Yishi Expands Platform & Reach With Asian-inspired Pancake and Waffle Mixes

Yishi has launched a new line of pancake and waffle mixes, seeking to capture a share of the $202 billion global breakfast food market while continuing to bring Asian flavors to the mainstream.

Available in the brand’s three most popular flavors – Ube Mochi, Matcha Coconut and Classic Coconut – the plant-based, gluten-free mixes are formulated with gluten-free oat flour. Depending on the variety, each serving contains 6 grams to 7 grams of added cane sugar for a touch of sweetness.

Yishi’s Pancake and Waffle Mixes are currently available for purchase via the brand’s website for $7 per 8.5 oz. (6 servings) pouch. The products are slated to make their on-shelf retail debut in April.

Though still a relatively niche category, globally-inspired pancake mixes are beginning to garner some attention, with other options including Hapa Pantry’s Mochi Taro Mix and Trader Joe’s private label Ube Mochi Mix.

According to co-founder and CEO Lin Jiang, Yishi’s new product will grow the brand’s reach beyond its flagship oatmeal, which can often be a polarizing product.Like the rest of Yishi’s portfolio, the pancake and waffle mixes were created to fill the white space for great-tasting gluten-free, plant-based products.

Jiang told Nosh that “having a new product will help expose [the brand] to a new audience” while also offering a wider portfolio of options to existing customers. Yishi turned to its online community during the R&D process for its waffle and pancake mixes, using a Kickstarter campaign to help support the first production run in exchange for early bird specials and exclusive rewards.

“It brought in some presale dollars and cash conversion-wise, that’s ideal,” said Jiang. “We aim to be a product that serves the broader market so for us to really reach a new audience before we make a lot of investment […] the goal was to test out whether this new product would get traction.”

Yishi was founded in 2019 by Jiang, a Chinese immigrant who moved to the U.S. to pursue an MBA. After moving to America, she noticed a lack of “crave-worthy” oatmeal options and found inspiration in childhood memories of her mother’s homemade breakfast porridge.

The brand officially launched in 2021 with five oatmeal flavors: Chocolate Chili, Matcha Latte, Mango & Cream, Taro Bubble Tea and Toasted Black Sesame.” In 2022, Yishi raised a $3.13 million pre-seed funding round led by XYZ investors aimed at supporting retail distribution and developing new products.

The Chicago-based brand has since landed its oatmeals in over 3,000 brick-and-mortar stores nationwide including Whole Foods Market, Mom’s Organic, Bristol Farms, Target and Costco, among others. Its products are merchandised in center store which, according to Jiang, has enabled the brand to break out of the ethnic aisle and bring Asian flavors to the mainstream.

In July, Yishi made its first foray outside of oatmeal with a collection of oat spreads. Available in four Asian dessert flavors – Taro Ube, Mango Coconut, Matcha Coconut and Original – the spreads offer an allergen-friendly alternative to nut butter and are made with gluten-free oats and sunflower oil. According to the brand, the Original variety is a vegan riff on the mango pudding often served at dim sum restaurants.

“Yishi’s products serve underserved dietary groups while also introducing [global-inspired] flavors to more people. We’re really here to fill more gaps, to bridge a culture gap,” she said.

Driven by consumer feedback, the brand’s oatmeals recently underwent a formula change, transitioning from a sweetener blend of stevia and erythritol to cane sugar. Aside from meeting consumer demand, Jiang said the switch was also beneficial from a supply chain perspective.

“[Dealing with] the pandemic and post-pandemic supply chain chaos, it was hard for us to buy sweeteners. Another question we were faced with was, ‘Do we want to keep paying a premium on the sweeteners and getting them from all over the world?’”

Looking ahead, Yishi is on track to hit 4,000 total doors in the next few months. Yishi plans to spend 2024 adding its newest portfolio additions, the pancake and waffle mixes as well as the oat spreads to its existing distribution channels.