia Levy, a partner at investment firm Stripes (formerly known as Stripes Group), has been added as a member of XCJ’s board on the most recent filing, alongside Imaginary Ventures partner Logan Langberg, who joined in February.
Levy has been involved in Stripes’ investments in other CPG ventures like Mexican-American brand Siete Foods and Levain Bakery as well as Southern California-based natural grocery chain Erewhon. When Stripes made its $90M investment in Siete in 2019, the company was in a limited number of categories, but has since expanded deeper into salty snacks, the cookie category and cooking sauces.
XCJ’s founders, husband-and-wife business partners Caleb Wang and Jennifer Liao, initially launched the company as a small restaurant, but after the COVID-19 pandemic hit in 2020, the duo pivoted to sell packaged frozen dumplings. In the years since their CPG debut, XCJ has added noodles, ice cream and sauces. A BBQ chicken skewer launched last August is no longer featured on the company’s website.
In October, the couple they planned to rebrand XCJ’s CPG products in Q1 2023 in order to help the brand expand into more conventional retailers. While Wang and Liao did not respond to a request for comment about the rebrand, the company is registered for trade show Natural Products Expo West as MiLa by XCJ. The XCJ Corp, which owns the trademark for The XCJ – Xiao Chi Jie, also registered the trademark Mila in December 2022.
XCJ told NOSH in October that it would capitalize on the increased interest in traditional Chinese CPG food brands. In January, retailer Kroger announced “foods and flavors from around the globe” as one of its food trend predictions from 2023.
The increased interest in Asian food brands like sauce makers Fly by Jing and Omsom has not gone unnoticed by investors. Japanese barbecue sauce maker Bachan’s closed a $13 million round last summer led by Sonoma Brands Capital, while Fly By Jing raised $5 million from Prelude Growth Partners in August 2021.
