Today we’d like to introduce you to Wynn Austin.
Wynn, before we jump into specific questions, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
I remember being in my early 20’s and reading a newspaper article about how people will have about four to five career changes in their lifetime and thinking that would never be me. I was working at a Fortune 500 bank at the time, and thought that my dream is to stay in banking and climb the corporate ladder. Now, heading into a new decade of my life, I am on my 4th career. I went from various positions in banking to owning my own high-end event planning company for 12 years, to real estate, and circling back to my passion for food and cooking by accident.
In 2016, I started suffering from intense anxiety attacks. To be honest, I didn’t even realize what it was at the time but there were days where it felt debilitating. I would feel my throat close up, and there were days where I could barely talk because of it. None of the doctors and specialists could figure out what was wrong. I was desperate to get better, and was introduced to the Whole 30 diet by a friend of mine. The diet consisted of no sugar, no alcohol, no soy, no gluten. After doing the diet, I felt so much better, and my anxiety improved significantly! It was during that time that I realized that the majority of Asian sauces on the market had sugar, gluten, msg, and artificial preservatives. I’m a sauce girl, and I was desperate for some flavor! It was during that time that I developed my Saté Asian Chili Sauce from my own kitchen.
It became my go-to sauce that I ate with everything! I ate it with eggs, steak, salmon, chicken, and stir fry veggies, I had some of my foodie friends tried it and it soon became a hit in my circle of friends. When I was making it myself, it was a labor-intensive sauce to make, so I started making big batches of it and giving it to friends and colleagues. Next thing you know, I was selling it to my whole tennis team and the PTA moms at my daughter’s school. That’s when I realized that I may have a chance of turning this into a business.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
As with most entrepreneurial stories, it always sounds so easy. But truthfully, it took me three years to have an official product that I can bring to market. I didn’t have any knowledge of the food industry and there was not a lot of information online. I reached out to anyone in the industry that I could get a hold of through introductions to get information. My biggest challenge was learning about the science behind it all. It took multiple attempts of me recipe testing to get the PH level to where it needs to be without adding any artificial preservatives.
It was daunting and I almost quit a dozen times. Every time that I tried, I would get messages about when the next batch was coming. The people that have had it, were not going to let me quit because they said it had become their household staple. They were my inspiration to keep on going. Three years later, with a lot of work, support from friends, and a little luck, I had an official product. I literally broke down in tears, because I was so happy. It was like having a new baby!
Wynn’s Kitchen – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
Wynn’s Kitchen has a mission to share food products that have authentic Asian flavors made from all-natural ingredients. Our products do not contain any sugar, gluten, soy, or artificial ingredients.
Our products have been a huge hit amongst the Keto and diabetic community because of the sugar free component. The majority of the sauces that you find in the Asian aisle at the grocery stores contain a significant amount of sugar. It’s been a year since I’ve launched Wynn’s Kitchen Saté Asian Chili Sauce, and I can’t be more proud of the progress.
You can now purchase it on Amazon, Seaside Market in Cardiff, The Butchery at One Paseo, California Keto, The Perfect Pineapple, and Tip Top Meats in Carlsbad. And fingers crossed, more retailers to come!
Has luck played a meaningful role in your life and business?
I’m a huge proponent of hard work. If there is something that you believe in, you have to hustle hard, but I won’t deny that it takes a little luck too. I’ve always considered myself a lucky person, even though I’ve worked very hard in my life. I think both in life and business, I feel the luckiest when something just comes easily and unexpectedly in my favor. There are days when everything just goes your way without even trying. I know how rare those days are, so when they come, I truly savor them and always take a moment to feel how grateful I am. A TED talk that I listened to, that I found fascinating in regards to the subject of luck is by Dr. Tina Seelig. She talks about taking little risks to increase your chance of luck! I highly recommend it!
Contact Info:
- Website: wynnskitchen.com
- Email: wynnskitchen@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wynnskitchen/?hl=en
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/wynnskitchen
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