Behind The Brand

Holy Duck Chili

Tell us a bit about yourself 

We are Chris and Louise from Hong Kong. In 2020, we left our home in Hong Kong to start our new married life in Vancouver, Canada. We enjoy all things lifestyle, from travelling to outdoor activities, from art to cultures, and from interior design to home cooking. We are quite two homebodies!

What made you start your company?

When we first relocated, all the craziness in the world had left many of us disconnected from friends and family, and so, during the Chinese New Year, we decided it would be fun to give some warmth to those around us, figuratively, and literally. Combining our Grandma’s love for cooking with duck fat, and her Cantonese Chili oil recipe, we decided to combine the two and create a Chili oil for family and friends. The responses we got were overwhelmingly positive. Everyone who tried our Chili oil loved it and told us to start selling it. Then we knew we were onto something special.

Tell me about your product and brand?

Holy Duck is our pride and joy. In fact, the name ‘Holy Duck’ is a play on words- in Cantonese, the slang 好得 [Hou2 Dak1] means ‘great, and far better’. To us, Holy Duck doesn’t only have to be a pantry staple that tastes great, it is also a far better gourmet shortcut without the use of MSG, additives and preservatives, which are commonly found in sauces and condiments in the market. 

Keeping it local and natural 

To keep our products natural, local and personal, our trademark duck Chili oil is made from 100% all natural ingredients and artisanal craft-made in a commercial kitchen in Vancouver, BC. Holy Duck Chili was inspired by our family”s household recipe that has passed down three generations from our grandma to us. We use finely rendered duck fat, proudly from Canada, to elevate the flavor and texture of the beloved Cantonese recipe, and to share with our fellow spicy food lovers in Vancouver! 

Doing it for the culture 

Hong Kong being a city known for social mobility, we are seeing more Hong Kongers resettling in all parts of the world. But the relocation doesn’t mean that the Hong Kong spirit is fading away. We just need more representation of the Hong Kong diaspora to keep the culture alive. Another vision we have for Holy Duck is to tell the stories of the disappearing historical footprints in the city of Hong Kong. Our graphic designer Dorothy Tsang is a through-and-through Hong Kong local, witnessing the transformation of Hong Kong before and after the Handover. One of the stories we hope to tell through the paintbrush of Tsang is the late King of Kowloon, Tsang Tsou-choi, whose over 50,000 graffiti art were seen in every corner of the streets in Hong Kong. Although his art pieces are mostly washed away, painted over or torn down by the authorities and real estate developers, we hope to bring his disappeared art to life again through Holy Duck’s original typography.

What struggles have you faced when starting up a business?

I think our biggest struggle was that starting our own business was nowhere near any of our resumes. I (Chris) was in aviation and Louise was in education. Running a food business was something totally off the map. But then we thought to ourselves, ‘We are working off a clean slate!’ The world is a little crazy at the moment, so if there is a time to kick start something new, it’s gonna be now… or maybe never!

How did you get over them?

So we put our heads down and refined our recipe. 10 batches after 10 batches until we hit our 30th version, we took our time tweaking and tinkering with the flavor profile and reaching out to friends, friends of friends, and professionals for their opinions. We didn’t want to leave anything to chance. We want our trademark duck Chili Oil to be just perfect, and it has to stand out from the rest. It’s been an absolute adventure thus far, and we’re so excited to see Holy Duck taking off.

Any advice for others just getting started?

Do your homework, carry out thorough testing and get your opinions from a wide demographic. Most importantly, be patient with the progress. There is no instant gratification with building a startup!

Do you have a favourite quote?

It’s not about ideas. It’s about making ideas happen.- Scott Belsky

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