The Key To Success Is To Stick To Your Goals

Fundamental to expansion is strong Sop and a robust distribution network, says Ajisen Ramen China CEO Daisy Poon.

- Shane Cubis

Daisy Poon had built a career on trading Asian ingredients to Europe and the US when she first became involved with Japanese company Ajisen Ramen. Back then, her business involved purchasing foodstuffs in China, processing them in Shenzhen, and then transporting them to Hong Kong for export. At that time, she recalls, competition in the trading market was becoming too high and, after a dozen years in that industry, she was looking for a new venture to explore.

Entrepreneurial from a young age, Daisy has always been on the lookout for a fresh business opportunity. Over the course of a fateful lunch, she immediately saw the potential in bringing this specific Japanese ramen to the Chinese market.

In 1994, Daisy discovered Ajisen Ramen noodles in Kumamoto, Japan, at a time when there was no ramen in her home country. Daisy is familiar with homemade pork bone soup and noodles from her family roots, with her father from the southern part of China and her mother from the north. “Most Japanese ramen broths are miso or soy sauce soups,” she explains. “The reason I was attracted to Ajisen is because they use pork bone soup as a broth, which I am familiar with. In China, customers prefer meat bone soup, which is considered healthy and valuable.”

Growing up in the city of Taiyuan, Shanxi – famous for its pork bone white soup – Daisy certainly knows what she is talking about when it comes to the value of specific ingredients. Indeed, her first taste of Ajisen Ramen reminded her of childhood times with her parents, leading her to describe it as “the taste of home”. However, it is one thing to experience nostalgic feelings from a meal. It’s quite another to take those feelings and establish a whole new business.