Meet Our Founder
I get it’s not the sexiest thing on the market, but for almost a decade, oatmeal has been my warm, good morning hug and daily dose of energy to jump-start my day.
When I was juggling 10 hour school days at USC and traveling the world for modeling, it was the one consistent thing in my life that kept me going day after day, year after year. Up until this day, I'm still eating the same ol' oatmeal every day and I wanted to share that feeling of warmth, energy and deliciousness with the world.
If you're wondering about my ‘ah-ha' moment of when I realized this is what I wanted to do... it was after a month of non-stop traveling for fashion week back in 2017. Dozens of castings, late night fittings and several fashion shows later, I came home and saw that I was featured by Vogue as one of the 5 Models to Know from Marc Jacobs Spring 2017. As excited as I was, all I could think about was “I WANT MY OATMEAL”.
You often hear the story about how someone discovers the healing benefits of whole foods and what a healthy mindset can do for oneself, and that it inspired them to start a food company. Well... that's not really how my story goes.
I grew up in an Asian household with two entrepreneurial parents in West Covina, CA eating Taiwanese pastries, instant ramen and hot Cheetos.
I guess you can say entrepreneurship has always been in my blood because I've always been fascinated with the companies they've created and if you asked me what I wanted to do when I grew up, I always said "start my own business".
I knew passion was important and it wasn't until after I made myself oatmeal in ziplock baggies while traveling for years that I thought, "you know what, the world needs this and I'm going to make it for them".
As a model turned entrepreneur, I value the importance of real health, both mentally and physically.
Picture this: it’s my first modeling experience in NYC and I’m living in a small studio apartment tucked away in the heart of SoHo with 3 other girls. A big shot Brazilian model, a Russian, an all-American gal from the Mid-West and 17-year old me! The big shot Brazilian was anorexic and bulimic and it was my first time seeing something like that. She’d eat some lettuce using mustard as dressing (I know, weird) and then go straight to the bathroom with a glass of water.
Over the years, I saw it happen more and more amongst models in the industry. Seeing this and thinking how normal, everyday people look up to a lot of these models who seemed perfect… it didn’t sit right with me.
There had to be a balance, which is why Mylk Labs’ values are “Flavor, Nutrition and Convenience”. I only source the best ingredients—locally whenever possible and prefer to work directly with the farms. In 2018, I launched the company using my homemade daily oatmeal as the inspiration for our 5 flavors.
My hope is that Mylk Labs can make everyone’s lives healthier, more convenient and a lot more delicious!
xo
Founder & CEO
