Supporting a team working in advertising and Ecommerce, Kim Tae Kon’s group worked continuously for 6 months without earning any money. Meanwhile, the kimchi—a staple of every Korean meal—that Kim brought along was ‘devoured’ by the youngsters on the team, so he constantly had to make a new batch. ‘Why don’t we sell kimchi to support the team first, then pursue that other business later?’ his wife suggested.
This is the story of how the Ông Kim’s Kimchi brand began.
“I work in advertising and e-commerce and do all kinds of things—then suddenly I am told to sell kimchi?”
Kim Tae Kon is a Korean entrepreneur who came to Vietnam in the 90s, fell in love with the country and decided to establish his career there. He chose advertising and e-commerce.
Wherever they go, Koreans always bring kimchi, an essential part of their meals. Mr. Kim is no exception. When he formed his team, he invited employees to eat with him at every meal, so the kimchi ran out quickly.
Craving it so much, he asked his wife, Nguyễn Thị Kim Hạnh, to buy ingredients so he could make kimchi.
“When buying ingredients, I saw kimchi and thought it resembled Vietnamese pickled vegetables, yet its ingredients included nearly 20 kinds of vegetables, roots and fruits. They were all like Vietnamese medicinal herbs, including various onions, chives and many vegetables I did not recognize.”
‘Napa cabbage is the main ingredient, but the paste spread over the kimchi contains more than a dozen puréed vegetables, including chili peppers. The peppers must be imported from South Korea because Korean peppers are not hot, so there is no question of adding artificial coloring here. Real peppers are used in large quantities, with the seeds removed,’ Ms. Hạnh shared during a recent talk.
Watching her husband’s team eat, Hạnh wondered: “Why do Vietnamese people like kimchi so much? Meanwhile, this man has supported his team for 6 months without earning anything…”
“What if we sell kimchi to support the team first, and pursue the other business later?”, she suggested to her husband.
“Sell kimchi? I’m working in advertising and e-commerce, doing all sorts of things, and suddenly you’re telling me to sell kimchi?”
“For the past few months, I have seen you doing nothing but raising the kids. It is time to use your side job to support your main one.”, Ms. Hạnh advised.
Giving up an MBA in the United States to stay in Vietnam and sell kimchi for her husband
Ms. Nguyễn Thị Kim Hạnh. Photo: Phụ nữ Ngày nay.
Ms. Hạnh analyzed: In terms of market potential, Vietnam has 90 million people. Even just within Mr. Kim's team, ask 10 employees and 9 are addicted to kimchi, rather than simply liking it. The kimchi made to feed the youngsters disappears in no time.
‘It is a market of 90 million people. I will quit my job to work on this project for you,’ Ms. Hạnh declared. At the time, she was preparing to study for an MBA in the United States.
She hid it from her family and abandoned her plans to study for an MBA in the United States. In the evenings, instead of attending extra classes, she went to Mr. Kim's place, bought vegetables, and researched kimchi recipes with her husband.
The two spent 4 months researching which Vietnamese ingredients would suit both Korean kimchi and Vietnamese tastes.
“He was lucky I was a Vietnamese woman who understood the flavors Vietnamese people like. If we had been 2 Koreans or 2 Vietnamese, it might not have worked. So I think there was some destiny involved. And Ông Kim’s Kimchi was born,” Hạnh said with a smile.
Founded in 2004, Ông Kim’s Kimchi was sold in 2015 to CJ for a few million USD. This deal took 5 years; according to Ms. Hạnh, CJ “wooed and courted in every possible way” from 2010 until it was finalized in 2015.
Collected.
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