Meet: Christy Innouvong-Thornton+ Beatriz Aurelio-Saguin of Tuk TUk Box
Tuk Tuk Box is a specialty food retailer offering curated Southeast Asian subscription boxes and products. We partner with vetted small business owners and local farmers to share carefully crafted ingredients and recipes from our own community.
Our mission is to share Southeast Asian culture and experiences through food. We want to bring visibility to Southeast Asian communities by bringing ancestral stories from our kitchen to yours. By tapping into a shared interest of food, we believe we can help foster conversations around racism and colorism in our society.
Photographs by Unison Creative
“By tapping into a shared interest of food, we believe we can help foster conversations around racism and colorism in our society.”
Q: What does feminism mean to you?
CIT: It means being unapologetic. It means having the courage to get up and face another day. It means knowing when to speak up, but also when to step back. Leading by example, empowering those around you, and knowing that other young women are watching. It's knowing when to rest and nurture yourself as much as you do everyone else. Feminism is not compromising your values, ever. As a Southeast Asian woman, it’s knowing that I am enough.
BAS: To me it means smashing the ceilings and barriers placed around you and saying society’s gender roles, stereotypes, and negativity does not define who I am. By simply being proud of who you are- wholeheartedly and telling yourself “I love me for everything I am”. It means facing the day with affirmations you truly deserve to believe in. Taking care of yourself both physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually so that you can encourage, uplift, and empower others around you.
Q: What sparked your interest to start your own business?
BAS: I never knew I would start my own business. In 2018, I graduated with a Masters of Public Health focused on advocacy in policy and went on to pursue a Masters in Global Health. From there, I had opportunities to work in a variety of Asian and Pacific Islander (API) advocacy and non-profit positions where I advocated both on Capitol Hill and the CA state Senate. I found that my passions lied in uplifting the Southeast Asian community, making sure we were not forgotten. Unfortunately, we continued to be forgotten- in data, policy work, program implementation plans. The questions I kept asking were ignored, brushed off- why was there a lack of Southeast Asian focus in addressing health disparities? Why weren’t we at the tables being a part of these discussions? Exhausted, I had to find another way to make our voices heard. Fast forward to 2020, Christy & I had been organizing and working together for years and the pandemic hit. Our communities were blamed for the virus, everyone was stuck at home and craving joy. We thought- what is a better way we can advocate and uplift the community than through food?
Q: What is your business's core mission?
CIT+BAS: Our mission is to share Southeast Asian culture and experiences through food. We want to bring visibility to Southeast Asian communities by bringing ancestral stories from our kitchen to yours. By tapping into a shared interest of food, we believe we can help foster conversations around racism and colorism in our society.
Q: What is your day-to-day like?
CIT+BAS: Day to day looks like Christy & I talking to each other with a large glass of coffee and reminding each other to eat and drink water. To rest and breathe. For the operations side, it means shopping, box fulfilment, social media creation, content development, emails, etc. As an entrepreneur you wear ten different hats at any given time.
Q: What do you love about what you do?
CIT: I love that I wake up and work when I want. For myself, on my own terms. I love that I’ve been able to combine my passion for food and community to build a platform for social change. I love that by sharing stories of the community, I’m also sharing that of my own family and hope that my work will resonate with other Southeast Asians.
BAS: I love connecting with the community and learning more about the stories we share. I also really love being able to eat so much good food.
Q: What do you listen to while you work or are being creative?
BAS: Depends on my mood and the weather, but I really love 1930-1950’s jazz so i'm usually blasting Ella Fitzgerald, Louis Armstrong, Billie Holiday and if I’m not I’m either listening to lofi by closed on sunday or some playlist with variations of Disney parks music.
Q: How do you continue to get inspired or come up with new ideas?
BAS: I like to sit outside and reflect in the sun. I’m really big on sunshine and love sitting in the sun to try and relax to get ideas. This is my favorite way to be mindful, so during the winter months it's a little more difficult for me to soak in encouragement rays from the sun. The community though inspires me, learning stories, and recipes help encourage me to look for new ways to bring the community to the forefront.
Photography by Angelina Hong
Q: Who do you look up to?
BAS: I’ve always looked up to Christy. Not sure she knows this, but before we started Tuk Tuk Box I was always inspired by the work she does and the courage she has. Growing up, my grandma was my biggest inspiration. Both my grandmothers were the heart and souls of the community and our families. They were both heavily involved in their communities, from smashing the bamboo ceiling in politics to creating programs to help refugee communities where they lived, my grandmothers instilled in me the courage and drive I have today.
Q: How do you use the power of your business to empower your community?
CIT: We’re proud to exclusively feature Southeast Asian ingredients and include refugee, migrant, and generational stories in every box. We are also dedicated to donating 10% of monthly proceeds to Courageous Kitchen, our charity partner or to local BIPOC organizations. We believe rising tides lift all boats, so as women of color and daughters of refugees and immigrants, we are going to do our damndest to uplift other historically disenfranchised communities.
Q: What advice would you give a younger person starting out?
CIT: Don’t be afraid to ask for help.
BAS: My advice is to always make time to care for your health. Be your biggest advocate! It’s okay to not be okay and build a support system for the days you feel alone.
Q: Describe what it’s like to be a woman entrepreneur in 3 words.
BAS: My immigrant family’s dreams - 4 words lol.
Q: Anything else you'd like to share?
CIT: Remember to breathe.
BAS: Thank you for your supporting our Southeast Asian woman owned business and believing in our mission. We are grateful for the opportunity to connect and uplift our community. Additionally, we are always looking for people within our Southeast Asian diaspora who are willing to share their stories, volunteer, or collaborate with us. If you are a part of a food business, we'd love to share your products. If you’re interested in supporting our charity partner, you can visit Courageouskitchen.org and make a donation.
Socials:
IG @tuktukbox
Tik Tok @tuktukbox
Twitter @tuktukbox
Facebook @tuktukbox
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