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For our show The CEO SeriesI've been lucky enough to sit down with some of the world's smartest and most creative business leaders and get their hard-earned advice on what it takes to launch and grow a thriving brand.
This episode took us to the floor of the New York Stock Exchange to talk Norma Chufounder and CEO of Cook Day. The direct-to-consumer food and content brand has a reach of over 60 million users and completed the initial public offering in November 2023. Norma told me that the company's mission is to promote the joy of Asian cooking to the world through a growing portfolio of authentic Asian food brands focused on convenient convenience and ready-to-eat products.
During our chat, Norma explained the evolution of DayDayCook, her passion for food, her strategy for building the business and, luckily, got me into the kitchen to whip up an insanely delicious lunch of red curry noodles.
Below are some highlights of our conversation, which have been edited for length and clarity. Watch the full video above to learn all of her incredible knowledge (and to see if Norma was able to turn me into a five-star chef!)
The evolution of DayDayCook's business
“DayDayCook started about 13 years ago with a simple idea: I wanted to create something that could inspire the next generation to continue to enjoy cooking. And I started doing this by creating a lot of short videos and sharing the content on social media . platforms like YouTube. For the first three years, we're really focused on the Hong Kong market. And later we expanded into the mainland China market. That's when we started exploring different things, like going into commerce of content and incorporating some product recommendations into our video. And from there, I decided to launch our portfolio of branded products.”
Trends in the food industry
“There have been some really interesting trends in recent years. Number one is that three out of five consumers see the kitchen as the new epicenter for creativity and trying new recipes. The second trend is that East Asian cuisine has become increasingly more popular. And the third trend is that more people are cooking at home. Forty-three percent of consumers find themselves cooking more at home compared to twelve months ago.”
Her passion for spreading joy
“I always tell people that I had two real passions in life: cooking and scholarship.laugh) The passion for cooking started at a very young age. My parents and grandparents had a very early influence on me in terms of thinking of cooking not as a chore, but as an act of caring. So when you care about what you cook and what you eat and share it with other people, joy and happiness come naturally. And that's something very important to the company, continuing to share that joy while preserving our heritage.”
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The keys to success as an entrepreneur
“When I was young, I didn't think much about starting my own business. But at a young age, I always liked to try new things. And this transferred to my working life. I worked as a hostess and as an intern in a private bank and in accounting firms. I also learned Chinese and English in Japan. I think having such a curiosity mindset and not being afraid of the unknown are some of the key components of being an entrepreneur. And always thinking positively. If you see that maybe more people are coming into this space or there's more innovation in this space, look at it in a positive light. Think about How can I be a part of this? And the third step is really going for it. Not just having an idea. Not just having awareness. When he sees the opportunity, he actually uses it and succeeds.”
Her changing role as CEO
“I started the company with a co-founder and a very small team. Initially, it was just kind of executing the early concept of this vision. But then over time, we started raising capital and then a few years later , we decided to take the money of institutional investors. So I had to learn different things. I had to learn how to raise funds. What does series A mean? How do you prepare to pitch to investors? What is a table top? There are many things to learn. I think it's just a constant journey of learning over and over again. That's a constant of being an entrepreneur and a CEO.”
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IPO of DayDayCook
“The listing journey itself was an incredible experience. It challenged my mental toughness in terms of navigating all these different obstacles and staying levelheaded and being able to strategize for the future. It was a rollercoaster. rollercoaster. But after achieving something like this, I look back and realize that it made me stronger and better prepared to become the CEO of a listed company. And I also think the whole team just got stronger . You really have to come together to pull off a successful IPO, and we did.”