Fly By Jing
For years Jing Gao went by "Jenny" to fit in. She quit corporate life, moved back to Sichuan, and built a chili crisp company under her real name that became one of the most-funded food projects in Kickstarter history.
For years, Jing Gao went by “Jenny.” Born in Chengdu and raised in Europe, she had swapped her name to fit in, and spent her twenties as a brand manager at Procter & Gamble and a worker at BlackBerry. Then she quit, moved back to Sichuan, and built a chili crisp company under her real name, one that became one of the most-funded food projects in Kickstarter history.
Fly By Jing began as a blog about Chinese food, became food tours, then a restaurant, then an underground supper club, before Gao turned it into a product: a premium, all-natural Sichuan chili crisp made in Chengdu. Her 2018 Kickstarter raised $120,000 from nearly 1,700 backers, and she grew Fly By Jing into an eight-figure brand that refused to water down Chinese food to make Americans comfortable.
At a glance:
| Founded | 2018, by Jing Gao |
| Founder background | Ex-Procter & Gamble and BlackBerry; food blogger and chef |
| Kickstarter | $120,000 from ~1,700 backers, a record-setting food campaign |
| Hero product | Sichuan Chili Crisp, made in Chengdu |
| Scale | Grew into an eight-figure brand |
| Sold at | DTC and major retailers including Target |
The Story
The girl who went by Jenny
Gao’s story starts with a name. Born in Chengdu, raised in Europe, and educated in Canada, she went by “Jenny” for years in an attempt to fit in, only reclaiming “Jing” around 2021. That small, personal act, refusing to sand down her own identity to be more palatable, became the emotional core of the brand she built, one that would do the same for Chinese food.
From corporate to a supper club
Gao took the conventional path first, a brand manager role at Procter & Gamble and a stint at BlackBerry, before walking away from it. She moved back to Sichuan and started a blog about Chinese food culture, which grew into food tours, then a restaurant, then an underground supper club. She was building an audience and an expertise long before she had a product to sell.
The chili crisp and the Kickstarter
The product that crystallized it all was Sichuan chili crisp, the spicy, numbing, savory condiment central to Sichuan cooking, made all-natural in Chengdu. Gao launched it on Kickstarter in 2018, and it became one of the most-funded food projects on the platform, raising $120,000 from nearly 1,700 backers. The campaign didn’t just fund the first batch, it proved that a real market existed.
Eight figures, unapologetically authentic
Fly By Jing, named for the “fly restaurants,” the tiny, exceptional hole-in-the-wall spots in Chengdu that people flock to, expanded from chili crisp into Zhong sauce, dumplings, and finishing oils, and grew into an eight-figure brand sold in major retailers. Throughout, Gao refused to Americanize or dumb down the food, betting that authenticity, presented beautifully, was exactly what the market wanted.
The Strategy
Authentic and premium, no watering down
Fly By Jing’s core bet was that Chinese pantry staples deserved to be premium, beautifully packaged, and uncompromised, not cheapened or adapted for timid palates. Treating a heritage cuisine with the respect and design of a luxury product opened a market that the “Americanized,” bland versions had left wide open. Refusing to dilute was the whole strategy.
The founder’s story is the brand
Gao’s identity, immigrant, expert, someone reclaiming her name and her culture, is inseparable from the brand. That authenticity gives Fly By Jing a meaning competitors can’t manufacture, and it makes every product feel like an extension of a real person’s convictions rather than a marketing exercise.
Crowdfunding as proof and capital
The Kickstarter did double duty: it funded the first production run and validated demand before Gao committed fully. Crowdfunding a physical product is one of the smartest ways to start with little money, because it turns pre-orders into both your capital and your proof that people will actually buy.
The Marketing
Reclaiming a name, and a cuisine
The Jenny-to-Jing story is more than biography, it’s the brand’s thesis made personal. Fly By Jing markets authenticity by embodying it, from the founder’s name to the “fly restaurant” reference most Americans had never heard. That specificity and confidence generate earned attention precisely because the brand refuses to explain itself down.
Design that elevates the everyday
Fly By Jing wrapped a humble condiment in elevated, striking packaging that signaled “premium” on a crowded shelf. Making an everyday pantry item look and feel aspirational is what let it command a higher price and stand out, turning design into a core part of the pitch.
The Numbers
| Year | Milestone |
|---|---|
| 2018 | Fly By Jing’s Sichuan Chili Crisp raises $120K on Kickstarter |
| 2018+ | Expands into Zhong sauce, dumplings, and finishing oils |
| Ongoing | Grows into an eight-figure brand |
| Ongoing | Enters major retail, including Target |
A record campaign that proved the market: The Kickstarter’s success, one of the most-funded food projects on the platform, wasn’t just capital, it was validation. Proving demand before scaling is what let a former corporate employee turn a condiment into an eight-figure business.
What You Can Learn
Authenticity is a competitive advantage. Fly By Jing refused to water down Chinese food, and that refusal was the whole opening. When a category has been dumbed down for the mainstream, doing it right and proud can be exactly the gap in the market.
Build the audience before the product. Gao spent years blogging, running tours, and hosting supper clubs before selling anything. An audience and expertise built first give a product launch a running start most founders never get.
Crowdfunding is proof and capital at once. The Kickstarter funded the first batch and proved people would pay. Turning pre-orders into your startup capital is one of the lowest-risk ways to launch a physical product.
Your story can be the brand. Gao’s identity is inseparable from Fly By Jing, which gives it a meaning no competitor can copy. A brand rooted in a real, specific founder story is one of the hardest things to replicate.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who founded Fly By Jing?
Jing Gao founded Fly By Jing. Born in Chengdu and raised in Europe, she worked at Procter & Gamble and BlackBerry before returning to Sichuan and building the brand around authentic Sichuan flavors.
What is Fly By Jing known for?
Fly By Jing is known for its premium Sichuan Chili Crisp, made in Chengdu, and for elevating authentic Chinese pantry staples like Zhong sauce and dumplings without watering them down for the mainstream.
How did Fly By Jing start?
It grew out of Gao’s food blog, food tours, restaurant, and underground supper club, and launched as a product through a 2018 Kickstarter that raised $120,000 from nearly 1,700 backers, one of the most-funded food projects on the platform.
Where does the name Fly By Jing come from?
It references “fly restaurants,” the tiny, exceptional hole-in-the-wall eateries in Chengdu that people flock to like flies, combined with the founder’s name, Jing.
Sources
- Eater, “How Jing Gao Launched Fly By Jing Sichuan Chili Crisp”. The Kickstarter numbers and product expansion.
- Wikipedia, “Jing Gao”. Chengdu birth, the Jenny-to-Jing name story, P&G and BlackBerry background.
- Shopify, “How Fly By Jing Turned Chili Crisp Into an Eight-Figure Brand”. Blog-to-supper-club-to-Kickstarter path and eight-figure scale.
- Kickstarter, “Sichuan Chili Crisp by Fly By Jing”. The original all-natural, Chengdu-made positioning.