This Brand's Mission Is to Bring Asian Cuisine to Every Home

Asian cuisines can "look a million different ways," said Kim Pham, who alongside her sister Vanessa is on a mission to bring that mindset into home kitchens across the U.S. The daughters of Vietnamese refugees founded challenger meal kit brand Omsom a little more than two years ago with the hope of dispelling damaging stereotypes about Asian cuisine, including that it is unhealthy, cheap and monolithic. Described on its website as a “starter” and a “pantry shortcut,” each Omsom kit contains a pouch with the sauces and spices required for easy, restaurant-quality meals.“[Asian cuisine] can be highbrow, it can be a casual hole in the wall, it can be expensive, it can also be more affordable," Kim said. "When you perpetuate [stereotypes], you actually end up making assumptions about the communities from which these cuisines arise.” One specific misconception the sisters aim to correct is that certain ingredients, namely MSG, should be avoided. "Having the opportunity to drive forward education about an ingredient that has been vilified for no reason is really near and dear to my heart," Vanessa said. One of her favorite Omsom products is Krapow, which the team created with Pepper Teigen—Chrissy Teigen’s mom—and proudly features MSG on its packaging. Standing out in the meal-kit market The process behind building Omsom and taking it where it is today—enjoying write-ups in outlets like Vogue, Food & Wine and The Food Network, as well as partnerships with Instant Pot and Disney—required a great deal of innovation, creativity and pure moxie. To get their business off the ground, the sisters spent time researching, spreading the word on social and, pre-Covid, they even observed 50 people cooking in their own kitchens to better understand the current state of cooking Asian food in America. “We were in full sponge mode," Kim said. "We wanted to see how people thought about and planned cooking Asian food. We didn’t really know how the business was going to form. I think people were just willing to take a chance on us." From the company's early days, the sisters said, many people stuck with them and are now “die-hard” fans of Omsom. Omsom products now span six different Asian countries and cuisines. This brand loyalty, in part with the "pantry staple angle" of the kits comprising sauces and seasonings only, could help Omsom stand out in a crowded meal kit market that's contracting as pandemic restrictions ease and people return to restaurants. According to the NPD Group's National Eating Trends report, only 6% of the U.S. population used meal kits before the Covid-19 pandemic. During the height of the crisis, that number rose to 10% before dropping back down to the pre-pandemic level of 6% over the summer, when more people were getting vaccinated and leaving their homes. "Meal kit brands are hard-pressed to maintain the high level of interest experienced during the pandemic," Chelsea Gross, director analyst at Gartner, told Adweek. "That said, Omsom seems to be attacking the meal kit from a pantry angle, which may better support profitability and potential distribution with retailers, given the lack of fresh food [in Omsom kits]." Having the opportunity to drive forward education about an ingredient that has been vilified for no reason is really near and dear to my heart.Vanessa Pham, co-founder, Omsom The brand now boasts products spanning six Asian countries and cuisines, created by a chef who shares each cuisine's background. “They’re called our tastemakers,” Kim said. “They’re the experts. They’re the ones who ensure that we’re building these products with cultural integrity in mind.” The duo's ultimate goal is to make Omsom a household name by using their brand as a tool to start important conversations and dialogues about Asian cuisines and communities. The brand's name, which comes from the Vietnamese phrase om sòm, roughly translates to “rowdy” or “rambunctious." “It's actually kind of a negative term,” Kim laughed. “But Vanessa and I were inspired to reclaim it and use it as the heart of our proud and loud food brand that doesn’t pull its punches on flavors. But also in storytelling around this Asian American community that has for so long been silenced and erased.” How One Tea Brand and Hello Kitty Are Creating a Nostalgic, Sustainable Experience

Young Influentials

Kim and Vanessa Pham Are on a Mission to Bring Asian Cuisine to Every Kitchen

They want to reclaim Asian flavors and stories with their meal kit brand, Omsom

Chloé Harper Gold

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Chloé Harper Gold