(Editor’s note: This is the 40th installment in a monthly series speaking with minority business owners and leaders. Each will be asked their views on minority-business conditions in the state and for ways to improve those businesses’ chances for success.)
By the time she was 4, Minnie Luong had logged more travel miles than some see in a lifetime. She was born on a rice farm in southern Vietnam’s Mekong Delta in the late 1970s, and within a few years, her family left the war-torn country in search of opportunity.
After a journey that included two refugee camps, Luong’s family moved to Massachusetts for a few years and eventually settled in Pawtucket.
Now a small-business owner and a teacher of cooking classes, Luong inherited two qualities required to succeed in both disciplines: optimism.
“Even though my family experienced the trauma of war, I think current relations between our countries is a bright example of how we can find a way to peace, reconciliation and partnership,” she said.
There weren’t many traditional Asian foods available in local grocery stores when Luong was a child. So her family made its own, such as kimchi, a fermented vegetable dish that can be spicy. They used the bottling techniques of preservation that would eventually be the hallmark of Chi Foods LLC, the hand-crafted food business launched with her husband, Tim Greenwald, in 2015, doing business as Chi Kitchen.
At headquarters in the Lorraine Mills in Pawtucket, there are no industrial-sized mixers or fermentation tanks used in large-scale corporate factories. Luong’s company makes small batches, focusing on quality over quantity.
Luong says the tastes of the general public have evolved over the years and consumers are now more health conscious and willing to experiment. Luong’s main product, Chi Kitchen Kimchi, is loaded with gut-healthy probiotics and immune-boosting ingredients such as ginger, garlic, onion and red pepper.
“When I started Chi Kitchen, I asked myself, ‘What is the healthiest Asian food?’ So that was the product we started the company with,” she said.
Fermented vegetables, once limited to Asian food culture, have enjoyed a particular spike in interest. In business, timing can be as important as a good business plan.
Chi Kitchen products can now be found in more than 100 stores throughout New England. The company recently increased its food distribution through a partnership with Baldor Specialty Foods in New York, Philadelphia and Washington, D.C.
“We have certainly seen a significant increase over the years in people’s familiarity and interest in kimchi,” Luong said. “When we first started, most stores didn’t even carry it.”
Luong remains hopeful that the climate for minority-owned businesses in the Ocean State is improving. She sees the increasing diversity among state and national legislators, such as the election of Gabe Amo to the U.S. House of Representatives, as one indication things are moving in the right direction.
“I know the small-business community in Rhode Island is excited about this new leadership,” Luong said. “Congressman Amo grew up in his family’s small business and understands the struggles and challenges we face every single day.”
1. Do you believe racism is keeping minorities from starting businesses in the Ocean State or succeeding when they do? Starting a small business is not for the faint of heart, so I really admire anyone who has the vision and courage to step out of the box to start their own business. If anything, I think that being a woman, a refugee and a minority has motivated me to start my own food business.
Leaders who are creative, resilient, resourceful and care about solving their customers’ problems will be ultimately successful. When I think of women and minority business owners I know, they possess all these important qualities. So we should be encouraging and supporting them.
2. How dependent is your business on the support of other minority groups? Is that a sustainable business model? My business is dependent on people who love healthy Asian flavor profiles, and that includes people from every background. If you’re solving problems for the busy consumer, such as gut health and weight-loss support and providing delicious food, then yes, it’s sustainable.
3. What one thing could Rhode Island do to boost the odds for minority-owned business success? Access to capital. It is very hard for all small businesses to access capital, and especially hard for women- and minority-owned businesses. According to a recent survey by 10,000 Small Businesses Voices, 78% of small-business owners are concerned about their ability to access capital. 85% say that if access to capital continues to tighten, it will impact their growth, and only 29% say [they] can afford to take out a loan, given high interest rates. For minority small-business owners, it is even more challenging. Only 26% of Black business owners received the funding they requested.
4. Have you had to turn somewhere other than a bank for a loan? Do you believe the state’s lending institutions generally treat minorities fairly? I have never approached a bank for a loan because it is widely known to be time-consuming and challenging. All small businesses are viewed as risky by banks and other lenders. This is especially the case for minority- and women-owned small businesses. Policymakers should do something to incentivize lenders in Rhode Island to lend and invest in our small businesses, especially when more than 50% of our private-sector workforce is employed by small businesses. And even more importantly, minority- and women-owned businesses are the future of Rhode Island. Simply put, it’s good business to invest in us.
5. If another minority entrepreneur asked you where they could turn to for support for their business, where would you direct them? For me, Rhode Island has been incredibly supportive in both starting our business and the support needed to succeed. There are a lot of resources we’ve tapped into over the years, from Hope & Main, Farm Fresh Rhode Island to create markets for us to distribute our products, Polaris MEP to consult and train the lean manufacturing culture we have built, Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses Program and Small Business Development Centers helping to develop my executive skills and execute a vision. There are financial resources such as [Cambridge Innovation Center Providence], R.I. Commerce Corp., Enhanced Capital, the Small Business Administration, and various state-offered grants, not to mention the incredibly supportive food community we have in Rhode Island who are more than willing to share their knowledge and experience.