The Korean Pantry Your Kitchen Has Been Missing
Korean Food Is Having a Moment
Not a trend. A permanent shift in how America eats.
18.4%
Korean food export CAGR. Fastest-growing Asian cuisine in America
Gochujang
The trendy Korean food that burns (BBC) & The hottest hot sauce in the market (Bon Appetit)
The culture moved. The pantry aisle didn't. Thats the gap Sessy fills.

Sichuan Has One. Japanese Has One. Korean? Still Waiting.
Three forces. One window. The brand that moves first defines the category.
SICHUAN


JAPANESE

KOREAN



???





The premium pantry is where the money is.
$3.8B
Premium Asian condiment market
12%
CAGR: 2.7× faster than mass-market
2.3×
Premium price tolerance for authentic brands
The shelf is opening. It won't stay open forever.
She's already buying Korean. Just needs a brand to trust.
35–44 years old · $150K+ household income
Cooks Korean at home 2–3× per week
Currently buying mass-market jars she doesn't love
Esther's existing +767K-person audience over-indexes on this persona.
Esther sells. The numbers prove it.
She's the chef. She's the channel. She's the proof.
767K+
Engaged audience
across IG, TikTok, YouTube (October 2025)
$5.5M+
Walmart sales
~1M units sold (Circana L52W - Q3 2024 - Q2 2025)
7
Restaurants built
zero paid advertising since inception (word of mouth): Zero CAC
~15M+
Estimated monthly impressions
across her platforms
Walmart and restaurant figures relate to Esther's prior ventures - proof of audience-conversion capability brought directly to Sessy.
Three Korean essentials. Chef-made. Beautiful.
Sesame Oil
Cold-pressed organic. Single-origin Korean farms.
Soy Sauce
Naturally brewed. Low-sodium. No shortcuts.
Gochujang
Vegan. Slow-fermented. The way her grandmother made it.
Made with Sempio (est. 1946) — Korean pantry SKUs (76 countries exported) &
Yeo's Worldwide - Halal-compliant manufacturing · Singapore / Malaysia distribution · Strategic alliance via Ed Ng (Chairman & CEO, Yeo's Worldwide)
Margins built to scale. Capital efficiency by design.
55.3%
Blended gross margin across launch SKUs
$0
CapEx required — no factory, no warehouse
Net-90
Sempio terms on first $109K inventory order
Fulfillment: ~$9 per order via ShipBob 3PL — pick, pack, ship handled.
Esther Posts. People Buy. That’s the Model.
Esther's content
Email capture
First purchase
Referral
Precedent: Esther built 7 restaurants with zero CAC since inception. ~$2M average revenue per location.
Phase 1
From Esther's kitchen to 1,000+ doors.
DTC proves the product. Retail proves the brand.
YEAR 1
Prove
3 SKUs · DTC-only · Esther's audience drives the engine
$170K total revenue
YEAR 3
Expand
6–8 SKUs · 200–500 retail doors · B2B activated
$3.2M total revenue
YEAR 5
Lead
10+ SKUs · 1,000+ retail doors · category leader
$20.3M total revenue
Detailed 5-year financial model available on request.
Built by operators, not optimists.
Esther Choi (CEO / Founder)
767K social · $5.5M Walmart · 7 zero-CAC restaurants
Today · GMA · Food Network · First We Feast
Jean Pyo (CCO / Founder)
Brand architect · CPG + NYC restaurant background
Led Sessy brand identity from day one
Yannick Crespo (COO / Founder)
AI-native operator · Finance @ One Medical
Specialist in commercialization, Finance, Operations, Growth, CPG expertise
Strategic Advisors
Vanessa Pham
Advisor
Harvard · Ex-Bain CPG Practice · Forbes 30 Under 30 · Co-founded Omsom (5M+ units, Whole Foods + Target, acquired 2024).
Kim Pham
Advisor
Co-founded Omsom · First female president Tech@NYU · Founding partner Dorm Room Fund & First Round Capital · 20B+ press impressions.
Charles Pensig
Advisor
Wharton · Founder, Stratus Data · Ex-VC (Maveron) · Advisor to Disney, GE, Foxconn, Harvard Medical · Ex-Jawbone, Optimizely, Oak Labs · Wharton research director
Maggie Tang
Advisor (Incoming)
Founder & CEO, Loyalist Technologies (Magic) · Building the agentic loyalty layer for travel & hospitality · Yannick was foundational advisor (50+ pilot customers)
Prince Ghosh
Advisor (Incoming)
Factored Quality (Acq. by Pietra) · 150+ marquee logos: Everlane, Harry's, Dr. Squatch, Canopy, Jolie · YC (W20), Amity Ventures, Dynamo Ventures · AI product, sales, GTM, supply chain, marketplace ops
Maggie Hsu Wagner
Advisor (Incoming)
Partner at a16z (GTM Crypto). Previously led GTM for AWS, BD for AirSwap. Former consultant at McKinsey & Co. Cofounder of Gold House, a collective of Asian entrepreneurs. Undergraduate and MBA degrees from Harvard University.
Inbound Demand. Already Building.
BTS Hot Ones Moment (the trigger)
1,500-unit limited drop · viral creator content already in market
Ed Ng - Tranche 2 Confirmed (The Lead Doubling Down)
Chairman & CEO Yeo's Worldwide · Lead investor reupping · Manufacturing alliance in JB
KFC Singapore + Malaysia (the inbound)
854 locations · Inbound from QSR Brands (Jaslyn Lam, de-facto CMO) · Halal-compliant via Yeo's JB facility
KAKA Creator Program (the platform engine starting)
200 creator outreach in motion · 100–125 creators targeted by June 1
Phase 2 isn't a future slide. It's executing right now.
$1M seed. Lead investor doubling down.
Come build with us.
$4M PRE · $5M POST · SAFE
Closing June 2026
$350K Committed (Ed Ng CEO of Yeo's Worldwide as lead) · $650K remaining
Round structured for strategic investors with manufacturing, distribution, or creator-network value
JUN 2026
DTC launch — 3 SKUs live
SEP 2026
3,500+ customers acquired organically
2027
Retail rollout begins (Root2Sales partnership)
Launching June 1 with three SKUs and a 767K-strong audience already asking where to buy.