OHME! Foods: Freeze-dried healthy snacks tastes good always and in all ways!
- KLS
- 8 minutes ago
- 6 min read
For the 214th feature of our "Together Talks" campaign, we collaborated with Ohme! Foods and Co-Founder, Jenny Yue. At OHME!, they produce premium quality freeze-dried snacks that are easy, healthy, and irresistibly good! Versatile enough as a snack hack, and sophisticated enough to impress friends at dinner parties - they taste good always and in all ways.
"Together Talks" feature # 214: OHME! Foods presented by KLS - Your Trusted Shipping Solutions In The USA
Story of how it was created? What have been the biggest challenges? Goals for upcoming year + Next phase of the company?
What were your concerns to transition to starting your own business? How have you dealt with being the face of the company?
What have you learned since becoming an entrepreneur? What aspect of entrepreneurship do you appreciate the most? What is your why?
Story of how it was created?
Our company really started because my husband and I were trying to find a good topping for our morning breakfast. It actually began as part of a New Year’s resolution. During the pandemic, my partner and I didn’t have great eating habits. Obviously, we were trapped at home, very stressed, with two full-time jobs and a kid to take care of. It was a stressful time.
And the way we sought comfort back then was through binge drinking and binge eating lots of barbecue and fried chicken at night. The result, of course, was waking up every morning feeling unmotivated. You’d look at yourself in the mirror and just not feel like the best version of yourself.
When the pandemic started to ease up a bit, we said, “Okay, let’s make a New Year’s resolution to start eating healthier, beginning with breakfast.” Simple as that. And as we started eating breakfast bowls, we realized they could be very boring. It was just oatmeal and yogurt, nothing fun that added sparkle to our mornings. So we started looking for different toppings. There was granola, frozen fruit, all sorts of things. And my husband remembered having freeze-dried fruit back in Asia.
However, when we tried to find those here, there weren’t many options available. There were only a few, mainly berries, and that was it. So my husband and I decided to get our own freeze-dryer and start freeze-drying fruit at home. That’s really how our concept started. We shared it with friends and family, and they said, “Why don’t you try pop-up markets and see if there are more people who would love these products?” Sure enough, lots of people who hadn’t heard about them tried and loved them. That’s where our idea really took off.
Ever since then, we’ve been growing and getting into more retailers.
What have been the biggest challenges?
I think our biggest challenge has definitely been figuring out all the logistics and manufacturing.
As we scale into more retailers, we’ve realized it’s hard to dispatch all the products ourselves from our own warehouse or manage co-packing and staffing.
Every quarter, we’re learning something new and constantly moving warehouses. It’s gotten to the point where we said, “Okay, we really need a strategy, because moving every three to four months is not sustainable.”
As a small business, it’s always a constant battle, do we pay for our own warehouse rental, which might be cheaper, or work with a fulfillment partner, which saves time but costs more?
You end up realizing that while doing everything yourself might seem cheaper, once you add staffing and time, it actually costs more.
So it’s been a learning curve. Over the past two years, we’ve learned what’s right for us, and now we know it’s time to find a fulfillment partner instead of dispatching everything ourselves as we continue to scale.
Goals for upcoming year + Next phase of the company?
For 2026, we’re really looking forward to expanding further into Canadian retailers.
Right now, we’re only in about 5% of the top 300 doors in Canada. As a Canadian company, we’re excited to unlock the remaining 95%.
What were your concerns to transition to starting your own business?
Yes, we definitely both had full-time jobs back then, and it was only recently, this year, that we quit.
For us, it was important to be able to afford our family’s living expenses, mortgage, car loans, insurance, and so on. We couldn’t just quit right away; that wasn’t realistic. We made sure we had enough savings to run the company comfortably. Once we reached a certain level of growth and calculated that we could pay ourselves a salary while maintaining our living standards, that’s when we decided, “Okay, it’s time to quit and focus fully on the business.”
How have you dealt with being the face of the company?
It’s definitely not easy, but being in Vancouver helps because there are so many pop-up markets and local organizers. We introduced our product through these pop-up markets, setting up our little booth on weekends and connecting with the community.
It’s great because we get to see people’s reactions in real-time when they try our samples.
We receive instant feedback, which helps us improve, develop new flavors, and stay innovative. Being at pop-up markets has been a huge win for us.
What have you learned since becoming an entrepreneur?
Honestly, we didn’t have many of the skills needed at first.
Our background was in health IT implementation, lots of project management and timeline work. But when you’re building your own brand, you have to wear so many hats, including marketing, which we had no experience in.
We had to learn about trends, customer behavior, and things like newsletters and calls-to-action, the little details that actually drive engagement and sales. I remember studying over 100 newsletters from my favorite brands to learn what worked. We used to think a good product would speak for itself and to some degree, it does. But to reach a broader audience beyond pop-up markets, you really have to put on your marketing hat and spread awareness.
What aspect of entrepreneurship do you appreciate the most?
It’s really the feeling of waking up every day knowing you’re building something you’re passionate about. It’s not the same as working a corporate job. My husband and I were both passionate about health IT, but this is a completely different type of fulfillment.
Seeing people’s reactions in person, hearing positive feedback, it’s incredibly motivating.
From a personal standpoint, I also love the freedom of time. Even though we often work until 2 a.m., it doesn’t feel like work. You’re running on adrenaline because you love what you’re doing. And being able to spend more daytime with my son, instead of sitting at a desk from 9 to 5, is something I truly value.
What is your why?
We really want to be innovative with our products.
Two years ago, when we asked people if they’d heard of freeze-drying, about 90% said no. Now, most people have heard of it in one way or another. That’s motivating for us because we love freeze-drying, it’s such a great way to preserve nutrition while creating a delicious, crunchy texture. Our goal is to keep innovating. On our website, you’ll see we started with freeze-dried fruits, but now we’re expanding into freeze-dried yogurt crunches. We’re so proud of that. We can be playful and creative with what we produce using freeze-drying technology.
We see so much potential and have new products launching next year with added functional benefits, which we’re really excited about. On a personal level, every time my son eats our yogurt crunches and shares them with his friends at school, it fills me with pride and happiness. That’s a big part of what motivates us.
Do you have a moment that brings you the most joy?
We’re happy with every milestone, but one that really stands out was our launch with Urban Outfitters. It was such a surprising and delightful moment because we never imagined they’d reach out to us. They’re not your typical grocery or retail store that would carry our kind of product, so when the buyer contacted us, we were shocked and thrilled. He said he loved our products, and soon all Urban Outfitters stores in the U.S. started carrying them.
That was such a joyful moment, realizing we were now available nationwide in the States.
Piece of Advice
Just some words for entrepreneurs who are still working full-time while running a side gig.
There are a lot of lessons learned in that balance. My husband and I went through it, juggling corporate jobs, a growing side business, family life, and still making time for each other.
It’s a lot to manage, but you’re not alone.
My advice is to self-reflect often. Ask yourself what you really want. We hit burnout at one point, and that forced me to reflect and realize I didn’t want to stay in my full-time job anymore. That clarity made me confident enough to take the leap.
So, keep reflecting and keep going, one step at a time.
Promo Code
Purchase from their site, Ohme! Foods, and use promo code below:
TOGETHERTALKS -> 10% off!
Community Callout
Agnes - Butter Crumbs
She runs a local bakery. She's definitely my biggest hype girl. She helped me a lot on the journey, and I learned a lot from her. I learned about a lot about entrepreneurship from her as well.
In Closing
KLS wants to thank Ohme! Foods and Co-Founder, Jenny Yue, for today's "Together Talks" feature. Follow along for their journey with their social handles below!