We recently connected with Charlene Young and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Charlene thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Being a business owner can be really hard sometimes. It’s rewarding, but most business owners we’ve spoken sometimes think about what it would have been like to have had a regular job instead. Have you ever wondered that yourself? Maybe you can talk to us about a time when you felt this way?

Business ownership is tough. I left the Data Analytics world to pursue my passion of making Filipino BBQ accessible throughout the entire United States. I didn’t want to work for “the man,” I wanted to work for myself. My stride is good. My partner (who happens to also be my husband) and I are hard workers and share in this dream. So, in the first year of dabbling into Consumer Packaged Goods we made it into a major grocery store chain — putting our brand’s smoked Longganisa (Filipino style sausages) into 69 groceries throughout 2 states. We thought to ourselves “this isn’t so bad… we made it this far in this short of time!” But, there were so many things that we didn’t think about. Scaling sustainably, branding, customer acquisition and retention— all aspects that are just as important as expansion— and more! As a new and small business, my partner and I had to learn to be experts of every component of our business. Marketing, sales, accounting, e-commerce, deliveries, you name it. And that is hard work. Really hard work.

We are on our 2nd year of doing CPG. Our revenue is at 6 figures but 85% of our profits go right back to the business. So, technically we aren’t seeing the money we’re making go into our pockets just yet. They say it takes at least 3 years for a business to see a higher return in profits. We are so close to those three years but, sometimes I can’t help it think that a regular 9-5 job would be easier. A 9-5 stays in the office, work doesn’t (it should) come home with you, your actions won’t truly make or break the entire company, and you can bank on a decent pay check. Business ownership just isn’t that. You’re constantly thinking about how, why, when, where and sometimes don’t see that return immediately. Is it worth it? I want to say yes. I hope so!

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

My name is Charlene Lopez Young and I am the Co-founder and Vice President of Operations at The Fattened Caf. The Fattened Caf started through a series of game nights we would host in our home for our friends. It was a great way to see each other and a great way for Darren (my co-founder and out Grill Master) to practice his new-found grilling hobby. Darren would grill piles and piles of BBQ for our friends. For me, it was a great way to introduce the Filipino food culture to our community. Soon The Fattened Caf found its way into local farmers markets, then into the pop up restaurant scene, and now a residency in a local brewery called Earthbound in South City Saint Louis. At the height of the pandemic, in order to continue with the business, we began to pivot our production into consumer packaged goods. We started making our own smoked longganisa – Filipino style sausages using local products and cleaner label that does not compromise on the authentic flavors that Filipinos and Filipino Americans love. We would sell our product through a to-go window in the brewery and could barley keep up with the demand. Not too long into the year, our product got picked up by a local grocery store, Schnucks Markets, and we found ourselves in 67 grocery stores + some smaller local groceries. Since then we have expanded our product line to include 4 BBQ sauces and marinades and our e-commerce store. We are proud of how far we’ve come. Our mission is to bring Filipino packaged goods into mainstream grocery stores nationwide. As small business owners, we barely have time to sit still these days but we continue to hold on the values that started our business: cooking good food, being around our friends, and building community. As we continue to expand and grow, our hope is to bring representation and diversity into grocery stores.

Can you tell us the story behind how you met your business partner?

My Co-founder and business partner is my husband! We met in Los Angeles and have walked alongside each other since the beginning of The Fattened Caf. It is a fun and hard journey to be on but one that we will not change.

Can you talk to us about manufacturing? How’d you figure it all out? We’d love to hear the story.

We manufacture our own Filipino style sausages called longganisa. It took Darren 3 months to perfect a recipe and me, Charlene, a laborious month to learn how to case and cut sausages. We took classes in the Philippines, attended butchery workshops, and tasted over 100 or so lbs of sausages in a quarter to make sure we became experts of the craft.

Contact Info:

• Website: thefattenedcaf.com
• Instagram: the fattened caf
• Facebook: The Fattened Caf
• Twitter: @thefattenedcaf

Image Credits
Tyler Smalls Miranda Munguia