Meet Steven Tang | Co-founder of Yoju

We had the good fortune of connecting with Steven Tang and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Steven, what do you attribute your success to?
Our brand is bringing Asian flavors into the alcoholic beverage market. We’ve been successful building a brand around this mission because the products we make are intimately personal to me and my co-founder. As Asian Americans, we’re bringing flavors we love from heritage into an American consumer market that we grew up with. The stories we tell about our brand are real. And our products, like our line of yogurt soju canned cocktails, are extensions of our personal experiences. This intersection of products we love with a consumer market we know gives us a unique edge. It’s allowed us to create truly unique products that are anchored in authentic personal experiences, which all makes for a compelling brand to consumers.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
Yoju is America’s first ready-to-drink yogurt soju cocktail brand. We’re introducing Asian culture to an alcoholic beverage market that has historically lacked any Asian influence. As Asian American founders, the story of our brand is personal to us and reflects the flavors we know and love from our heritage. We’re most proud of introducing these flavors into mainstream retailers like Whole Foods and Costco, making yogurt soju more accessible to a much larger segment of American shoppers.

Our early successes are attributable to us being super honed in our mission of celebrating Asian flavors in the alcohol industry. Tough product decisions were made easier once we asked ourselves what helped us get closer to our mission. It enabled us to tell an authentic story which leveled up our marketing. And retailers also loved our mission-driven approach. If you’re creating a new brand, it all starts with a strong and focused mission.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
I’m taking them to all of the best spots to eat Asian food – Kang Kang, 101 Noodle Express, Jinsol Gukbap, Tsujita, Northern Thai Food Club, HiFi, Little Skewer, Huge Tree Pastry, Sun Nong Dan, Pijja Palace. Then we’ll go anywhere we can get some sun except for the beach and kick back with some beverages.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
We attribute a lot of our success to the early few stores that took a chance on stocking our products. Yogurt soju is still an unfamiliar concept to many American consumers. Despite this, our early supporters gave a chance to an entirely new concept made by a team that had no experience in the industry. Not only that, they were kind enough to educate us about the industry and connect us to other people who could help us, all for nothing in return. We wouldn’t be where we are today without finding our early true believers.

Website: drinkyoju.com

Instagram: sipyoju

Other: TikTok: sipyoju

Image Credits
Ruth Kim, Toffer Kim