Meet Edward Chien of Chick N’ Skin in San Gabriel Valley

Today we’d like to introduce you to Edward Chien.

Edward, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I was given an opportunity to join and contribute to one of the biggest food events in California, 626 Night Market. It has been 6 years since we started, and the experience has been fun, crazy, and emotional. I have met many friends, made many connections, and even met the love of my life. Hosting events gave me an opportunity to pursue my passion for cannabis, food, and help the Asian American community.

I am the owner of “Chick N’ Skin” and a member of “Asian Americans for Cannabis Education”. I have always been an advocate for cannabis and loved food; The Munchies!

Our current product line “Chick N’ Skin”, is flavored crispy chicken skins that you cannot put down once you try one. My wife and I started this business after many years of spectating and contemplating over the night market. This felt like a natural progression and we wanted to make a product that would impact the nation. Chicken, the most consumed protein on the market and the best part of chicken is the “Skin”.

I am also into social causes with cannabis and empowering the youth through entrepreneurship. Asian Americans for Cannabis Education (AACE) connects and empowers Asian communities to educate the public on cannabis issues, news, and policy affecting Asians worldwide.

I do not consider myself successful yet, but I do hope one day I can give more back to society through my business and social causes. When we can be altruistic, donate our time and money to things. I consider that success.

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?
Growing up has been rough and I can only say things get tougher but we all grow in time if choose to strive for it.

I didn’t grow up with much, if anything I grew up during my parent’s financial decline. This left me as a latchkey kid and I had to figure a lot of things out on my own. My years after High School was not the greatest and put me at rock bottom. I was left with fear coming out of prison and not having a college education. No job would accept me and going back to college would only leave me in debt. Luckily meeting a friend at a halfway house, he offered me a job to do his marketing but ended up doing both laundry and marketing. This is when I caught notice of 626 Night Market on Facebook (prior to going public), I knew right away there was an opportunity in this.

I quickly convinced my friend to sign up for the 626 Night Market event in Pasadena and was it spectacular! I have never seen this many people and Asians in one time. Jonny Hwang (founder, 626 Night Market) and his team at the time were overwhelmed from the first event. This is when I saw an opportunity to reach out to see if I can help. I have learned so much from the ground up of this business and being an event organizer is very emotional with a lot of responsibilities. Ultimately our joy is seeing people happy and helping businesses!

Through the opportunities of 626 Night Market, I learned to be more self-confident and started a few companies myself. Some did okay but all failed or had to let go for bigger things. Today my wife and I are the proud owners of “Chick N’ Skin” and we are serving America’s next favorite snack; The best part of chicken, “Chick N’ Skin”.

There are still many obstacles along the way, but key is to be persistent and ruthless with your own wellbeing.

We’d love to hear more about your business.
Our business “Chick N’ Skin”, is the first of its kind to hit the US market. We specialize in “Flavored Crispy Chicken Skins” and our famous “Chicken Skin Nachos”. Chick N’ Skin, will have many applications not only in food but also business opportunities in the future. I am most proud of my wife who is my partner in this business, we are learning and growing together through this business experience. There is a challenge every day and being able to solve issues together brings us that much closer. Aside from being the first to market our goal is to give back to our community, preserve the world if we can, and find ways to utilize byproducts for a more sustainable future.

What were you like growing up?
I grew up with two older brothers and nearly a decade apart from each other. Growing up there was a lot of love from my siblings but shortly when they went off to college I was left alone again. My parents worked a lot and left us to nannies, babysitters, and other relatives until we were old enough. Moving around a lot during my childhood, I never had stable friends and was always sadden when I had to move.

I grew up quickly and learned to be a hard worker at a very young age. School wasn’t my thing, but I knew I need money to have fun and enjoy my life. Growing up I got in to a lot of trouble but after many lessons I finally learned.

I had always pursued the hobbies that interest me, surfing, photography, archery, hunting, business etc… Hobbies and passion is what keeps me motivated to work hard and I would love to teach these things one day.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.chicknskin.com
• Phone: 626-759-2925
• Email: edward@626nightmarket.com

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