DayDayCook Acquires Omsom

Asian sauce and noodle brand Omsom announced today it has been acquired by growing multi-Asian food brand platform DayDayCook. The deal will consist of a combination of DDC cash and stock which will be paid out over a four-year term.

Five non-executive employees of Omsom have been granted 160,000 shares of DDC’s Class A Ordinary Shares as part of their employment package. Omsom co-founders and sisters Vanessa and Kim Pham will remain involved with the company following the close of the transaction as a strategic advisor and in a “fractional capacity,” respectively, according to their LinkedIn posts.

Joining forces with DDC will allow Omsom to accelerate new product development, according to the announcement, with the brand expecting to be able to slash its R&D timeline in half under the ownership of the Asian food platform. The news also marks a continuation of DDC’s M&A streak over the past year. The company, which went public in November, acquired noodle kit and meal brand Nona Lim in August and Asian sauce maker Yai’s Thai in December.

“Our presence in the U.S. is rapidly growing with the addition of Omsom to our U.S. family of brands,” said DDC founder Norma Chu, in a press release. “Having three notable Asian food brands in our portfolio will create enhanced synergies and resource integration, and make our operations more efficient and profitable.”

Omsom, which produces a 7-SKU line of sauces and expanded into the noodle category last May with three varieties of its Saucy Noodle line, is well positioned to capitalize on the growing manufacturing and operational infrastructure behind DDC.

DDC was founded in Hong Kong in 2012 as a content and recipe platform and used its acquisition of Nona Lim to expand its reach into the U.S. The company, which sells its own line of ready-to-eat meals internationally, seeks to build a platform where emerging Asian food brands can grow through shared operational resources, telling Nosh in February it aims to become the “General Mills for Asian food” in the U.S.

“In the last couple years, our rowdy branding, damn delicious flavors, and unapologetic perspective have illuminated the way – and now, those same values are showing us to our next chapter,” said Omsom co-founder Kim Pham, in a press release. “They say, ‘If you want to go fast, go alone, but if you want to go far, go with others,’ and that’s what we’re excited to do with DayDayCook.”

DTC-native Omsom has been steadily growing its presence in U.S. retail since its launch in 2020, growing revenue in the grocery channel 324% year-over-year, and is now sold in over 2,000 stores nationwide including Whole Foods Market, Target, Sprouts and The Fresh Market. But as the brand looked to continue growing, it returned to its digital roots and, like others within DDC’s portfolio including Nona Lim, struck up a discussion of a potential deal via social media.

“It all started with a LinkedIn message to Norma, when we first read about DayDayCook’s vision and mission, we knew we had to get in touch immediately,” said Omsom CEO and co-founder Vanessa Pham, in a press release. “We are thrilled that Omsom, which has been built brick-by-brick with heart and intention, will continue to thrive in partnership with DayDayCook.”