【創業基地】不只是美食，更是文化底蘊的饗宴：柏林新創公司 Easy Cook Asia
不只是美食，更是文化底蘊的饗宴 - Easy Cook Asia
創業基地／創業故事專欄／專欄記者 鄭珊 柏林採訪報導
創業基地此次很榮幸邀請到在西門子所舉辦的Make It Lean新創比賽中獲得第二名殊榮的新創公司 Easy Cook Asia （以下簡稱為ECA）接受採訪。Easy Cook Asia 以 The more you know, the more you enjoy. 的構想為出發點，期盼消費者在瞭解了ECA所帶來的料理故事後，更能充分享受自己料理的樂趣，並品嚐食物其中的文化意涵。
「每個 Meal kit 內都會附上食譜和故事小卡，除了味覺和嗅覺上的享受之外，心靈也能得到滿足。」
/1/ Origin, product and people
Q: What kind of services or product do you want to provide through Easy Cook Asia (ECA)? What are the highlights and the pain-points you found?
Easy Cook Asia 提供什麼商品或服務
A: Our mission is to make our customers not only enjoy the flavorful and healthy Asian food but also understand the stories behind those food and ingredients. With our meal kits, anyone who is interested in cooking authentic Asian cuisines can easily be a professional chef in their kitchen. Every meal can be prepared within 15 minutes with simple and clear steps in the instruction card. We want our customers understand what they are eating and also the stories of each dish. In our sample kit, for instance, you can find the dish called Jap Chae, a type of glass noodle, which is common seen in Korean wedding for its symbolic meaning: everlasting relationship. We also post the story in our Facebook page.
Another example to prove how culturally important the food is in Asian is the chopsticks. Across Asia, people use chopsticks everywhere but probably with different shapes. Exactly the shape may reflect a cultural meaning, for example: the round and sharp-tip chopsticks are mainly used in Japan because it picks up sashimi (fish) more easily.
Q: Where did the idea of your brand, ECA, come from? What's the story behind?
ECA 的發想由來與歷程
A: We (Cheng-En Yang and Min-chu) both love cooking. We met in the MBA program in HWR and have presented the very idea “Asian cooking kit” in the class “design thinking”, where we received lots of positive feedbacks. This gave us confidence and the feeling of achievement that motivates us to make the idea into a real business.
Q: What are your backgrounds? How do you divide the tasks? How do you look for the partners?
簡單的介紹你們的背景。兩位如何分工？怎麼找創業夥伴？
A:Min-chu:I’ve been craving for my own business since long ago. Before I came to Berlin, I have worked in Samsung as well as in my family business for 9 years in total. My role was more related to the business, such as finance management or business development. Back then I also had sought other source for founding in Korea and even other Asian countries.
Cheng-En: I worked as mobile apps product manager in tech company and cloud-based company for 3 years. I was in charge of technique such as data base management and analysis and the marketing as well. Actually, we still have another partner who takes care of the development of products.
/2/ Entrepreneurship and funding
Q: What is your business model and how you plan to make profit?
A: It’s a good question. For every startup, it is difficult to make any profit in the beginning. A profit comes only after a scaleup. We reckon that it might take a year to reach our first milestone and only so that we can remain our partnership in the incubator, which is currently our biggest financial sponsor. We won the prize in the startup competition - “Make it Lean”, hosted by Siemens. ECA is doing well in its first 6 months, but we still have to scaleup to make profit in the near future. It is important for us to develop new menus to attract more customers.
Business preparation
- From conceptualization to the first MVP: 9 months
- Research and business plan: Using the Lean startup principle. Always do the MVP (minimum viable product) first, try the market acceptance and modify. Business plan was completed after they tried MVP.
Q: As the Asian startup in Europe, how do you differentiate yourself apart from other competitors?
身為在歐洲開啟事業的亞洲創業家，請問您們對於在亞洲及歐洲創業的不同之處有什麼看法
A: There are several obvious barriers for entrepreneurs who are the non-EU citizens. The visa issue, for example. The commercial paper work for getting a business license is also a tough one. And also, in Germany, it really takes a lot of time to visit a variety of corresponding offices. Last but not least, the language. Luckily, English is commonly used in Berlin. If we were in other cities in Germany, that will be another story. But anyhow, I see Berlin as a great place to have startup.
Q: What is the most challenging and inspiring part of building ECA?
創業過程中最辛苦的部份是什麼？
A: I believe that everyone has his own story and struggles as he starts a business. Challenges are everywhere. Only a healthy and strong mindset can survive. Once you know that you are creating something that you are passionate to, any challenge is only nothing but a bless.
Q:Let’s talk about the main competitors (or potential competitors) of ECA, for example, "HelloFresh".
關於競爭者分析，像是一樣以柏林為據點的"HelloFresh"，可否談談ECA有什麼優勢或特別之處?
A: Our difference from the current competitors (Hello Fresh)
- Authenticity in food: Asian business owners.
- Healthy Asian food: ECA emphasis the natural flavor of Asian food.
- Fast and easy: Everyone can cook within 15 mins.
- Culture through Story-telling:Food takes an important role in Asian culture. The small card in the bag for story-telling which can increase the engagement and connection with our customers. Example: The difference of chopsticks between China, Japan and Korea.
- One-time-order-based, not subscription model:We just started, the customers don’t know us. It is common that customers want to try. Therefor we don’t consider the automated subscription model in current stage business.
There is still another player called Kochhaus, a grocery store providing ingredients based on a recipe, is also similar to our long-term plan. But we focus on the ingredients more accurately. For example, we insist that an authentic Chinese fried-rice always comes with round rice.
Q: How many rounds or processes of fundraising have you been through? Through which channels?
ECA 至今完成了哪些募資或融資計畫？
A: At first, we started with our neighborhoods, then we joined the Siemens incubator and raised some of our funding from the German crowdfunding platform- startnext.
/3/ Advices and prospects
Q: What you will suggest for whom wants to build their own food startup?
會給想進入食品業新創的創業家們哪些建議？
A: First, go for a competition. Take us as example, we appreciate the Lean-startup very much because it helps in many ways. Second: don't lose your healthy mindset and courage. Berlin is a good place to try out your brave ideas. Just step out from your comfort zone and go for meetups and learn from the others. People are international and openminded here in Berlin.
Q: What are your short-to-mid-term goals and prospect in the future? Any plan for gaining alliances or marketing plans?
目前與未來的發展走向？結盟或是其他行銷計畫？願景?
A: In the first stage we keep developing new recipes and expending the numbers of potential customer. We plan to open our first Asian super market where we can realize the concept of meal kit. Since our ultimate goal iscreating an information platform for Asian food, alliances like restaurants, grocery shops, traders are important for us. There will be 4 new recipes in English coming in the near future.
To summarize:
Our vision is to create an information hub about Asian stores, food and culture.
- First stage in the business: Try the MVP and gathering the feedbacks. Create new menus.
- Second stage: Open the first Asian supermarket but minimize the choices for the customers. (Estimated time of opening: mid next year.) Start from small but focus on building communities and fans for the scalability in the future.
- Third stage: Apply the digitalization concept in food industry. (Ex. QR code and tablet in the shop.)-> Implement the data forecasting in the future.
Easy Cook Asia歡迎各界業務聯繫合作
Easy Cook Asia 官方網址 ：https://www.easycookasia.de
Co-founder & Business Development 楊承恩：c.yang@easycookasia.de
台灣人創業基地：https://www.facebook.com/groups/1545940745497735/
台灣人創業基地：https://www.facebook.com/groups/1545940745497735/
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