How did Bopomofo Cafe, a small business co-founded by a Youtuber, find success despite all of its obstacles?
Everyone knows it's not easy to start a small business. It definitely doesn’t help when your product is not something your target audience is regularly exposed to. This was definitely the case for Bopomofo Cafe, an Asian American owned cafe in San Gabriel Valley, California. Co-founded by Wong Fu Productions’ Philip Wang and his business partner Eric Wang, Bopomofo Cafe is the perfect example of the growing number of young Asian-American businesses and ventures in the country. Everything about Bopomofo, from their concept to their menu to even their name, is the face of Asian American representation, success, and pride. This small LA cafe, despite its many hurdles and challenges, has garnered fans locally, nationally, and even internationally! So how did they do it?
WONG FU PRODUCTIONS
For more than a decade, Wong Fu Productions has been a notable and impactful voice for Asian Americans. Wong Fu Productions is an American filmmaking company that has produced short films and music videos focusing on modern Asian Americans and their real-time experiences. By 2011, Wong Fu Productions’ Youtube channel had gained 1 million subscribers, and are currently at 3.29 subscribers with over 570 million views. Its co-founders, one of them (Philip Wang) also being the co-founder of Bopomofo Cafe, created this company to tell the story of Asian Americans who feel misrepresented and underrepresented in mainstream media. For Philip Wang, starting Bopomofo Cafe can be considered a continuation of his mission at Wong Fu Productions to represent Asian Americans, their heritage, and their culture.
“What’s really cool is there’s a lot of, like, first, second-generation or next-gen Asian Americans that are coming into the food business cause, like, food is a huge part of Asian American history like our culture, right? Before it was - we went into this business out of like necessity and survival right we were forced to work in the kitchen and, you know, do these types of businesses. And now the kids are growing up because of their parents’ sacrifice for working at all these restaurants. A lot of Asians are seeing this as, like, a place or avenue for them”
Co-founder Philip Wang
THE CONCEPT
As their website states, “Bo, po, mo, and fo are the Chinese ABCs, a nostalgic and basic foundation for… Asian-Americans.” It is definitely the most fitting name for the eighteen-month-old restaurant. Bopomofo’s concept has both Asian and American influence, reflecting the founders’ experience growing up as Asian Americans. As Philip Wang explains, the cafe is “an homage to [their] Chinese… [and] Asian American upbringing”, as seen by the unique and creative variety of options on their menu.
“Food and a physical venue is a place you can pass these traditions, these flavors on….Food is a part of your identity”
Co-founder Philip Wang
But Bopomofo doesn’t pay homage to their bi-cultural upbringing only in boba sales. With the large number of boba shops already existing in Los Angeles, the founders wanted to make sure they made themselves different from any regular boba shop. In addition to boba, their menu consists of sandwiches, tater tots, and bowls - all made with an Asian twist. Take their tater tots, for example - as co-founder Eric Wang explains, “Our parents made mapo tofu at home, but we had tater tots at the school cafeteria, so we wanted to bring it all together." And that’s how Bopomofo’s signature “Mapo Tots” was made!
MARKETING
Compared to other small businesses, Bopomofo definitely had a head start in terms of getting the word out. Philip Wang’s fame as a member of Wong Fu Productions gave the Bopomofo duo a definite and undeniable advantage on social media.
One way they’ve utilized their Wong Fu Productions following is by creating a documentary that showed the cafe’s journey from start to official opening over the course of nearly three years. The documentary gave fans insight into the process of starting a small business and the handful of obstacles and hurdles the founders had to overcome to finally jumpstart their company. By watching and understanding Bopomofo’s back story and what it took to get to where they are now, viewers can appreciate and connect to the cafe more, encouraging them to visit and support the company. It also gives them a chance to understand how hard the founders worked to create dishes that represent Asian American culture and drinks that are healthier than other boba chains and stores. Hearing their story and mission, customers are more likely to visit and check out what they’re all about!
But their success cannot only be attributed to Wang and the Wong Fu Productions’ strong online following. As Wang recounts, “people see me behind the counter and they say 'What are you doing here?' And their minds are blown. They think I'm just working the cashier as a second job because YouTube isn't cutting it. So, I love it when they find out on their own." Instances like these confirm that Bopomofo isn't solely depending on Philip’s fame - rather, it is making a name for itself for its unique and healthy menu options.
On Instagram, the company has a huge and loyal following with 41,000 followers from all over the world. It definitely helps that their boba milk teas and lemonades are extremely aesthetic and Instagram-worthy! The vibrant and unique colors of their drinks attract many Instagram users, who love to share pictures of their purchased drinks on their story. Their outside eating space is also a popular spot for Bopomofo customers to take aesthetic pictures of their drinks with the iconic “Bopomofo” mural in the background. All in all, Bopomofo Cafe has gone all out on social media, something that’s also been very helpful during the last few months of the COVID-19 pandemic.
COVID-19 AND THEIR RESPONSE
Like many small businesses, Bopomofo Cafe has been greatly impacted by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. According to a video posted on their Youtube channel in April, Bopomofo Cafe has been making many adjustments to their strategy and operations in response to the pandemic.
Unfortunately, the prices of many of the items they need to operate their store, including boba, have risen due to the global crisis, which definitely hurts their profit. In order to keep their employees and customers safe, the cafe has closed its dining area and has implemented curbside pick-up, making sure customers don’t enter the store. Outside the store, the cafe put tape on the ground to let customers know where to stand in order to maintain social distancing. The cafe takes advantage of cashless transactions and wipes down the screen customers use to pay after each transaction. In addition to these efforts, Bopomofo Cafe has also opened up their online store, shopbopomofo.com. On their site, visitors can purchase electronic gift cards to support the cafe without having to visit in person. Another way people have been supporting Bopomofo Cafe is through online orders. Customers from different states are placing online orders and asking the cafe to hand out their orders to someone in need, a great way to show support for the company while giving back to the community.
Considering everything, Philip admits, “Business is definitely slower, to say the least….Revenue is definitely not what it could or should be, but we’re still very grateful for the people who are still coming by to grab a bite with us, take it home, and support, but it’s tough - tough to see our cafe empty like this, honestly.” It’s been a very difficult few months for small businesses, especially ones like Bopomofo Cafe who have been open for less than two years. Check out their website to see how you can support them, even if you don’t live in LA!
Written By: Sulphia Iqbal
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