Chapter 13: From Broken Crockpots to Bon Appétit: Life After The Fancy Food Show Success

After the Spotlight

The Summer Fancy Food Show felt like our industry debut… and wow.
It was warm, loud, and full of “wait… they know who we are??” moments. Editors from Bon Appétit, buyers from big-name retailers, and food folks we’ve admired for years stopped at our booth, ate our savory oatmeal, and actually stayed to talk. They asked questions. They got Gamsa.

We didn’t have a PR team. We didn’t have a designer booth. We had a box mock-up printed at Staples (hand-cut and sealed… very artisanal) and a crockpot that barely survived day one. But people still came. And then the press emails started-asking for polished media kits and professional product photos. We sent what we had (not that) and… somehow still got published!

And Then… the “Now What?”

Post-show, the questions started:
“When will you be in stores?”
“Can I place a PO next week?”

It’s exciting! It’s flattering! …But also, we are still building the plane midair. We’re in full fundraising mode (making real progress-yay) but that also means there are new expectations. We have goals. We have a plan. But the energy right now feels a little like running for our lives-fun, exhausting, and kind of thrilling in a “don’t trip” way.

Writing Our Own Playbook

We’ve been doing things our way from day one. Shopify launch before we even had box packaging? Check. First pouches with not-great seals? Yep. Branding that’s been evolving like a Pokémon as we figure out our colors, vibe, and packaging? Absolutely.

Shopify has been our testing ground-pricing, packaging, messaging. Now we’re heading to Amazon, partly for sales but also as a marketing playground. Right now, if you search “savory oatmeal” on Amazon… crickets. Some Korean brands like Bonjuk make instant juk but they’re not speaking to the American oatmeal shopper. We want to be the brand that fills that gap, and in the process, learn exactly how people buy, search, and talk about it.

Yes, we’ve had retailer opportunities (👀 at one starting with W), but we’re not rushing. We want a community that follows us into stores, not just stumbles across us there. And we want to prove (data in hand) that savory oatmeal belongs in the breakfast aisle. (A buyer suggested we’d fit in the rice/grains section. Could we? Sure. But breakfast has been left untouched by global flavors for too long, and we’re here to change that.)

Culture at the Core

In the middle of all this, we’ve put together what we think of as a marketing taskforce that will help us refine our brand pillars, messaging and will help us navigate PR. It’s made up of incredible women that understand and believe in what we’re building. 

As part of all this, we did a brand discovery exercise that had us look deep within to synthesize our thoughts, feelings and goals for Gamsa. One of the questions we were asked was: 

What role does culture- Korean, Gen Z, AAPI identity- play in your brand story?

Culture is the heartbeat of Gamsa. I was born in New York but raised on Korean food, growing up between two worlds. At home, I ate juk, kimchi, and rice; at school, it was Goldfish crackers, Oreos, and cafeteria pizza. Over time, those worlds blended naturally- kimchi on pizza, ketchup on eggs and rice- just like so many Korean American kitchens. That in-between space shaped my taste, my identity, and ultimately, the way I think about food.

Being part of the AAPI community also means I see Gamsa as part of a bigger movement: making sure our flavors aren’t just treated as “trendy” or tucked away in the global aisle, but woven into everyday eating. For me, culture isn’t something frozen in time. It’s living, evolving, and carried forward in every choice we make, from our recipes to our storytelling.

Where We’re Headed

We’re not here to be the only savory oatmeal brand, but we are here to show what it means to be a Korean American brand redefining breakfast. We’re growing the category, writing our own rulebook, and yes- figuring it out as we go.

We’re hopeful.
We’re learning.
We’re nervous, but showing up anyway.

We’ll keep building (imperfectly, intentionally, and with way too much garlic) and we hope you’ll keep walking with us.

Hi everyone,

I’m Maggie, and I am a rising sophomore at NYU Stern studying finance and psychology. To give a little context on how I ended up at a savory oatmeal startup, I should introduce myself. There are many labels or categories I fall under, first-generation Chinese-American, Chicagoan/Texan, debater, cat-lover, occasional-country-music-enjoyer etc. but none of them can topple my ultimate title, foodie. 

One of the most exciting things to do as a freshly graduated high schooler is to venture off on your own and gain that newfound independence, and moving to New York City of all cities was the cherry on top for me. Being able to explore the colorful, diverse food scene here has been overwhelmingly enjoyable for me and my Beli (unfortunately, not for my wallet), but I have always thought of this hobby more as a personal indulgence.

Coming into NYU Stern, I genuinely had no idea what I wanted to do with a business degree. In high school, I did competition math, public forum debate, and I took all the AP science classes my school offered. Somehow, along the way, I figured out that one of the only fields where I could use all this interdisciplinary knowledge was in business. In my fall semester, I joined our school’s venture capital club, Strategic Venture Society, where individuals of all backgrounds were welcomed to share their insights and learn more about the asset class where 90% of US innovation is derived from.

I immediately knew that the startup landscape was someplace that interested me. It was one of those places where people seemed authentically true to their passions, where you could see that ambition was driven from a place of curiosity and desire to change the world. Ingraining myself more into SVS and the community of students who shared my interest, I discovered Gamsa through a friend at the Columbia Accelerator.

Since starting my internship at Gamsa, what I love the most is that no day looks the same. My first day was actually at the Fancy Food Trade Show, where I got to see (and taste) the thousands of other brands also exhibiting and witness the magic begin. Distributors, retailers, investors, and marketing agencies – there were so many pieces that needed to be put together to create a prosperous brand. I think it’s safe to say Sarah and Ruby killed it though! Coming out of the show, it was so exciting to see Gamsa get so much media attention and start meaningful conversations. 

Some days since then have been a blur of running with Sarah to bone broth pop-ups in Hell’s Kitchen, other days fulfilling corporate orders (like for Evercore’s AAPI month events). I’ve definitely picked up technical skills like building revenue models and understanding cap table dilution, but the biggest takeaway I’ve learned is what it feels like to love the work you’re doing.

Being at the Columbia Startup Lab [Gamsa HQ] has been especially inspiring. It’s full of founders, some fresh out of school, some who left corporate jobs—all of them fully believing in what they’re building. Watching Sarah and Ruby create something they care about has made me realize I want the same for myself one day: to blend my passions with my work in a way that feels true. As I wrap up, I’m leaving with a clearer idea of the kind of career I want to build and a new favorite breakfast food (Gamsa’s sesame garlic oatmeal, duh).