Meet Chris Chun of Pocket Latte in Downtown

Today we’d like to introduce you to Chris Chun, founder of Pocket Latte coffee bars.

Chris, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
It has been quite an unorthodox journey. Pocket Latte is the fourth company that I founded, but just five years ago, I definitely wasn’t anticipating that my life would take an entrepreneurial turn. I was working a restaurant job after dropping out of college. I knew I wanted to do more with my life, but I was stuck with car payments and complacency.

After leaving that job, I made an oath to myself that I would never work for somebody else again. So, loaded up with newfound motivation and a hint of stubbornness, I used my savings from restaurant tips to start my first company. I guess you can say Google’s search engine became my best friend and mentor.

Pocket Latte has more personal roots than any other company that I’ve created before it. It’s always been a personal goal of mine to give my mother a full-time job. She was a single immigrant mother with two kids, taking on all of life’s challenges head-on, yet always seen with a huge smile. We never really had much, but that never bothered us. She would juggle multiple jobs to keep us alive and well—even as a child I felt like I understood the reality of the situation. I’m just returning the favor.

Fast forwarding five years, I found myself finishing up my bachelor’s at USC while spending all my nights testing prototypes for my newest and most exciting venture—Pocket Latte coffee bars, a mother & son company. We launched half a year ago, and we’ve been stirring up interest and curiosity ever since.

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
It’s been a mix of both, but we stay optimistic. Besides, all of the problems that we’ve faced are good ones to have.

Let’s take it back to the beginning. Seeing as I have no background in chemistry or food science, the process was quite a learning curve. About six months and nearly 200 recipes later, I hit an epiphany that made me trash my entire approach and start over from scratch.

The problem was trying to blend water-based coffee into an oil-base. It was discouraging, but I took Thomas Edison’s advice that after 10,000 failed attempts, eventually you would be left with the right answer. I figured it out later that week. As cliche as it sounds, I almost gave up three feet from gold.

Scaling the company has also presented challenges of its own. As I mentioned before, we don’t come from any sort of wealthy background, and so we’ve hit a few obstacles where we couldn’t scale fast enough to meet our consumer demand. Again, I see it as a good problem to have.

All in all, it’s been a smooth journey so far. We have great team chemistry, and that’s been the fire to keep us moving forward. We really couldn’t ask for more.

Pocket Latte – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
Pocket Latte is designed to be a latte in your pocket. The idea is “ready-to-eat coffee,” and each bar equals a full cup of coffee. For the most part, coffee has been the same for centuries, yet it’s the second most consumed beverage in the entire world.

With a growing trend in energy products, we noticed that everything either doesn’t work, or it leaves you feeling wired like a robot. So, the goal was to give people an energy bar that’s made from the best ingredients, without harmful or synthetic additives, and actually tastes amazing.

We believe that’s what makes us unique and also what our customers have grown to love about us. There’s really no great way to cheat quality—we stand by that. Our bars are all-natural, meaning they have no artificial flavoring, preservatives, sweeteners, fillers, or colors. Everything from the rich & roasted aroma to the clean caffeine buzz is entirely from real coffee.

Is LA a good place to start a company? What could be improved?
I believe it’s an amazing place for aspiring entrepreneurs or basically anyone that’s actively seeking to pursue their dreams. There are opportunities at every step of the way, you just need to know how to recognize them. Talented and ambitious people are of abundance, and we’re all clustered together in this seemingly widespread city.

What is “success” or “successful” for you?
I believe it’s an amazing place for aspiring entrepreneurs or basically anyone that’s actively seeking to pursue their dreams. There are opportunities at every step of the way, you just need to know how to recognize them. Talented and ambitious people are of abundance, and we’re all clustered together in this seemingly widespread city.

We found that many people outside of this city are opposed to non-traditional forms of getting their coffee fix, which is perfectly fine—we drink coffee, too. Point is, LA is known for its open-minded culture, so it’s actually the perfect place to introduce a new take on people’s favorite beverage.

We started off at Smorgasburg, which is basically the highlights of Los Angeles culture compiled into a weekly food and craft market. We were able to build relationships with the locals, conduct taste tests, and gain overall proof of concept. That’s just one of many examples of great opportunities within driving distance (of course you shouldn’t underestimate the traffic… that could use some improvement).

Pricing:

• Our bars range from $1.99 to $2.99, depending on the size of the pack

Contact Info:

• Address: 787 S. Alameda St, Los Angeles, CA 90021
• Website: www.pocketlatte.com
• Email: admin@pocketlatte.com
• Instagram: instagram.com/pocketlatte
• Facebook: facebook.com/pocketlatte
• Twitter: Pocket Latte Coffee Bars
• Yelp: Pocket Latte Coffee Bars
• Other: http://kck.st/2xOu37U (Past Kickstarter)

Getting in touch: VoyageLA is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.