April 12, 2019 2 min read

Singapore-style food company Nona Lim (named after its founder) shows that if you want to introduce people to foods they may not be familiar with, make it as accessible as you can.

When the company debuted its Heat & Sip Cups a couple of years ago, it opened an entryway to the Asian tradition of bone broth to the masses. The broths, in flavors such as Thai Coconut Lime, Miso and Vietnamese Pho, come in a form factor more resembling a Starbucks coffee cup and can be heated in a microwave (after the liner plastic is removed).

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The innovation eclipsed the rest of Nona Lim’s lineup of products. The item, which had initially been sold in Whole Foods and Costco, can now be found in 7-11, Amazon Go, Walmart and HyVee stores, among others.

“A lot of people are still gravitating toward the functional benefits of bone broth, but most importantly, [the cups’] convenience,” Lim said. “All of us are leading busy lifestyles, and the cup really allows us to have a nourishing broth without compromising on the flavor or the quality.”

Lim isn’t surprised that a lot of these retailers have picked up on healthier products like hers, but she is surprised by how quickly they’ve accepted them.

“The fact that it came quickly on the heels of us being national in Whole Foods for less than a year was a surprise,” she said.

Nona Lim is hoping for another hit based on convenience and flavor with its introduction of Fresh Noodle Bowls this June. The microwaveable bowls will debut with two flavors: Spicy Miso Ramen and Dan Dan Noodle, the latter of which is vegan and made with Beyond Meat crumbles. They’ll be available first in Whole Foods, Walmart, HyVee and Gelson’s.

“Our philosophy is to create on-the-go convenience, so the noodle bowl is another example of that,” Lim said. “It is a take on the traditional dorm cup noodles that you might have in college, but a lot more nutritious and premium.”