Latest news with #FrankieGaw
CNN
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- CNN
Fly By Jing just dropped a limited-edition ketchup inspired by its editor-loved Chili Crisp
What if hot sauce and ketchup had a baby? That's exactly what Fly By Jing's latest creation is bringing to life. Say hello to the brand's Chili Crisp Ketchup, which just dropped today and is bringing the heat and complexity of the editor-loved Sichuan Chili Crisp to the classic condiment. Developed alongside Frankie Gaw, a James Beard Award-winning content creator behind Little Fat Boy, this one-of-a-kind spicy ketchup is the perfect way to level up your daily omelet, french fries or BBQ staples like hot dogs and hamburgers. I had a chance to test it before launch and can confirm I'm going to need surplus stock in my pantry so I never run out. Fly By Jing Chili Crisp Ketchup Whether you're a ketchup lover or not, I recommend checking out this limited-edition Sichuan-inspired ketchup by Fly By Jing. Unlike regular ketchup, this one offers the perfect dose of heat, savoriness and sweetness. It isn't so spicy that I needed to chug a glass of milk. Fly By Jing is a go-to brand in multiple CNN Underscored editors' pantries, including mine, and for good reason. I've been drizzling the AAPI-owned brand's various sauces on top of my eggs, noodles and more for years now, and I'm still just as hooked as the first time I tried it. Just like its iconic Sichuan Chili Crisp, which has now made chili crisp a household staple, this launch will make your taste buds dance. Even if you're not a ketchup lover, I think you should give this spicier version a try. Unlike typical ketchup that's sweet, this one offers more complex flavors and a bit of a kick versus a blast of sweetness on your tongue. I drizzled this tangy ketchup on everything from eggs and hamburgers to chicken sausage and sweet potato fries. It added the perfect dose of flavor without overpowering my food. Unlike the OG Chili Crisp, I thought this ketchup was significantly milder and more tolerable for people like me whose palates are more sensitive to heat. If you're a Fly By Jing fan, you'll want to add this new drop to your cart ASAP, as it's limited edition and once it's gone it'll be gone forever! Senior lifestyle editor Tamara Kraus has been in the editorial and commerce space for nearly a decade, testing and reviewing products in categories from home and kitchen to fashion and beauty. She's been using Fly By Jing for years, and it's become a go-to in her own kitchen.
Fast Company
5 days ago
- Business
- Fast Company
Fly by Jing is launching chili crisp ketchup
Fly by Jing, the beloved CPG brand that's helped make high-quality chili crisp a staple in many American households, announced today that it's fusing its iconic sauce with an unexpected condiment: ketchup. The new product, called Chili Crisp Ketchup, launches today in a limited run online, retailing for $15 a bottle. It was made in collaboration with Frankie Gaw, a creator and author known for remixing Asian cuisine with classic American products. According to a press release, Chili Crisp Ketchup combines Fly by Jing's bestselling Original Sichuan Chili Crisp with a ketchup base 'to create a spicy, savory, and smooth blend that's at once novel and nostalgic.' For Fly by Jing founder Jing Gao, the brand's move to fuse its core product with a classically American condiment is an evolution of its overarching goal to help Western consumers 'experiment more wildly' with traditionally Chinese flavors and integrate them into their existing routine. But the Chili Crisp Ketchup also serves a secondary purpose: helping Fly by Jing diversify its supply chain in the wake of President Trump's sweeping tariffs on Chinese imports. Fly by Jing spices up ketchup Gao's concept for Fly by Jing first took shape in 2018, when she noticed that the market for chili crisp was rapidly expanding in Western markets. She saw an opportunity to introduce a broader customer base to the iconic flavors of her hometown, Chengdu, China, and to create her own chili crisp with higher quality ingredients than other competitors on the market. The first step was spending several years just courting Sichuan suppliers and merchants to source the chili crisp's 18 premium ingredients. Since its launch in 2019, Fly by Jing has transformed from a crowd-funded direct-to-consumer (DTC) project to a staple on grocery store shelves, now offering its products in 11,000 stores nationwide including major retailers like Target, Safeway, and Walmart. The company has also debuted additional products like a spicy vinaigrette, a line of instant noodles, and an ultra-hot oil that's appeared on the YouTube show Hot Ones. The concept for a ketchup-slash-chili-crisp actually came from a TikTok video made by Gaw, who used chili crisp to create his own custom ketchup blend. Gaw and Gao connected over the concept, which Gao saw as a natural evolution of her brand's central thesis. 'From day one, we've really tried to decrease the barriers for people to understand Sichuan flavors,' Gao says. She specifically recalls launching the brand's original flavor through collaborations with ice cream shops to show how unexpectedly delicious the pairing could be. 'Showing these flavors truly are good on everything, I think it was really helpful for Western audiences who hadn't experienced this before,' she adds. A satisfying squeeze bottle Fly by Jing's Chili Crisp Ketchup comes in the brand's first-ever squeeze bottle, which Gao's team has actually been conceptualizing for several years. The main challenge with the proposition was making the squeeze format work with the chunky, gritty textures of a good chili crisp. In this case, Gao says, they were able to solve that problem by sifting out some of the larger components and relying more on the deep flavors of the oil itself, which is then balanced with the sweet tanginess of the ketchup. For his part of the collaboration, Gaw assisted in the tasting process and also designed the squeeze bottle's label. The package is a major visual departure from Fly by Jing's other branding, swapping its ' dopamine design ' neon colors for a retro Americana look (and a swaggy image of Gaw's own grandma, clad in a flaming cowboy hat). As of right now, Chili Crisp Ketchup is a limited edition product. Gao plans to test consumer interest through an initial DTC launch, which will help determine whether the product is a good candidate to roll out in retail. Weathering Trump's tariff headwinds In the meantime, Fly by Jing is also testing several other squeeze bottle sauces with production components based in the U.S. and other countries as part of a broader supply chain diversification effort. That's because some of the important ingredients across its portfolio of product offerings—the premium spices and aromatics that are specially sourced from Sichuan, China— are subject to the Trump administration's tariffs on China. Currently, those tariffs equal a 55% tax on imported ingredients, though they could jump up to rates as high as 145% if the Trump administration doesn't relent on its plan to boost them in the next three months.
