Today, we’d like to introduce you to Wynn Austin.
Hi Wynn, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Wynn’s Kitchen was started in my home kitchen by accident. In 2016, I was struggling with health issues that forced me to clean up my diet. I had to remove sugar, soy, and gluten.
I mostly cooked with Asian sauces at home and realized that I could no longer use any of the sauces I had, and even more surprisingly, I found it impossible to find a healthy sauce that I could at the grocery stores. I was tired of eating bland food, so I started experimenting in the kitchen and came up with a healthy version inspired by my favorite Vietnamese sauce – the Saté Chili Sauce.
I’ve always loved cooking and sharing food pictures on social media. I started sharing my clean eating journey and ate most of the meals with my saté sauce. My friends, neighbors, and tennis friends started contacting me and asking for a jar of sauce. Many people tell me that they love Asian food, but they are cutting out sugar or gluten. I’ve even had people tell me they have developed a soy allergy.
After three years of making the saté sauce for my friends and family, I took a leap of faith and officially launched Wynn’s Kitchen.
We all face challenges, but would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Entrepreneurship always comes with a multitude of obstacles throughout the different stages. My journey is no different. There were so many times that I didn’t think I would ever be able to get it off the launchpad. Working with natural foods without artificial preservatives is not easy, and without any food background, I was learning everything as I went.
I happened to launch at the end of 2019, right before the pandemic, and I thought the business would end right after I successfully launched it. I ran into supply chain issues – from not getting glass jars to having my manufacturer drop me because it was too time-consuming for them to produce. I was out of product for almost six months and was worried that the new retail accounts I could get would drop me.
Getting accepted into a retailer is hard, but staying on the shelf is even harder. I was lucky that there was enough demand for the retailers to be willing to work with me until I could get a new manufacturer.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next, you can tell us a bit more about your business.
Wynn’s Kitchen is an innovative Asian food brand with a healthy twist on traditional flavors. Their mission is to bring healthy Asian sauces into every American pantry. They are reimagining the Asian sauce staples and have sauces made with real ingredients without added sugar, soy, or gluten.
CEO Wynn Austin founded the company in her kitchen, inspiring both the brand name and dedication to healthy ingredients when she was on a health journey that involved removing sugar, soy, and gluten from her diet, commonly found in Asian sauces and condiments.
Their products are in over 200 natural independent retailers, including notable retailers such as Jimbos, Mother’s Market, Erewhon, Bristol Farms, Mother’s Market, Lazy Acres, and Amazon.
You can find the store closest to you on the website: www.wynnskitchen.com.
Are any books, apps, podcasts, or blogs that help you do your best?
I am always learning.
One of my favorite books is Ramping Your Brand. I listen to many podcasts because I’m on the road a lot. A few of my favorites are The Ed Mylett Show, The School of Greatness and How I Built It, and Tony Robbins.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.wynnskitchen.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wynnskitchen/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/wynnskitchen
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/wynnaustin/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCeLBP-GinjRe9tgbzg0uZRg
- Other: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-wynns-kitchen-podcast/id1676259450
