70+ AAPI-Owned Brands to Support This May (and Every Day)
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With several Asian-owned businesses facing a drop in sales over the past few years due to the Covid-19 pandemic and heightened discrimination against the Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) community, there’s never been a better time to directly support the community by shopping AAPI-owned businesses.
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“There have been several instances throughout my career where I’ve felt that others weren’t perceptive to my voice, or the voices of my Asian clients,” Lin Chen, CEO and founder of Pink Moon, told Rolling Stone in 2021. As she was starting her business, Chen encountered some saddening realities about how little Asian women (and other women of color) are represented in the business side of the beauty industry. “Truthfully, learning those facts only fueled my desire and made me dream bigger.” While AAPI women are one of the fastest-growing demographics of entrepreneurs, funding remains one of the biggest challenges for AAPI business owners. CNBC reported that while there are dozens of professional networks available to the community, “‘very few’ provide the capital they need to grow and sustain their businesses in the long term.”
Chen says that beauty rituals had helped her tremendously on her healing journey journey from a bad breakup, and she wanted to share that special form of self-care — this lead to the release of their best-selling Rose Quartz Gua Sha Facial Tool. “Eventually, it became apparent that I needed to help others who were just as passionate about the power of beauty rituals. I want Pink Moon to become a space of empowerment and representation.”
From everyday pantry staples, to fashion and beauty essentials, there are plenty of ways to support Asian-owned brands. Here are some of the best AAPI-owned brands that stood out to us, as well as a list of others you should shop this May (or any time of the year, really).
1. Lo & Sons
$122.64 $168 27% off
buy catalina deluxe tote on lo & sons
In search of a lightweight and functional (yet stylish) travel bag, Lo & Sons was co-founded by brothers Jan and Derek Lo with their mother, Helen Lo (who says she recently went from CEO to CGO (Chief Grandma Officer)). We’re big fans of their versatile Catalina Deluxe Tote — made from sustainable eco-friendly materials, it’s got multiple interior pockets, a suitcase handle sleeve, adjustable compartments, and a separate bottom pocket for shoes or dirty clothes. Lo & Sons also partners with nonprofit organizations that support the Asian-American community, like Heart of Diner, which delivers cooked meals to Asian-American seniors in New York City.
2. Bokksu
$39.99+
Founder Danny Taing started this monthly subscription box company when he couldn’t find local Japanese foods in the U.S. after living in Japan. Now Bokksu delivers to your door authentic Japanese snacks, candies, and teas sourced directly from centuries-old family makers. Like your enthusiastic best friend coming back from a year abroad, you’ll get seasonal and regional picks like Hiroshima Seaweed Tempura Chips to Kyoto Matcha Chocolate Cake, for example. Each box is curated for a certain theme, and comes with a booklet that explains where your snacks come from, as well as providing related cultural facts.
3. Hey Dewy
$59.95
After working in various corporate offices with dry, stale air, Hey Dewy co-founder Cindy Kang needed a portable solution to replace her big, clunky home humidifiers. Their Wireless Facial Humidifier was the answer, featuring eight hours of a cool mist on a single charge, keeping your skin and hair hydrated throughout the day. Ultra-lightweight and portable, I like to put this on my hotel room nightstand for whenever I travel, and it’s also great as part of my skincare routine. Passionate about access to clean water, Hey Dewy also donates 10% of sales to clean water Initiatives such as The Water Project.
4. Outer
$1,900
Buy Aluminum outdoor gathering table on outer
Co-founded by Terry Lin and Jiake Liu, this AAPI-owned brand launched in 2019 with a mission to get people outside, designing innovative outdoor furniture meant to look good yet stay durable for years. Outer’s patented “OuterShell” tech quickly rolls out and over cushions, dining tables, and more to protect them from the everyday dirt and debris that often prevents people from enjoying their outdoor space. Outer offers the best combo of form and function, from their best-selling All-Weather Wicker Collection to their more recent Aluminum Outdoor Gathering Table.
5. Blueland
$79+ $149 47% off
Buy clean suite kit on blueland
Blueland was born when Sarah Paiji Yoo wanted to reduce her single-use plastic consumption after becoming a new mom. Completely innovating the way you’ll think about traditional cleaning supplies, their non-toxic home cleaning products come in dissolvable refill tablets. Blueland’s Clean Suite Kit has everything to get you prepped for a full deep clean: multi-surface, glass and mirror, and bathroom cleaners, powdered dish soap, 40 dishwasher tablets and 40 laundry tablets. They’ve also recently expanded into the self care space with the launch of their tablet-based Botanical Hand Soap Duo and powdered Body Wash Starter Set.
