Meet Helen Ban | Minority Women Owned Small Business

We had the good fortune of connecting with Helen Ban and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Helen, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
There were many thought processes behind starting my own business. In honest transparency, while I knew I had a great product to share with the world, at the moment, one of biggest drive was to make money. After being laid off from a career I had vested 1o+. years to, I took on some odd jobs, but working full-time just to make enough money to send the kids to daycare just didn’t make sense.

Working from home felt like my only option. I dabbled into catering, specifically Korean BBQ with a company that promoted home cooks. Having watched my mom cook growing up it felt natural for me to cook too. She had Midas’ touch when it came to Korean BBQ, everyone praised it. I got some gigs here and there, but the amount of time and physical work it required didn’t pay off. Not too long after trying to figure out what to do next, I was introduced to beef chips, a common snack in Hawaii, but pretty much unknown everywhere else. My husband was experimenting with jerky around the same time, so we decided to make our own beef chips with my mom’s Korean BBQ recipe. This was 2018.

After a couple years with hits and misses, we finally perfected the recipe and technique. We shared it with family and friends and they raved. I was constantly being asked to sell them, but being the straight-edge rule follower I am, I knew I needed to do it the right and “legal” way. That was one of the first thought processes of starting my own business – how stressful it was to get all the paperwork correctly complete. The next (big)- thought process was finances. There was no way I could afford anything at the time, nor did I want to create more debt to my name.

Then covid hit and during that time, I lost my sister to cancer in 2020. Losing her was the last and final thought process before officially starting my own business. She had always believed and supported me in my cooking journey – “just go for it” she’d say. The final decision came after receiving financial help to get me jump started. It came to me as my sister’s “last gift” after she passed. In 2021, gogi chips was born. While gogi chips is what my small business is known for, our official business name is: SB&M Foods, INC – which stands for: S -Sun, my family name, B – Ban, my married name and M -Moon, my sister’s married name.

Life is unpredictable and I learned the reality that we are not promised tomorrow. Sometimes we need to take that leap of faith, whether you fail or succeed, because we can always learn something from the experience. Gogi chips remains a small batch, small business, but the legacy it now holds is immeasurable.

What should our readers know about your business?
SB&M Foods, INC, better known for Gogi chips is a minority, women owned small business that started out as a passion project. It continues to be an official side business making small batches made to order. First, what is gogi chips? Gogi means meat in Korean so essentially it’s meat chips – 100% protein, no fillers or preservatives. While meat/beef chips is slowly becoming more widely available, our flavors and texture can’t be compared to others – so they say. Reviews of gogi chips gets me the most hyped and excited. I am proud to say I have not received negative comments/reviews about gogi chips, except maybe that customers tend to finish the entire bag in one sitting and it’s hard to immediately get more.

As mentioned in the panel question, getting the business started was the most challenging and then getting the word out/marketing my product also posed a hardship in the beginning. However social media played a game changing role. With the help of influencers who tried, loved and shared gogi chips, I ended up with a bittersweet problem – a demand I couldn’t immediately fulfill.

While I am forever thankful for the exposure and unexpected love for gogi chips, after many sleepless and stressful nights, a big lesson I learned is, only do what you can. Health and family come first.

Gogi chips remains a small batch small business – we make what we can, when we can. So, when it’s sold out, it’s out till further notice. Add us on Instagram to stay posted on availability!

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
The first place we’d go is my home so I can host a home made Korean BBQ meal! However living in California my whole life, I would have to say though we have the BEST & largest Koreatown in Los Angeles.
Each day’s meal will include at least one Korean meal and there’s tons of local restaurants to choose from, however AYCE Korean BBQ restaurants would not be my first choice. A bit old school, but my favorite place to get good quality Korean food and BBQ would be Chosun Galbi. Assuming my friend is not from the West Coast, we’d have to get tacos and burritos – because no other state beats California when it comes to Mexican Food (in America).
We’d also do some major shopping at Kim’s Home Appliance where they have all the best home goods from Korea.

Aside from Koreatown, I guess we’d have to visit Hollywood, Griffith Observatory, beaches, museums and some major amusement parks.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
My biggest dedication goes out to my sister, Jessica Ji Young Moon. Even though you’re no longer here with us, you remain as my daily driving force to, “just go for it”. I hope you’re proud of all the small successes we found. Thank you for giving me confidence and always having my back.

My family – David, my husband of 16 years, 22 years of togetherness, but really a lifetime of knowing since age 5. You get the credit for laying the foundation for gogi chips because without you experimenting with jerky, gogi chips may have never existed. Thank you for always holding up the fort. To Nathan and Natalie – if success can be personified, it’d be you two. I am reminded daily how lucky I am to be your mom. Special shout out to my sampler girl, Natalie – you are my best pop-up event partner. Thank you for always being so excited help to hand out samples and calling me a CEO. It really does boost my confidence.

My parents – You’re not just another immigrant story. Unlike many other families who came to live the “All American Dream”, you said you came because you were hungry. To my dad who came with no English, I am proud of everything you have accomplished as a business owner and to my mom who basically did all the in-betweens, you are my hero. In my eyes, we lived our American Dream – bellies full.

My girlfriends – my village, you know who you are. What would I do without you ladies…absolutely nothing. Thank you for your laughs, love, friendship and sisterhood.

Instagram friends – gogi chips is what it is because of you all. Thank you for loving, supporting and encouraging our food journey. Special thanks to Trinh (@trinhdoesthings) & Stella (@stellanspice) for loving on gogi chips. Your support changed our social world – literally.

Instagram: @gogi.chips

Other: tiktok – @gogichips