Within a year Doris Tsang has built a profitable startup with 2 employees by sharing her passion for authentic Hong Kong cuisine
Vancouver, B.C – Terrific news from another startup in incubation at Empowered Startups. In December 2021, Doris Tsang arrived in Vancouver with big goals. In the past year, she launched DBay Foods, an innovative startup in the food service industry that provides “ready-to-cook” and “ready-to-eat” packaged authentic Hong Kong foods for families. Overhead costs and kitchen equipment are significant in the food service industry and prohibitive to launching, growing, and being profitable. What makes DBay Foods successful in the space is that it collaborates with other kitchens to produce and package their foods during non-busy hours.
In February, Doris launched her eCommerce website, social media presence, and began building a following on DBay’s Facebook and Instagram pages. While the first 3 months were a challenge, by the end of it she had 50 online and 30 in-person orders and had broken even by April. By providing terrific meals, building connections with its customers, and growing its online presence, which is now up to 1,700 Facebook and 270 Instagram followers, DBay Foods has steadily grown. It now has two employees to keep up with demand. DBay has also continued to grow its menu as it brings on new and seasonal items such as moon cakes for Mid-autumn Festival and its now famous beef balls.
Customer feedback has been overwhelmingly positive with a 70% customer return rate and a 5-star review rating on Google. Doris has found that having an in-person channel in addition to her online presence has been incredibly valuable for her company because she gets to build a connection with her customers and hear their feedback on the products.
“Best ready to eat frozen dim sum and dumplings that I have ever tried in Vancouver. The beef balls are my all time favorite with a taste and texture comparable if not better than most Chinese restaurants “– Patrick, DBay Customer
The year 2023 will be full of growth and new challenges for DBay Kitchen and Food as the business is expanding and will need to find access to additional kitchen locations to grow and meet demand. Even with its reduced overhead, the increasing costs of ingredients has been a challenge for DBay as it is not willing to compromise on its quality and continues to use Berkshire pork and AAA beef. To continue growing in spite of inflation, DBay will share its passion for Hong Kong cuisine in new ways as it plans to launch online and in-person cooking classes for some of its favourite Hong Kong dishes. The future is bright for DBay.
Order today to experience the gourmet flavours of authentic cuisine from Hong Kong.
About DBay Foods
DBAY Kitchen and Food Co Ltd., founded in 2021, is a startup in the food service industry that provides “ready-to-cook” and “ready-to-eat” packaged food for families. DBay Foods collaborates with restaurants to prepare food packages in kitchens during non-busy hours.
Contact information
Doris Tsang – Founder and CEO
Email: [email protected]
Address: 4384 Fraser St., Vancouver, BC, V5V 4G3
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About Empowered Startups
Empowered Startups is an Innovative Startup Incubator and foundry headquartered in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. With offices in Canada, France, and Portugal, we train/mentor/ and network entrepreneurs to successfully launch new businesses in diverse markets. As a foundry we also conceive, build and launch our own products and solutions. Empowered Startups is recognized by the Canadian Government as a designated start-up business incubator and is known internationally for growing ideas into sustainable businesses using both a virtual and on-site model. Our training tools and mentorship are used and recognized by leading global university labs, Startup incubators, and innovation hubs. Apply for our programs online at empoweredstartups.com
Photo by DBay Foods