Today we’d like to introduce you to Wedchayan (Deau) Arpapornnopparat and Tongkamal (Joy) Yuon.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Wedchayan (Deau) and Tongkamal (Joy). So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
We met at a Thai Restaurant (Chan Dara) in West Los Angeles and Larchmont locations 13 years ago. Joy was a lead bartender and I was a busboy. Over the years, we worked our way to management positions where we enjoyed curating menus, learning about new ingredients and connecting with other makers. We worked there for eight years and decided to end the journey at Chan Dara and start our own thing together.
We have always thought about owning something of our own big or small that didn’t really matter much at the time. It was about being able to find our own destiny and creating the environment and culture that we want to be a part of through our work.
We started in food festivals like 626 night market selling Popsicles, Thai inspired Dishes and etc. which was a disaster because we have no experience of owning our own business. The challenge of create our own product that is distinguished by other people.
After many failures, we took a step back and really ask ourself. Why do we want to be an entrepreneur? What do we enjoy making? Can we disturb the industry? Are we solving the problem? and most importantly Do we love doing it?
That’s when we founded The_Base_Co (IG: the_base_co) a natural sweetener company. At The_Base, we preserve and elevate fresh natural ingredients in the form of a concentrated sweetener. A natural sweetener that built upon intimate relationships between ingredients, farmers, you, and our planet.
Our vision ” A world full of Happiness. A foundation we all build upon. ”
Zac Brooks from SmorgasburgLA invited The_Base’s ethical natural beverage pop up shop (IG: @HappinessCapsule) to be the first line up vendors for their grand opening in Downtown Los Angeles. We are known for our sustainability program (Happiness Refills) and Customizable Mocktails Program. Parents and Children love our drinks. Our Family grew from SmorgasburgLA to Eat Drink Vegan, Coachella, Vegan Street Fair, Smorgasburg Williamsburg, Arroyo Seco and etc.
It allows us to connect with different makers in every field and that what really excited for us. Deau decided to quit SnapChat as a Designer and go full time with The_Base_Co to help Joy who is a lead product development for The_Base_Co.
The Base Co retail store and kitchen is scheduled to open by the end of 2020 in Fashion District. Currently, you can find our bases through www.the-base.co or at our selective partner stores like NowservingLA (Chinatown) and Bestie Vegan Paradise (East Hollywood). You can also grab our drink made by our Partner Makers like Clark Street Bread (Los Angeles), Wonderspaces Arizona, Wonderspaces Philadelphia, Wonderspaces Austin.
We founded The_Base_Co.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
Similar to all start-up business. We faced all typical challenges like finance, recognition, time management, learning to be everything for the company and etc. The two biggest challenges are credibility and education. As immigrants working in an Immigrant’s restaurant till 2016 our resumes are not that impressive in the eyes of others and back then food media is not as robust as it is now. We were not recognized by people in the food industry, thus we struggle to find support from writers, presses, chefs and food critiques especially when you are making beverages. Another struggle is Education of our base to customers. It took us many months at our @happinesscapsule to make sure that our customers understand our product and why is it the best option on the market. Now we are selling online, we need to find a better way to explain our product to a bigger audience. It is so funny that how many people asked us if we sell boba drinks or is this a tea shop LOL. We are so happy that we don’t get that question anymore. Some people are so stuck with the stereotype Asian included. We don’t need to be put in a categories. We are not Coffee Shop, tea shop or Matcha shop. We are a natural beverage shop.
So, as you know, we’re impressed with The Base Co – tell our readers more, for example what you’re most proud of and what sets you apart from others.
At The_Base_Co, we preserve and elevate fresh natural ingredients in the form of a concentrate sweetener. A natural sweetener that built upon intimate relation of ingredients, farmers, you, and our planet.
We specialize in curating natural ingredients in one harmonious base. Our customers can be their own kind of mixologist for the family or themself.
We are most proud about our way of thinking. How we approach product development, How do hire our makers, How we approach our guest, How care about the environment and etc.
Everything above sets us apart from others.
So, what’s next? Any big plans?
We are working on our website to be more robust, educational and engaging for our new and regular guests. Currently, we are working on better shipping materials that is better for the environment as well as protecting the bottles. Couple of Products in the pipeline: Mocktail Kits, Membership, Aromatics, and Condiments.
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Pricing:
- $13 – $15 (8 serving per bottle)
Contact Info:
- Website: www.the-base.co
- Instagram: The_Base_Co
- Facebook: The_Base_Co
- Twitter: The_Base_Co
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