E. 106: How Vincent Kitirattragarn Built Dang Foods, an Award-Winning Asian Snacks Company, From Scratch
A couple of weeks ago, I hosted my 20th high school reunion.
And while I was there, I had the chance to catch up with lots of old friends, but I was especially excited to chat with Vincent Kitirattragarn.
I’ve been watching his journey building Dang Foods from afar for the last ten years. Those delicious coconut chips at the end of the aisle at Whole Foods? That’s Dang Foods.
So today, we’re sitting down to dig in further to his journey from popup restaurants to having shelf space in over 10,000 grocery stores.
Vincent Kitirattragarn is the founder and CEO of Dang Foods, the largest healthy Asian snack company. Dang’s coconut chips, rice chips, and nutrition bars are found in over 10,000 grocery stores and have earned many industry awards including the coveted SOFI “best snack” award multiple times.
A Cornell Graduate, Vincent is a Forbes 30 Under 30 awardee, and Gold List A100 awardee. His journey was featured on NPR’s “How I Built This” podcast in 2022.
Vincent has been an active member of the Asian-American community for decades, organizing an annual Thai-American youth camp, supporting local organizations advancing justice for underrepresented ethnic communities, and supporting Bay Area food banks.
In the natural food industry, Vincent advocates for Asian issues like the recognition of lunar new year and AAPI heritage month. He is also a board member to JEDI Collective, an industry group promoting justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion.
Find this episode for free on your favorite podcast player.
Tune into this episode to hear:
How Vincent went through several business models, from food trucks to popups, before landing on snack foods
The growing pains of a rapidly scaling business and how they found out the hard way about following someone else’s playbook
How they leaned in to their family story and found their positioning
Why Vincent says focus groups aren’t worth it
Why he’s not a growth at all costs entrepreneur
