We had the good fortune of connecting with Jeong A Cha and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Jeong A, is there something that you feel is most responsible for your success?
Our business has grown exponentially since we started in October of 2020. As we launched during the pandemic, in person interactions were very limited. However, we truly believe the most important factor for the success in our business was our authentic genuine personalities we show on our social media. We try to be as “real” as we can when it comes to talking about our plants and who we are as a business. We talk about our goals, successes, and failures and try to be as transparent as possible. When we have shipping delays we contact our customers immediately. We try to provide uncommon plants that are hard to find at low costs so that they are accessible to all socioeconomic levels. We even find ourselves delivering plants all the way to San Francisco. Our supporters know that they aren’t buying from a large corporation but from two college students with a dream to share houseplants with everyone and anyone, even those that don’t have a green thumb. We love sharing tips and tricks (some unconventional) on how to care for plants as well. We advocate for plants that are healthy, not plants that just appear “instagram perfect”. As a result, our supporters know that what they get from us will be quality and that we take our time to hand select every plant that we sell. The authentic and genuine interactions have not only helped us grow our business, but create long lasting friendships.

What should our readers know about your business?
jjenga’s plants is an asian-owned business in Los Angeles, CA. We are both full time college students with a passion for plants. It was definitely not easy starting our business as the second surge of the pandemic began right as we opened. As a result, we were limited in in-person interactions so we relied heavily on online sales and our following on social media. Thankfully many of our customers continued to show us support throughout all of this. We are now doing pop-ups all over SoCal and it is truly a joy to be able to provide a physical space to shop for plants.

One of the most difficult parts about owning a plant store is sourcing for plants. We find ourselves driving all the way to NorCal every week at times to hand select plants in small quantities to ensure that they meet our standards.

One of the most important lessons we have learned is how important it is for a brand to be authentic and genuine. We truly believe that this is the reason for our success as a small business. In a time where social media distorts the realities of plant parenthood and life in general, we try our best to be “real”. Whether this means talking about topics such as pests you can encounter in your plants or non plant related topics such as mental health, we aim to be a platform that continues to show that things are not always “instagram perfect”.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
eat/drink: Mediterranean food: Seasoning Alley in Montrose
Mexican: Ave 26 or Taco Azteca in Glendale
Korean: ANY RESTAURANTS IN KTOWN
Thai: Thai Famous in Garden Grove
Boba: Boba guys
Coffee+Singapore/Asian fusion: Grain traders
Coffee: aDosage in Azusa
Grand Central Market
Visit/See:
Flower market in DTLA
Manhattan beach
Huntington library
Fork in the Road
La Jolla
The last bookstore

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
jjengas plants would not exist if it wasn’t for co-founder, Josemarie Fajardo. Although I have wanted to open a business at some point, he helped provide the extra push that was needed for us to take the leap. He continues to support me in any decision I make and helps bring a new perspective to ideas for the business. He is responsible for many of the graphic designs you find for our business, delivers plants to customers, handles the finances, packs plants, and so much more. He brings his creative experience into our business to help curate plants for our clients. Without him, jjenga’s plants would not be here!

Website: https://jjengasplants.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jjengasplants/

Image Credits
All Photos have been taken by https://www.alithealouise.com

Nominate Someone: ShoutoutLA is built on recommendations and shoutouts from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.