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GAMSA FOODS

For Sarah Hwang and Ruby Saenz, entrepreneurship didn’t start with a pitch deck or a market gap. It started with a shared feeling they couldn’t ignore: people like us don’t get many shots at this.

Co-Founders of Gamsa Foods, Gamsa is redefining breakfast by rewriting the rules with savory oatmeal inspired by Korean rice porridge. The CPG food brand has emerged from an idea to a full operational brand in just a few years.

Both are first-generation daughters of immigrant families. Both grew up carrying expectations bigger than themselves. And both learned early that success wasn’t just personal, it was collective.

“I was the first in my family to go to college, to get a master’s degree, to have a corporate 9-5, six-figure salary,” Sarah says. “But I was also paying two rents and helping support my parents. There was never a safety net.”

Ruby’s story mirrors that responsibility from a different culture. Raised in Brownsville, Texas, near the U.S.–Mexico border, she grew up knowing that stability was the goal.

“I always did what was expected of me. I was very much my parents’ retirement plan and their future in a lot of ways,” Ruby says. “Entrepreneurship was never something that I thought about. So I did what was expected of me, and got the best job that would provide the best benefits.”

Sarah and Ruby met while working in corporate, being among the few women minority in the room.

“Let's just say we found ourselves in a company where it was not diverse, and we clung to each other,” Sarah says. “Ruby and I started as coworkers and quickly became friends. I realized we have very much of the same experiences and family intergenerational trauma that really bonded us, even though I am Asian and she’s Latina. Also, our shared love for Korean music and pop culture really brought us together.”

Both parted ways when Ruby left corporate and joined a food startup in NYC, while Sarah remained in the corporate world, but remained close friends.

The Idea Took Years, Because the Stakes Were High

Like many first-generation founders, Sarah and Ruby didn’t romanticize entrepreneurship. They overthought it. They questioned timing. They explored safer alternatives.

However, food kept resurfacing. Not because it was trendy, but because it was true to them. Sarah and Ruby saw food and how central it was to home and their culture. Food was how identity showed up daily.

“The goal was never to build something of my own,” Ruby says. “Truly. I think Sarah and I kind of joked at some point, but it was never serious.

“The entire time I've been texting Ruby, like, what do you think about this product idea? What about sauces? What about this category?” Sarah says. 

Still, choosing entrepreneurship meant walking away from everything their families had sacrificed for. “My parents were forced into entrepreneurship out of survival,” Sarah says. “So choosing it felt almost irresponsible. Like I was undoing their hard work.”

That tension came to a head during business school. Sarah was working full-time, traveling constantly, supporting her family, and pursuing an MBA when her body finally gave out. “Doctors told me something had to give,” she says. “And for the first time, I chose myself.”

Sarah stepped away from work, entered therapy and career coaching, and reframed what success could look like. She calls it her “eldest daughter revenge era,” learning to say no, protect her time, and build toward her own North Star.

“We felt this feeling of a constant conflict, we know that we deserve better, we need to do more. We have a bigger purpose,” Sarah explains.

The Reality Check: Access Is the Real Barrier

When Sarah and Ruby finally committed to building, they ran headfirst into a truth many founders don’t say out loud: ideas aren’t the hard part, access is.

An early investor told them something that stuck. ”Even with connections,” he said, “if no one is actively advocating for you, fundraising can quickly become a sunk cost.”

They didn’t have rich uncles. They didn’t have family capital. They didn’t have a safety net to fall back on if things went wrong. What they did have was clarity around their product, who they are, and their unique perspective on the market.

“We realized we couldn’t follow the same playbook as founders who had margin for error,” Ruby says. “We had to design around our constraints.”

From Idea to Brand: Building Gamsa Foods Intentionally

That mindset shaped every decision behind Gamsa Foods, reimagining what breakfast can look like. Gamsa soft-launched in March 2025, hand-making products in a New Jersey commercial kitchen. Later that year, after refining recipes, packaging, and production, the brand marked its hard launch last Fall. Debuting a bold new look, bringing savory breakfast to more tables, and comfort in every bite.

“You think about breakfast, it's always been very European and very sweet,” Ruby says. Were changing the conversation of what breakfast can be.”

The Bigger Vision: Build the Access You Never Had

Gamsa’s goal isn’t just to sell food, it’s to change who gets to build. For Sarah and Ruby, an exit is part of the plan, but it isn’t the end, it’s the means.

“I know some people feel like choosing to exit means you’re feeding into the system,” Sarah says. “But this isn’t about scaling something just to sell it off. It’s about building something big enough to change how Americans eat, and who gets represented.”

“Immigrants are the backbone of America,” Sarah says. “That should show up in the food we eat.”

Long term, they want Gamsa to be a launchpad, funding, mentoring, and opening doors for minority founders in food. “CPG isn’t diverse for a reason,” Ruby says. “Representation is only welcomed when it’s profitable. We want to change that.”

“This isn’t about getting out and disappearing,” Sarah says. “It’s about becoming the people we needed when we were starting.”

You can find Gamsa on Amazon, or on their website.

Quick Hits to Make Your Business Better: 💪

• Apply for the American Express Shop Small Grants Program and get $20,000 to fund the next phase of your business.

• January 2026 Small Business Grants

• Good Content vs Bad Content: Menswear

• In LA this weekend? Check out the Más Vida Market with an incredible lineup of Latino and Latina-owned businesses. (Plus it’s Bad Bunny themed)

Missed other editions? Check out past features: ⤵️ 

• The Bolivian CPG Brand Taking Over U.S. Grocery Shelves

• Meet the Founder Building a Modern Men's Haircare Brand

• The Latina-Owned Beauty Brand Disrupting Haircare: Agua de Cielo

• The Side Project that Made it to the PGA Show: Buena Gente Golf

Want to be featured? Reply to this email with more info on your brand, and let’s set up a time for an interview.