This content was published: February 12, 2021. Phone numbers, email addresses, and other information may have changed.
Getting Your Recipe to Market Client Success Story: Tân Tân Foods
Posted by PCC Small Business Development Center
Lisa Tran and her family have been in the restaurant business for at least 3 generations. When she
became a mother to twins a few years ago she realized she was going to have to do things differently. That’s when she found the Small Business Development Center’s “Getting Your Recipe to Market” program and began bottling the family sauces. This is her story.
Lisa, thank you for joining us today. Tell us about Tân Tân Foods. My family has owned and operated a popular Vietnamese restaurant for over 20 years, so I was raised up around food most of my life.
My mother is the genius behind our food, evoking her own experiences and memories from her life in Vietnam.
When I was a new mother of twins, I realized that the grueling restaurant schedule wasn’t conducive to a harmonious personal life. Our customers had always asked us when we were going to start bottling our sauces. They were the encouragement behind trying to bring our sauces to market. I never thought that I would be doing this and feel like I’m still needing to be pinched that it’s real!
I learned about the Getting Your Recipe to Market program through the SBDC office where I came across a flier somewhere, and ended up taking the program in the spring of 2016. That helped us get started!
What were some of the key learnings you got from the program? I think the better question would be, “what didn’t I learn from GYRM?” Everything from the first day of class has built the solid foundation on which my products and subsequent business has been built upon. The mentorship and networking opportunities have been invaluable!
What were your initial business goals, and what are your current goals? Honestly, I didn’t have any business goals coming into GYRM. I didn’t even know what potential this crazy idea had! The connection we made to New Seasons Market through the program led to other retail opportunities. Currently, we are in close to 400 stores, the bulk of which are the Safeways and Albertsons in Oregon, Washington and Northern California. I am hoping to expand into more retailers and build up my direct online sales.
What surprised you most about the program? I am surprised that I am where I am in such a relatively short amount of time! I am constantly surprised that the sauces are selling, not because I don’t have confidence in our flavors, but because these are a line of sauces that I brought to market and can be physically found on a shelf in a store somewhere!
I feel like I am and will always be evolving as a Food Entrepreneur. I’m no longer a “new brand” to the local region here and I’ve settled into a more of a mentor/cheerleader for the newer brands, but I am and will always be open to learn and grow. My current business goals are to increase distribution and explore markets outside of the PNW.
How have you dealt with the COVID-19 restrictions and shut downs?
The COVID-19 restrictions essentially shut down our in store demo program which I found so valuable. These were my big opportunities to share our family’s story and sauces directly to customers. With the COVID-19 restrictions in place I wasn’t able to continue these valuable conversations. However, the bright spot is that it has allowed me more time to focus on ways to collaborate with our local food entrepreneur community through digital marketing campaigns! In a way, the restrictions have strengthened our amazing food and beverage community and I’m so incredibly grateful for the support and optimism of this wonderful group. We really are stronger together!
Have you won any recognition or awards for your product? Yes! We’ve been written up in Eater Portland, Portland Monthly, Whalebone Magazine, and have been featured on local news and by Christopher Kimball’s Milk Street. Recognition is nice, but good feedback and the friendships formed from these sauces is what really means the most to me.
Anything else you’d like to share about your business or people that inspired you? Tan Tan means “new beginnings” and that is exactly what this journey is all about! I’m proud that Tn Tn Foods is a woman/immigrant/refugee/BIPOC-
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The Oregon SBDC Network is funded in part through a Cooperative Agreement with the U.S. Small Business Administration. Additional funding is provided by the Oregon Business Development Department, and other private and public partners, with Lane Community College serving as the Network’s lead host institution. SBDC services are provided in a nondiscriminatory way to all legal residents and citizens in the US. Language services are available for limited English proficient individuals.
