Kam Man Foods

About Mr. Wu:

Mr. Wu was born in Shanghai, China and moved to Hong Kong with his family soon after. He attended a local school, where he learned to speak Cantonese. He then moved to NY for college with his brother in search of a better life in education. He attended the University of Rhode Island where he received a Ph.D. in chemical engineering and subsequently found employment at Monsanto while living in Springfield. Although most immigrants face challenges involving communication, Mr. Wu was lucky because he grew up in Hong Kong, a British colony at the time, where he learned to speak English. His brother began the first Kam Man foods in 1972 in New York, located right on the outskirts of Chinatown. Their business only grew as Manhattan customers began weekly trips out to the small mart. Following 9/11, Mr. Wu moved to Quincy, Massachusetts. He realized that although the Asian population in Quincy was developing, many did not have access to a local Asian grocery store. A recent department store had closed, and the area was open for lease. Thus, he decided to sign the contract on January 21st, 2003, and subsequently open the second Kam Man foods.

During the pandemic, one would expect that businesses faced many challenges with decreasing business hours and less outside contact, but Kam Man’s business only soared. Why? First, those who previously relied on the Boston Chinatown were drawn to Kam Man's more suburban location over coronavirus-related fears. Secondly, because people began to avoid restaurants and instead opted to cook at home, customers relied on Kam Man to supply their favorite frozen dishes and ingredients. Dumplings sold out, seafood vendors could not keep up with demand, and the bakery continued running out of its tasty cakes and pastries.

Despite the news of an H-Mart (Korean market) in Quincy, Mr. Wu is not concerned about potential competition. He said that although there might initially be a tiny drop in sales, they will bounce back thanks to their loyal customer base. Moreover, although Kam Man is a "Chinese Market", they garner customers across cultures due to their immense diversity of products.

Mr. Wu believes that the American Dream is a perfect representation of hard work and reasonable reward. Given sufficient effort and passion, anyone can make a living from their labor. Mr. Wu claims that Asian store-owners that truly love their business will succeed. In the case of Kam Man, Mr. Wu oversees a complex chain of work across different sections of the market. Frequent quality checks to ensure the freshness of the food or sales evaluations are a must. If we had to choose one takeaway from the interview, it would be Mr. Wu's overwhelming passion and love for Kam Man Foods.