Former Zoe In Yellow owner needs help with shipping Thai agar agar for her vegan cheese business

[reenievincent]

Sawadee-kha! This is Reenie, the former and original owner of Zoe In Yellow bar in Chiang Mai. Maybe some of you know/remember me?! If you ever visited Zoe In Yellow when Yianni and I were owners, you may remember me selling PeaceCheese, my handcrafted vegan cheese made from nuts, seeds, herbs and spices. It's 100% plant-based, lactose-free, dairy-free, cholesterol-free and so good for you, but so very delicious that you would think it was naughty! In addition to selling PeaceCheese at Zoe In Yellow, I also sold at Aden, Suan Pak, Free Bird Cafe, and Kasem. You can learn more about PeaceCheese here: DELETED

I am now living in southern California and I just secured a deal with a Whole Foods supermarket chain to sell PeaceCheese. However, I am having trouble getting this very critical ingredient shipped at a reasonable cost. I attached a picture of me right before I landed this big deal!

So a few questions:

1) Does anyone have a shipping container coming from BKK to Los Angeles that they could share a bit of space with me?

2) Anyone know of any lower cost shipping solutions for 100kg from BKK to Los Angeles area (can be more kilos if necessary)?

Any help would be HUGELY appreciated!

Thank you so much!

Reenie

DELETED

Edited May 28, 2016 by seedy
personal details

[llp]

congratulations on your success

let's guess the ingredient

agar agar

[reenievincent]

Thank you, Lip! Yes, agar agar is the ingredient. It's in the title, let me add it in the post

Edited May 27, 2016 by reenievincent

[Somtamnication]

Sorry, I eat beef.

[Hedghog]

Suprised agar agar isn't available in the US.

[GuestHouse]

A few suggestions for you:

Are there any Thai food wholesalers near you? They might be able to source/import the aga aga for you.

Have you contacted the Thai embassy/consulate? They will have a trade office that may be able to help.

Can aga aga be grown locally and if so have you considered contacting farmers who might already be growing the crop? A good tip here is search for the plant's scientific (latin name) with seed distributors.

[edit]

You are probably aware of the stringent controls on impotimg plant based items to the US, for this reason I expect a food impoter is your best bet as they will already be aware of and able to manage the regulations.

Again the embassy may be able to advise on suppliers.

Edited May 27, 2016 by GuestHouse

[thai3]

Not really cheese at all then:

Cheese is a food derived from milk that is produced in a wide range of flavors, textures, and forms by coagulation of the milk proteincasein. It comprises proteins and fat from milk, usually the milk of cows, buffalo, goats, or sheep.

Edited May 27, 2016 by thai3

[Hedghog]

Alibaba have it for sale.

from $8 a kilo.

[seedy]

OP post edited. Forum Rule -

18) You will not post phone numbers, email addresses, business names, or web/Facebook/Twitter/Google+ addresses in posts or signatures. Web addresses to personal non-commercial sites sites/blogs, or Facebook/Twitter/Google+ addresses, may be posted in a member's profile page.

[reenievincent]

Thank you everyone for your suggestions!! I really appreciate it! I actually have the agar agar supplier in Thailand, but the shipping cost is so expensive that it's almost prohibitive. That is why I was looking to share a container or learn about more cost effective shipping options.

Good point on the food regulations and the recommendation to use an importer. I just haven't found an Asian food importer who imports this agar agar. I do need to look into this more.

Sorry about violating the forum rules! I didn't read the rules before I posted. Sorry about that!

[slapout]

I think the Japenese use it (kanten) so you might check with them for their sources. May be more sources there than here

and shipping is probably cheaper. Shipping agents/companies normally combine several customer orders to fill a container,

if not full and going to same place. 100 kg should not be that expensive into LA for a shared container.

I do not know what you call expensive but there a many freight forwarding agents in CM and they are usually quite reasonable for

shared container.

[mogandave]

The stuff will last a month to six weeks in a hot container?

Any forwarder can arrange LTL sea-freight which is the same as sharing a container.

[A1Str8]

Reeeenie. The easiest way to do it would be to contact one of the shippers and couriers in Thailand, like Ags, etc and talk to the staff directly, on the phone or via email. Ideally, you are both Thai girls, so quickly establishing a good connection shouldnt be difficult. Then tell her, that you have this issue and you need some help solving it. They are more than able to help and depending on your approach, they will be more than willing to help.
By the way why did you move on and left Zoe? Since then its just a homo place, where they try to sell sangsom as Jack Daniels and get offended when its pointed out.

[rijit]

Hey , great news about your 'cheese' and shame on me for not eating at your cafe, spent long enuf in Chang mai , though i tried to avoid socializing around the moat. doesn't surprise me that a whole food chain has picked up on it, very difficult to find something decent to replace cheese with. When in the UK i don't eat dairy FULL STOP . here, i give into the gfs occasional request for a once in a blue moon pizza. Just a thought the other recipe you would probably do well with, if per chance you have one is of mayo' replacement. Use one in UK. made by a firm called plumills which is delicious the rest are frankly awful. Oh and looking at some of the replies on here reminds me why I find Thailand difficult if not impossible to live in permanantly. good luck with the ingredient, i'm sure all will work out for you.

