Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in food and beverage but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Christina Pack, owner of Auntie's Supply, located in Toronto, ON, Canada.
What's your business, and who are your customers?
Auntie’s Supply is an Asian-owned superette in downtown Toronto. We curate a collection of snacks and ingredients for Asian millennials. It was important for me to start this company as a child of Filipino immigrants. For many First and second-generation Asians, we live between two worlds culturally, and I thought it was important to curate an experienced representative of that.
We use our space not only to sell snacks and ingredients but to also amplify the brands of other local Asian food businesses by hosting pop-ups to educate the community about new dishes and cuisines. So #comevisitauntie, grab a snack, season your food, discover new brands, and have a chat with me and my team.
Tell us about yourself
I'm a first-gen Filipino-American who moved to Toronto 2 years ago from California. I grew up eating home-cooked Filipino food on a daily basis and was known as the kid with stinky food growing up. Despite being embarrassed at times, it never stopped me from showing pride in what I ate and introducing people to East Asian food.
In many Asian cultures, food is love (and one of the few ways our immigrant parents showed affection, but that's a whole new conversation 😂). I built Auntie's Supply to show my community love and to help Asian millennials recreate their fondest food memories and make new ones.
What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?
My biggest accomplishment is starting Auntie's Supply. I bought the domain and registered my business in Dec 2020, signed the lease in May 2021, opened our doors on June 11, 2021. I think as business owners, we need to celebrate the fact that we turned an idea into an actual business!
What's one of the hardest things that come with being a business owner?
The hardest thing for me was finally admitting I needed help. When I first started my business, I was doing everything from building our website, creating graphics, managing our social media, to implementing our POS system. I came to a point about six months in where I was burnt out and felt unmotivated. From there, I realized I needed to ask for help through coaching and hiring my first full-time employee!
What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?
- Be kind to yourself and celebrate the amazing things you're doing by just trying to make a change in the world, no matter how small it might be.
- Accept failure, learn how to fail fast, and learn from it to move forward.
- You don't have to quit your job to start a business. While I acknowledge the fact that I am privileged enough to have a full-time job that allows me to work flexible hours, I think that you can start your business even just as a prototype of what you want it to be, even if it's through a simple website or prototype product. If you're in a position to start your business as a side hustle, it helps you shift your focus from trying to make money to truly learning to build a meaningful brand.
Is there anything else you'd like to share?
Sometimes being a business owner can be isolating, especially if most of your friends work full-time jobs. Your struggles are different, and it can be hard to relate. There is a huge value in joining networks and finding other friends who are business owners. I suggest joining local entrepreneurship Facebook Groups to start!
Where can people find you and your business?
Website: https://auntiessupply.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/auntiessupply
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/auntiessupply/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/christinatolosa/
If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solopreneur that you'd like to share, then email community@subkit.com; we'd love to feature your journey on these pages.
Feel inspired to start, run or grow your own subscription business? Check out subkit.com and learn how you can turn "one day" into day one.