To hear Lauryn Chun tell it, a major professional setback can steer a person toward a million-dollar idea that was hiding in plain sight.<\/p>\n
Chun founded Mother-in-Law\u2019s<\/a>, a line of artisanal kimchi and other Korean pantry staples, in 2009. The brand now offers 12 products and is sold in roughly 9,000 stores nationwide.<\/p>\n Her entrepreneurial journey began when she was laid off from a marketing job at a global consultancy during the 2008 recession. Chun viewed the pink slip as an opening.<\/p>\n \u201cI thought, \u2018This is my ticket to freedom,\u2019\u201d she told Fortune. \u201cThere\u2019s something magical about the worst of times\u2014you decide you have nothing to lose and just go for it.\u201d<\/p>\n Networking and revelation<\/p>\n Keen to build her own venture, she embarked on what she calls \u201ca year of self-discovery,\u201d attending small-business seminars and cold-calling people who were \u201cdoing cool things\u201d to ask for meetings over coffee. She was leaning toward opening a wine shop\u2014a longtime passion\u2014until a fateful meeting with a hospitality consultant who described the burgeoning foodmaker movement in Brooklyn.<\/p>\n \u201cShe mentioned a DJ who was making kimchi, and I thought, \u2018My mom makes the best kimchi on the planet,\u2019 which I\u2019ve been transporting in my luggage from California to New York for 15 years to share with friends,\u201d Chun recalls. \u201cIt was my aha moment.\u201d<\/p>\n Homegrown approach, clear vision<\/p>\n Armed with her mother\u2019s family recipe, Chun began making kimchi at home and selling it at New York City green markets. She named it Mother-in-Law\u2019s after her mother\u2019s Korean restaurant, Jang Mo Jip (\u201cMother-in-Law\u2019s House\u201d), in Garden Grove, Calif. In Korean culture, a groom\u2019s future mother-in-law spoils him with her cooking to ensure he\u2019ll care for her daughter; eating at a mother-in-law\u2019s house is synonymous with delicious food.<\/p>\n To replicate the small-batch kimchi she grew up with, Chun cut strips of napa cabbage and cubes of daikon by hand and hand-packed them into glass jars for balanced fermentation and deeper flavors.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019d make 70 or 80 jars, and then I\u2019d rent a Zip car and drop them off,\u201d she says. \u201cThe scale was so small, and the growth so incremental\u2014I was doing everything, but I didn\u2019t know any better.\u201d<\/p>\n Meanwhile, kimchi\u2019s profile was rising. Chun recalls hearing an NPR story about food trucks that mentioned kimchi on a taco.<\/p>\n \u201cMany people listening likely didn\u2019t know what kimchi was,\u201d says Chun. \u201cIt seemed like the dawn of a great marketing opportunity.\u201d<\/p>\n Her aim: elevate kimchi as a delicacy suited to far more occasions than strictly Korean meals.<\/p>\n \u201cI wanted to tell the story of kimchi in a way that was refined and premium\u2014a handcrafted, specialty tradition in the same ranks as winemaking and cheesemaking.\u201d<\/p>\n Retail coup and expansion<\/p>\n An unexpected New York Times review in October 2009 put Mother-in-Law\u2019s on the foodie radar. Soon after, Dean & DeLuca and Zabar\u2019s became her first corporate accounts.<\/p>\n \u201cFrom day one, my goal was for Mother-in-Law\u2019s to be the first kimchi carried by Dean & DeLuca,\u201d she recalls. \u201cI basically willed it to happen.\u201d<\/p>\n In 2012, Chun authored a kimchi cookbook; in 2014, the brand launched its own gochujang, a Korean fermented chili paste. Today, Mother-in-Law\u2019s has a full-time staff of 30 and sells in virtually every U.S. state, including through Whole Foods, Amazon<\/a> Fresh, and Albertsons<\/a>, along with natural food retailers and independent stores.<\/p>\n Lessons from the pandemic<\/p>\n While recent tariffs have not yet measurably affected the business, uncertainty has given Chun pause. She has considered strengthening the supply chain by finding alternative sources for some ingredients but is holding off.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a very nerve-racking time,\u201d she says. \u201cI\u2019m afraid to change anything \u2026\u00a0This operating environment doesn\u2019t help you grow your business in any strategic way.\u201d<\/p>\n She\u2019s leaning on lessons from COVID to weather future shocks. When the price of metal caps tripled virtually overnight owing to supply issues, for example, Chun scrambled to find comparable plastic ones.<\/p>\n \u201cOne of the big advantages of being a small business is that you develop the ability to pivot quickly and really think on your feet,\u201d says Chun.<\/p>\n Another takeaway: diversify. Mother-in-Law\u2019s sells both refrigerated and shelf-stable kimchi\u2014the latter\u2019s sales surged during COVID as customers stocked their pantries amid widespread disruptions.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t think anyone starts a business thinking, \u2018I need to have different categories of product,\u2019\u201d Chun says. \u201cBut so many one-product businesses took a hit then because of supply and distribution issues. People talk about the importance of diversified investment portfolios, while I feel that way about business: Do whatever you can so your eggs aren\u2019t in one basket.\u201d<\/p>\n Asked what advice she offers aspiring entrepreneurs, Chun is succinct.<\/p>\n \u201cAlways know your margins,\u201d she says, \u201cand you\u2019ll never make a bad deal.\u201d\n<\/p>\n