Sent from my GT-I9000 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

Edited May 29, 2016 by rijit

[Sawan Chan 7]

Sorry, I eat beef.

I can't believe two people liked this ignorant post. If you've nothing to say, shut yer mouth.

[Shot]

Wholesale supply in AZ with a quick Google search:

https://www.mounthopewholesale.com/

[reenievincent]

A few suggestions for you:

Are there any Thai food wholesalers near you? They might be able to source/import the aga aga for you.

Have you contacted the Thai embassy/consulate? They will have a trade office that may be able to help.

Can aga aga be grown locally and if so have you considered contacting farmers who might already be growing the crop? A good tip here is search for the plant's scientific (latin name) with seed distributors.

[edit]

You are probably aware of the stringent controls on impotimg plant based items to the US, for this reason I expect a food impoter is your best bet as they will already be aware of and able to manage the regulations.

Again the embassy may be able to advise on suppliers.

Thank you for your reply!! So far nobody is importing this particular brand. But contacting the Thai embassy trade office is a great idea! Also, thanks for the heads up on regulations...this is a food additive and while not a live food, there probably are regulations I should be aware of.

I will definitely contact the embassy.

Thanks again!

[reenievincent]

Thank you for your reply! I will definitely be contacting one of these shipping agents to see about a shared container. Thanks again!

I think the Japenese use it (kanten) so you might check with them for their sources. May be more sources there than here

and shipping is probably cheaper. Shipping agents/companies normally combine several customer orders to fill a container,

if not full and going to same place. 100 kg should not be that expensive into LA for a shared container.

I do not know what you call expensive but there a many freight forwarding agents in CM and they are usually quite reasonable for

shared container.

[reenievincent]

Thank you for replying to my post! It would be fine for a month to 6 weeks in a hot container, so I think the LTL is the way to go! Thanks again!

The stuff will last a month to six weeks in a hot container?

Any forwarder can arrange LTL sea-freight which is the same as sharing a container.

[reenievincent]

Hi! Haha, yes I have heard what Zoe has become. It seems like another life, those Zoe in Yellow days! It would be so weird to visit and see it now.

Thank you so much for your recommendation. I will definitely contact Ags and talk to them directly.

Thanks again!!

Reeeenie. The easiest way to do it would be to contact one of the shippers and couriers in Thailand, like Ags, etc and talk to the staff directly, on the phone or via email. Ideally, you are both Thai girls, so quickly establishing a good connection shouldnt be difficult. Then tell her, that you have this issue and you need some help solving it. They are more than able to help and depending on your approach, they will be more than willing to help.
By the way why did you move on and left Zoe? Since then its just a homo place, where they try to sell sangsom as Jack Daniels and get offended when its pointed out.

[reenievincent]

Thank you so much for your encouragement!! You would LOVE PeaceCheese... my dream is to bring it back to Thailand one day...so maybe you will be able to try it. Or the UK...

There is a brand here that makes vegan mayo that people like, although I haven't tried it. It's called Just Mayo by Hampton Creek.

Thanks for the well wishes!!

:)

Hey , great news about your 'cheese' and shame on me for not eating at your cafe, spent long enuf in Chang mai , though i tried to avoid socializing around the moat. doesn't surprise me that a whole food chain has picked up on it, very difficult to find something decent to replace cheese with. When in the UK i don't eat dairy FULL STOP . here, i give into the gfs occasional request for a once in a blue moon pizza. Just a thought the other recipe you would probably do well with, if per chance you have one is of mayo' replacement. Use one in UK. made by a firm called plumills which is delicious the rest are frankly awful. Oh and looking at some of the replies on here reminds me why I find Thailand difficult if not impossible to live in permanantly. good luck with the ingredient, i'm sure all will work out for you.

Sent from my GT-I9000 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[jobin]

This stuff, agar-agar, is a sea plant substance widely used in microbiology. So, OP might try various chemical supply vendors in her area.

[reenievincent]

I will check out this link, thank you so much!!!

Wholesale supply in AZ with a quick Google search:

https://www.mounthopewholesale.com/

[Bench499d]

I was surprised you wanted to import this because it must be available locally. Have I missed something? According to Google you can buy it in Walmart. Isn't it used in all vegan recipes that normally call for gelatine?

[WishWashMan]

You are quite the businessWOMAN. Goodluck.

[reenievincent]

Thanks for your reply! Yes, it is available in the states and at Walmart, too, but the cost is so high. For example, Walmart is selling 1lb for $69 and I can get in shipped to me from Thailand for $21 per lb, even with the super expensive shipping. So it definitely makes sense to have it shipped straight from the manufacturer in Thailand. Now if I can get a sweet deal on a shared LDL container, I'll be good to go!!

Thanks again for your thoughtful reply!!

:-))

I was surprised you wanted to import this because it must be available locally. Have I missed something? According to Google you can buy it in Walmart. Isn't it used in all vegan recipes that normally call for gelatine?

[reenievincent]

THANK YOU WishWashMan! I really needed to hear that!! I'm doing all this myself and it is really overwhelming sometimes, and I was just thinking to myself, am I crazy? Should I just drop this?!

Your post was very encouraging and at just the right moment! :-) :-) :-)

You are quite the businessWOMAN. Goodluck.