Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Christopher Han. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Christopher, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Naming anything – including a business – is so hard. Right? What’s the story behind how you came up with the name of your brand?
My wife, Vania Bouffard, would make a Korean sweet and spicy Gochujang sauce for our household that became so popular with family and friends, they encouraged us to bottle and sell it. We thought that “Gochujang” might be a bit hard for people to pronounce so we shortened it to “Gogo.” That’s how “Vania’s Gogo Sauce” was initially created but we also thought that naming our business after a sauce would limit our potential. That’s how “Vania’s Gogo Foods” was created.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.
My work experience varied from working for the County of Los Angeles Department of Consumer Affairs as a Real Estate Fraud Investigator, being a Job Coach with Goodwill assisting people with disabilities, being a car salesman, and being an insurance broker’s assistant. As varied as these jobs were, I carried one thing from each, superb customer service skills.
During 2019, my wife and I started our own business called Vania’s Gogo Foods (named after her of course). We wanted to start selling a sweet and spicy Korean gochujang sauce that’s always become a staple of our household. We named it Vania’s Gogo Sauce and planned to start our new venture selling at local Farmer’s Markets, online, and in stores. Unfortunately, the COVID19 pandemic hit and we were unable to join any markets due to the restrictions. Thankfully, we were allowed to start the markets in 2020. We started our business with only 1 sauce.
We then added Vania’s Garlicky Chili Oil and Vania’s Garlic Confit to our list of items shortly after. It didn’t take long for us to discover that an average person can only go through so much sauce in a week so we added a product that was easily and quickly consumable. It was then that we added Onigiri (rice balls) to our list.
Onigiri is a traditional Japanese dish but our mission was to add non-traditional fillings. We have a Beef Bulgogi w/ Kimchi, Ginger Miso Oyster Mushroom, Teriyaki Spam, Spicy Chicken w/ Kongnamul(marinated sauteed beansprouts), and Smoked Salmon w/ Yuzu creamcheese, microgreens, and cucumber. We also have a special chef’s special onigiri that changes every week!
You can meet with us Saturday mornings from 7am to 2pm at the Marina Del Rey Farmers Market, Sunday mornings from 7am to 2pm at the Melrose Place Farmers market, 9am to 3pm on Wednesdays at the Trojan USC Farmers Market, and we’re now selling our onigiris at the UCLA Ackerman Student Union store. You can also find our sauces at Monsieur Marcel at the Original Farmers Market in Los Angeles.
What’s worked well for you in terms of a source for new clients?
Without a doubt, working at Farmers Markets and talking directly with the customers about our products has been the best way for us to connect with new people.
How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?
I believe our hard work ethic, great customer service, and respect for other vendors has built our reputation as as a great business. I also feel that consistency is the most important factor when it comes to developing a good reputation.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.vaniasgogosauce.com
- Instagram: vaniasgogosauce