From representing wealth during Lunar New Year feasts to a quick, easy, and comforting meal, dumplings are a household must have. Now, father-daughter duo Ken and Beckii Leung are bringing their family’s frozen dumplings and wontons to homes across Southern California through their small business, Ken’s Porkstickers!
Beckii and Ken started Ken’s Porkstickers in 2020, but this is far from their first experience in the food industry. Ken is actually a professional chef with over 30 years of experience specializing in Chinese cuisine. His parents taught him to cook at a young age and actually inspired him to pursue this passion as a career. Beckii says, “Through his dedication and hard work, Ken owned a few Chinese restaurants around the Los Angeles area over the years. It’s no surprise to our family that we’re still pursuing our dream in the food industry.” Beckii, on the other hand, works full time in business strategy and legal operations and manages Ken’s Porkstickers outside of her full time job. When the COVID-19 pandemic struck last year, their family was adversely impacted and suffered job losses. Not allowing this setback to weigh them down, Ken and Beckii turned their passion for food into a new business: Ken’s Porkstickers. Beckii shares, “It’s true when they say that when one door closes, another one opens. It was also hard to keep Ken out of the kitchen. At first, we wrapped dumplings for our close friends and family to enjoy during quarantine. After receiving an overwhelming amount of positive feedback and encouragement, we decided to share our creation with everyone else.”
Although dumplings are a very familiar food, there are a few aspects that really set Ken’s potstickers and wontons apart. Ken and Beckii put love and careful attention into crafting each dumpling and use only high quality ingredients. Ken also continuously works to perfect his pleating technique which gives Ken’s Porkstickers their signature look of a plump dumpling with a row of meticulous folds. While there are many places you could get your dumpling fix, Beckii and Ken really focus on providing their customers with high quality products and excellent customer service with the added convenience of getting frozen dumplings and wontons delivered straight to your home. “We take pride in our work,” Beckii says, “and hope our customers can taste it in our dumpling craftsmanship.” Ken and Beckii also prioritize customer safety and pride themselves on cleanliness and making sure their dumplings are stored at the proper temperature upon delivery.
Ken’s Porkstickers is a true small family business and that comes with its challenges as well. For Beckii it can be tough being the only person to manage the business side of Ken’s, and she finds herself being stretched thin developing marketing strategies, planning out their weekly delivery schedule, managing customer service, and designing marketing collateral and social media posts. Beckii shares, “Despite encountering different roadblocks, I’ve learned so much from this experience so far and I’m so appreciative for the support of family and close friends. When we first launched, we weren’t sure what the response would be like or if people would actually like our dumplings. We’re so happy with our decision to share our creation with the world and hope to continue to craft delicious dumplings for our customers for many years to come!” Beckii and Ken are motivated by the positive feedback they have received, and want to thank their customers for helping their family business grow. Beckii says, “[Our customers’] unwavering support has truly exceeded our expectations and we wouldn’t be here today without them. When you shop small, you are supporting someone’s dream, so thank you for helping us continue ours.”
In the future Ken and Beckii hope to open a Ken’s Porkstickers storefront, but more immediately they plan to expand their reach by selling at local farmers markets and pop-up shops. No matter what the future holds, their dumplings are here to stay. They say, “We had a goal in mind to create delicious food that would bring people together, and we are so grateful for the opportunity to spread love and joy through our dumplings.”
Try Ken’s Porkstickers!
To place an order, direct message @Kens.Porkstickers on Instagram or text Beckii at (626) 278-2645
Instagram @Kens.Porkstickers
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