Post by Admin on Dec 29, 2003 14:04:37 GMT -5
Northfield woman finds niche in food market
January 31, 2002
(from the Business section)
By Karen Brislin
TIMES ARGUS STAFF
NORTHFIELD — It isn’t chicken soup for the soul. More like, Asian food by a woman from Seoul — Korea, that is.
From humble beginnings in her Northfield kitchen, Sunja Hayden created Sunja’s Oriental Foods, now located in factory facilities based in Waterbury.
Sunja’s Oriental Foods has grown annually since its founding and earned a very respectable half million last year — not a bad return on a $10 investment in a few groceries in 1993.
“I wanted to make quality foods,” Hayden said, admitting she had no vision in the beginning of creating a national specialty food line.
Hayden is slight, petite and poised, with an aura of mystery, giving her age as “more than 50, less than 100.” She fills a room, however, when she smiles. Reflecting on her own story makes her smile a lot.
Sunja lived in Korea until the age of 25. She was the second child in a family of four sisters and one brother whom she helped support by working at the U.S. Embassy as a secretary. Ultimately, the embassy job lead her to America after she met the man she would marry, David Hayden, an ROTC Norwich graduate who was in Seoul as an officer in 1972.
Leaving her home in Korea was difficult, Sunja said. marrying David meant leaving her family behind. She wasn’t sure she would see them again. She needed to choose.
Today, Hayden enjoys the success and love she knows today, married and the mother of two grown children, owner of a small empire in Asian cuisine.
It began, according to Sunja, with cooking classes that she taught through Creative Education in Northfield in 1993. It was then that she was able to see exactly what she had to offer the community. Her recipes use only natural ingredients.
Sunja’s expertise includes Chinese and Japanese, as well as Korean recipes. Her creativity in cooking is unlimited. She often writes her own recipes, making them up as she goes along. Many, however, are from her family and reflect her origin.
“Other people make ‘Asian’ food products but not comparable to the uses of mine,” Hayden said. “My sauces are not loaded with sugar. They are diabetic friendly — (also) not loaded with salt.”
In the beginning, she cooked at night when the kids were in bed. By day, guided by the U. S. Department of Agriculture, Hayden did some cooking demonstrations at the Hunger Mountain Food Coop in Montpelier. From these demonstrations, she said, the business grew and orders started flowing freely.
In those early days of growth, Sunja stood before CEO’s and marketing executives of national food chains such as Hannaford’s and natural food markets doing on-the-spot cooking demonstrations of her products.
According to Hayden, with no business education or training, presenting herself and her food to such “bigwigs” helped her grow in product positioning on a national level and with confidence in her ability and culinary craft.
“With courage, you make the phone call and you understand, we are all the same people,” Hayden said of her growth as a businesswoman.
An invitation to national shows in Baltimore, Md., and Anaheim, Calif., were large-scale successes for Sunja’s Oriental Foods.
“At that point,” she said, “business was booming.” Distribution demands and orders continued to arrive daily. She realized then that she had outgrown her kitchen.
Presently, 16 items are produced in the Waterbury factory including seven different sauces, frozen foods, sushi, and kimchee.
“Kimchee,” according to Hayden, “is a very unique, very healthy specialty food. In Korea, Kimchee ferments underground for a month or so. Here, temperature is controlled in refrigerators — not underground.” Kimchee aids in food digestion, she said. It is a condiment in Korea, Japan, and China. Kimchee originated in Korea about 4,000 years ago, Hayden said.
“Everyone wants products of shelf life,” Hayden said. Kimchee is one of those choices made with low sodium by Sunja and with a shelf life of six months in the refrigerator.
Depending upon the number of orders at a given time, Sunja Oriental Foods employs between eight and 14 people at the Waterbury plant.
The next step, Hayden said, is to find a partner or an investor who can help bring Sunja’s Oriental Foods to the next level.
“This company is ready to take the next step,” she said.
