How a 27-Year-Old’s Side Hustle Hit $100K in Month 1: KiuKiu | Income Tips & Side Hustles

Key Takeaways

Liu always knew he needed to build a meals model, so he labored in tech to “save aggressively” and make it occur.
He invested about $65,000 of his own financial savings to launch his mochi pancake and waffle model KiuKiu earlier this yr.
Now, KiuKiu is harnessing an omnichannel strategy to continue its community building and growth trajectory.

This Side Hustle Spotlight Q&A options John Liu, 27, a British citizen who’s sometimes based in San Francisco, California. Liu began KiuKiu (“QQ”), the model behind “chewy, bouncy” mochi pancakes and waffles, earlier this yr. Responses have been edited for size and readability.

Image Credit: Courtesy of KiuKiu. John Liu.

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What was your day job or major occupation whenever you began your facet hustle?Before beginning KiuKiu, I used to be working in tech, the place I led product groups at TikTok. I used to be half of the founding team of TikTok Shop, then later helped build TikTok’s GenAI platform for AI video technology.

I always knew I needed to build a meals model. CPG may be very capital-intensive, and early institutional investment is uncommon until you already have a observe report, so tech was my strategy to save aggressively. The experience in tech itself also grew to become extremely related. Understanding the interior workings of ecommerce, storytelling and ruthless time prioritization are now core abilities I depend on every day as a CPG founder.

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When did you start your facet hustle, and the place did you discover the inspiration for it?I grew up in Taiwan consuming chewy, bouncy rice-based meals like mochi, rice truffles and noodles. There is even a Taiwanese phrase for that texture, “QQ,” which is the place the identify KiuKiu comes from and a time period I hope turns into half of the on a regular basis American lexicon. Rice also holds deep cultural significance for me because many members of my prolonged household had been rice farmers.

When I moved to the U.S., I spotted that chewy rice-based textures barely existed in grocery shops — aside from mochi ice cream. At the same time, American grocery aisles had embraced other various flours like almond, cassava and oat, however not rice, even though it’s the most consumed grain in the world. That disconnect felt like an monumental alternative.

My long-term imaginative and prescient for KiuKiu is to build an whole class of rice-based, chewy pantry staples such as pancakes, cookies, frozen waffles and even pastas. I’ve always cooked and baked with rice flours, however I started formally testing recipes for scale in early 2025. I left my job in April and launched KiuKiu’s first merchandise, mochi pancake and waffle mixes in ube, pandan coconut and black sesame, in August 2025. They’re made with California-grown rice flour and are naturally gluten-free.

Image Credit: Courtesy of KiuKiu

What had been some of the first steps you took to get your facet hustle off the ground? How a lot money or investment was required to launch?My first step was to build accountability mechanisms for myself. If I inform my mates I’m going to do one thing, it’s embarrassing if I don’t observe by. So, within a couple of days of mentally committing to building KiuKiu, I shared my journey publicly by way of Instagram Reels so I couldn’t back out. Then, I drew up a plan for a 60-day dash with the objective of launching our first product to validate that people needed chewy, bouncy rice-based textures.

I went straight into obsessive R&D. I hosted tasting classes with mates, crashed people’s dinner events with mochi pancakes and made 80 iterations of recipes, adjusting the whole lot from sugar ratios to leavening based on suggestions collected in a Google Form. I attempted to contain our rising community at every stage when deciding on the model identify, flavors and testing what messaging and packaging resonated most.

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My first major investment was branding. I labored with my college buddy Ned Hardy and his associate Marc Hohmann at TWO Agency to create a model and packaging that would invigorate the baking aisle, while maintaining a nod to our Asian heritage. I also spent weeks talking with more than 200 producers before discovering the proper associate. We needed to scale our first run 10 occasions bigger than deliberate because preorders had been so strong. Altogether, for branding, components, manufacturing and labor for our first manufacturing run, I invested about $65,000 of my own financial savings.

Are there any free or paid sources that have been particularly helpful for you in beginning and operating this business?I’ve saved spending extraordinarily lean, so I rely closely on free sources. Podcasts and newsletters have been some of my best lecturers. This is TASTE, Grow to Market, Food Biz Wiz, Express Checkout, BevNet’s Taste Radio and StartupCPG are all in my rotation, and have helped me perceive the whole lot in the CPG panorama from product development to distribution to raising capital.

Building and nurturing community within the CPG space has also been invaluable. I joined the Naturally Network’s NorCal Chapter soon after beginning KiuKiu, and it linked me with founders and operators who’ve been extremely beneficiant with their time and advice. Communities like INCLUDED and Project Potluck have also been significant, particularly for assembly other underrepresented founders who’re building manufacturers that share their cultural heritage.

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Image Credit: Courtesy of KiuKiu

Lastly, I also make a point to succeed in out to other founders. I often slide into other manufacturers’ DMs to ask tactical questions and cheer each other on. There is a real sense of camaraderie in CPG. We are all navigating the challenges in our own methods, however we are able to come together to share what we’ve realized so we are able to all win together.

If you might go back in your business journey and alter one course of or strategy, what would it not be and how do you want you’d carried out it otherwise?As a solo founder, the hardest skill is understanding the place your time has the highest leverage.

Initially, I deliberate to do all manufacturing and success myself. I impulsively purchased a business mixer and began trying to find a business kitchen space. When my visa was delayed, and I couldn’t be in the U.S. for launch, I used to be compelled to pivot to a co-manufacturer and 3PL.

