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In this episode of the Startup CPG Podcast, host Caitlin Bricker sits down with Christine Liu and Clarissa Wei, co-founders of HEYDOH — a single origin soy sauce brand built to fill a gap in the American grocery market. The global soy sauce market is worth $40–59 billion, yet there is not a single origin option on the shelves of America’s largest grocery stores. HEYDOH is here to change that.

Clarissa is a food journalist who has spent 15 years covering Taiwanese and Chinese cuisine and has been based in East Asia for eight years. Christine is a data scientist from big tech who originally said no to the idea — until a factory visit in Taiwan and her first sip changed everything. Together they run what they call a 24-hour company: Clarissa in Taiwan, Christine in Brooklyn, an introvert running marketing and an extrovert running numbers.

Caitlin and the co-founders dig into the origin of HEYDOH, how consumer surveys shaped the product lineup, and the packaging disaster that led to a complete rebrand — and ultimately three Dieline Awards including Best in Food. They also get into the operational realities of shipping glass bottles, how a 25% breakage rate got fixed, and the creative shipping rate hack that helped them stay in the green on D2C.


Listen in as they discuss:

  • Why the $40–59B global soy sauce market has no single origin options in major US retailers — and how HEYDOH is filling that gap
  • How Christine went from “absolutely not” to co-founder after one factory visit in Taiwan
  • The consumer survey process that shaped the classic vs. silky SKU split — and why low sodium was a no-brainer
  • The Robinhood-app branding disaster, the pivot to a studio, and three Dieline Awards including Best in Food
  • Running a 24-hour company across time zones — and why the introvert/extrovert flip actually works
  • How Startup CPG buyer meetings led to Happier Grocer, Good Stuff Distributor, and more
  • The 3PL breakage crisis: 25% of glass bottles shattering and the wine shipper insert that saved them
  • How Christine forced their 3PL to shop against her own shipping rates — and cut costs by $3–4 per package
  • Why chemistry with partners matters more than a resume

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Show Links:

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  • Questions or comments about the episode? Email Daniel at podcast@startupcpg.com
  • Episode music by Super Fantastics