Contact Karen Brislin at karen.brislin@timesargus.com
January 31, 2002
(from the Business section)
By Karen Brislin
TIMES ARGUS STAFF
NORTHFIELD — It isn’t chicken soup for the soul. More like, Asian food by a woman from Seoul — Korea, that is.
From humble beginnings in her Northfield kitchen, Sunja Hayden created Sunja’s Oriental Foods, now located in factory facilities based in Waterbury.
Sunja’s Oriental Foods has grown annually since its founding and earned a very respectable half million last year — not a bad return on a $10 investment in a few groceries in 1993.
“I wanted to make quality foods,” Hayden said, admitting she had no vision in the beginning of creating a national specialty food line.
Hayden is slight, petite and poised, with an aura of mystery, giving her age as “more than 50, less than 100.” She fills a room, however, when she smiles. Reflecting on her own story makes her smile a lot.
Sunja lived in Korea until the age of 25. She was the second child in a family of four sisters and one brother whom she helped support by working at the U.S. Embassy as a secretary. Ultimately, the embassy job lead her to America after she met the man she would marry, David Hayden, an ROTC Norwich graduate who was in Seoul as an officer in 1972.
Leaving her home in Korea was difficult, Sunja said. marrying David meant leaving her family behind. She wasn’t sure she would see them again. She needed to choose.
Today, Hayden enjoys the success and love she knows today, married and the mother of two grown children, owner of a small empire in Asian cuisine.
It began, according to Sunja, with cooking classes that she taught through Creative Education in Northfield in 1993. It was then that she was able to see exactly what she had to offer the community. Her recipes use only natural ingredients.
Sunja’s expertise includes Chinese and Japanese, as well as Korean recipes. Her creativity in cooking is unlimited. She often writes her own recipes, making them up as she goes along. Many, however, are from her family and reflect her origin.
“Other people make ‘Asian’ food products but not comparable to the uses of mine,” Hayden said. “My sauces are not loaded with sugar. They are diabetic friendly — (also) not loaded with salt.”
In the beginning, she cooked at night when the kids were in bed. By day, guided by the U. S. Department of Agriculture, Hayden did some cooking demonstrations at the Hunger Mountain Food Coop in Montpelier. From these demonstrations, she said, the business grew and orders started flowing freely.
In those early days of growth, Sunja stood before CEO’s and marketing executives of national food chains such as Hannaford’s and natural food markets doing on-the-spot cooking demonstrations of her products.
According to Hayden, with no business education or training, presenting herself and her food to such “bigwigs” helped her grow in product positioning on a national level and with confidence in her ability and culinary craft.
“With courage, you make the phone call and you understand, we are all the same people,” Hayden said of her growth as a businesswoman.
An invitation to national shows in Baltimore, Md., and Anaheim, Calif., were large-scale successes for Sunja’s Oriental Foods.
“At that point,” she said, “business was booming.” Distribution demands and orders continued to arrive daily. She realized then that she had outgrown her kitchen.
Presently, 16 items are produced in the Waterbury factory including seven different sauces, frozen foods, sushi, and kimchee.
“Kimchee,” according to Hayden, “is a very unique, very healthy specialty food. In Korea, Kimchee ferments underground for a month or so. Here, temperature is controlled in refrigerators — not underground.” Kimchee aids in food digestion, she said. It is a condiment in Korea, Japan, and China. Kimchee originated in Korea about 4,000 years ago, Hayden said.
“Everyone wants products of shelf life,” Hayden said. Kimchee is one of those choices made with low sodium by Sunja and with a shelf life of six months in the refrigerator.
Depending upon the number of orders at a given time, Sunja Oriental Foods employs between eight and 14 people at the Waterbury plant.
The next step, Hayden said, is to find a partner or an investor who can help bring Sunja’s Oriental Foods to the next level.
“This company is ready to take the next step,” she said.
Contact Karen Brislin at karen.brislin@timesargus.com