Looking back, that constraint was the best factor that may have occurred. My time is way better spent on growth actions, like speaking to consumers, building distribution and driving velocity, slightly than mixing rice flour at 2 a.m.

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When it involves this particular business, what’s one thing you’ve discovered notably difficult or shocking that people must be ready for?Despite how attractive building a client model could look on the floor, there’s an monumental quantity of guide and unglamorous work in CPG, and it never actually stops.

Our mochi pancake mixes use California-grown rice flour, however our taste components come from across Asia. Black sesame from Taiwan, ube from the Philippines and pandan from Thailand. These components had been on a ship when tariffs had been altering what appeared like every hour. I attempted to avoid wasting money by skipping a freight broker, so I ended up personally managing customs delays, FDA holds, tariff reclassifications and daily paperwork for weeks.

Then, when you lastly get into retail, the real challenge begins. Just because your product is in the retailer doesn’t imply it’s on the shelf or displayed accurately. I’ve seen our mixes stocked upside down or positioned back-to-front. After that comes velocity, which is often the deciding issue for whether or not a retailer retains you. You need to demo, build relationships with retailer groups and nurture each location. It is a relationship-driven business at its core. That could be each the most difficult and the most rewarding half.

Image Credit: Courtesy of KiuKiu

Can you recall a particular occasion when one thing went very mistaken? How did you fix it?When you might be doing one thing for the first time, you often don’t know what you don’t know.

When sourcing components for our first batch, one of the most important parts, our ube powder, arrived in a muted gray shade. Ube must be vibrant purple with a strong aroma and taste. I used to be horrified. We needed to delay manufacturing so I may reorder from a different provider, which set us back and price a few thousand {dollars}, however there was no means I used to be going to compromise on the very first batch.

I realized to set strict ingredient specs upfront, protecting the whole lot from shade to aroma to fineness. We now observe these requirements for every manufacturing run.

How long did it take you to see constant month-to-month income? How a lot did the facet hustle earn?We launched D2C in August 2025. My objective was to hit six figures in lifetime income by the end of the yr. I needed to show product-market match and build a data story that may help us enter retail. We ended up hitting $100,000 in income in the first month.

That early traction gave me the confidence to start building wholesale accounts and reaching out to specialty retailers and local markets while persevering with to refine our product and operations.

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What does growth and income appear like now?Although we launched by D2C, our long-term strategy is omnichannel.

D2C has remained regular with strong repeat buy charges. On the wholesale facet, we’re now in our first 80 retail accounts, including Safeway and Andronico’s in Northern California, with more shops approaching board in 2026.

Next yr, we plan to develop D2C by new channels like Amazon and TikTok Shop, and we will probably be investing more closely in social media to inform our story and build our community. We are also getting ready for an thrilling launch with my dream pure grocery chain and need to guarantee we’re operationally rock stable before scaling additional.

How a lot time do you spend working in your business, and what does a typical week appear like?I work on KiuKiu full-time, often 11 to 12 hours a day, with product testing classes and demos on weekends. It sounds intense, but it surely genuinely feels enjoyable because the work is so various and I care deeply about what I’m building.

I exploit Trello to plan my highest precedence month-to-month objectives, break them into weekly objectives, then into smaller daily duties.

While I’m overseas ready for my visa, I concentrate on the whole lot I can do remotely. For instance, this week regarded like:

Monday: forecast 2026 stock, submit onboarding supplies for a national retailer, converse with an investor

Tuesday: finalize next manufacturing run, plan freight pickups, coordinate PR packages

Wednesday: create Instagram Reels, coordinate stock with distributor, negotiate ingredient buy

Thursday: meet a head purchaser at a national chain, finalize up to date packaging, edit new model video footage

Friday: interview a candidate for our model ambassador function, work with a trademark legal professional, update our financial mannequin

Every week seems to be different, which is precisely the kind of atmosphere I thrive in as somebody with ADHD. I contemplate it a superpower!

Image Credit: Courtesy of KiuKiu

What do you take pleasure in most about operating this business?There is nothing more rewarding than watching somebody strive KiuKiu mochi pancakes for the first time and instantly eager to share them with their family and friends. Bringing the textures and flavors I grew up with in Taiwan into an American breakfast basic feels extremely significant.

I also love the selection. One day I’m speaking to ingredient suppliers in Asia, the next I’m assembly with grocery consumers or distributors, and the next I’m partaking with our clients. It pushes me far more than big tech ever did, and I like that the buck really begins and stops with me.

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What is your best piece of particular, actionable business advice?In CPG, build a go-to-market strategy you’ll be able to realistically maintain and win in your current channels before increasing.

I’ve seen a lot of cautionary tales of founders who develop too rapidly and use every useful resource they need to get into as many retailers as attainable. Large chains will often take you, sometimes with loopy slotting fees or free fill expectations, however they are going to also drop you if velocity isn’t strong instantly. Before saying yes to a retailer, know precisely how you’ll drive velocity there. That can embrace demos, content, community and subject assist.

I remind myself consistently that it’s better to dominate 20 shops than quietly disappear in 200. KiuKiu is still very younger (we launched three months in the past, for goodness’ sake!), and my focus is on successful in our first chain before aiming for world domination. It will are available in time.

This article is an element of our ongoing Young Entrepreneur® collection highlighting the tales, challenges and triumphs of being a younger business proprietor.

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