6. Ghost Democracy
$87 $92 5% off
Buy starter kit on ghost democracy
Ghost Democracy is an inclusive and clean skincare brand founded by Rex Chou, who, after working in big beauty corporations for over a decade, decided to start a company to show that everyone should have access to high-quality, affordable skin products, regardless of gender. The brand also takes their “cleanliness” seriously, since their collection go beyond the “no sulfates and no parabens” labels you typically see, cutting out other silicones, oils, and fragrances from their products. Using a higher concentration of lead ingredients (aka the good stuff), we love their Starter Kit, which features a deeply moisturizing and quick-absorbing daily cleanser, moisturizer, and serum.
7. Popflex
$60
pre-order Pirouette Skort on popflex
Popflex is an athletic wear brand designed by Cassey Ho, an entrepreneur and founder of the popular YouTube channel Blogilates, who recently went viral again after Taylor Swift sported her pirouette skirt in lavender for the #ForAFortnightChallenge video. While Ho has recently dealt with two separate instances of fast-fashion giants knocking off her signature designs, her quality and attention-to-detail along with a willingness to take feedback from her collections and constantly improve upon them makes her an inimitable creator.
8. Omsom
$49
Buy saucy noodle sampler on omsom
Sisters Kim and Vanessa Pham have said that Omsom came out of their experience as first-generation Vietnamese Americans feeling othered growing up in Massachusetts, and now aim to make “proud and loud” pan-Asian flavors accessible to everyone’s home kitchen. No need to scour the “ethnic foods” aisle, or search multiple grocery stores for specific ingredients. Bursting with bold flavors and unapologetic amounts of spice, the brand’s collection of seasoning sauces, meal starter packs, and noodles take inspiration from popular Thai, Vietnamese, Korean, Filipino, Japanese, and Chinese dishes. We highly-recommend the Saucy Noodle Sampler‘s dreamy combo of knife-shaved noodles and sauces, great for amateur home cooks who might lack a loaded pantry.
9. Apothékary
$39
pre-order take the edge off with yuzu
Founder Shizu Okusa is a Wall Street alum-turned-wellness entrepreneur who became inspired to live more balanced lifestyle and revisit her Japanese roots and passion for herbal medicine after the stress of working in finance. As a self-proclaimed natural “farmacy,” Apothékary offers endless amounts of herbal remedies and tinctures aiming to help with issues ranging from everyday stress and sleep, to finding sober alternatives to wine. I’ve been using their “Your Wildest Greens” tincture to help get in some extra vitamins when I’m on the road and don’t want to blend up chalky greens powder, but this month they’re offering a twist on their best-selling “white wine alternative” tincture, a Japanese yuzu-fruit herbal blend packed with Vitamin C and Skullcap to help with tension relief.
10. Nguyen Coffee Supply
$48 $51 6% off
Buy original vietnamese coffee trio on nguyen coffee supply
Nguyen Coffee Supply is among some of the best coffee subscriptions out there, importing fresh coffee beans from its partner farms in Vietnam and roasting them weekly in Brooklyn. Founded by Sahra Nguyen, a 1st generation Vietnamese American, the brand are “proud champions of the robusta bean,” (which java snobs tend to look down on) now getting the much-deserved spotlight in their strongest coffee, Truegrit, a 100% peaberry robusta. Their Original Vietnamese Coffee Trio also comes with two other blends: “Moxy” (100% arabica), and “Loyalty Arabica-Robusta”, and we highly suggest brewing them using the brand’s Phin Filter.
11. Pluto Pillow
$125
While they may not have won over the sharks on Season 12 of Shark Tank, Pluto Pillow sure have won us over with their memory foam pillow that’s actually customized to your body. It’s one of the more innovative sleep-related products we’ve ever seen, with a patented process that allows the manufacturer to build your pillow with a CertiPUR-US foam core that’s the right thickness for you (from 1″ thick and up). It’ll get just the right amount of bounce and support — all based on your answers to a quick questionnaire. Unlike memory foam pillows of the past, the Pluto Pillow have cores that recover faster and relieve temperature better, so they’ve kept us snoozing all night long.
More AAPI-Owned Brands to Support
In addition to highlighting some of our favorite products from AAPI-owned brands, we’ve rounded up other businesses we think deserve a shout-out across categories like wellness/fitness, home, beauty and food. While it’s not an exhaustive list, each of these brands are at least 51% AAPI-owned.
AAPI-Owned Travel and Wellness Brands
AAPI-Owned Clothing and Accessories Brands
AAPI-Owned Beauty and Skincare Brands
AAPI-Owned Home and Kitchen Brands
AAPI-Owned Food and Beverage Brands
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