How 3 Sisters Launched a Business That Popularized a Korean Food Trend

In celebration of Women’s Month, The Business Manual shines the spotlight on the three sisters behind Aegyo Cakes, which trended during the pandemic. 

At the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, many Filipinos sought comfort and even refuge in starting online businesses. In fact, data from the government shows that 88,000 new online businesses registered with the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) in 2020 alone.

One of the businesses that began in this chaotic year is Aegyo Cakes. Aegyo Cakes is a familiar name to fans of the Korean minimalist cake trend that flourished during the pandemic due to the brand’s first mover advantage. 

Proving that not all trends are meant to die, Aegyo Cakes has survived the years of the pandemic, growing into a business that makes seven digits in monthly revenue and even has a brick-and-mortar cafe longtime fans and first-time diners can visit. 

This Women’s Month, The Business Manual spoke to Koleen Renz Chua Yap, one of the three sisters who founded Aegyo Cakes, to learn more about their beginnings in the online space and how they managed to grow both their business and their bond as a family. 

From Corporate Uniforms to Food 

Koleen and her sisters, Karren Renz Seña and Kihyan Renz Chua Yap, are no strangers to business. In fact, all three of them were raised to be part of the corporate uniform manufacturing business founded by their mother, Delia Paulino. 

“Our mother’s business existed for 25 years and was one of the top industry players,” Koleen shares. “It was in a cut-throat business of bidding in government accounts for thousands of sets of uniforms. Our mother was a sought-after designer and is a natural artist, something we very glady acquired. We used to design and sew uniforms for Bangko Sentral, BPI, Regional Trial Courts, and so on.”

Each sister was responsible for her own specific assignments within the company, while their mother oversaw the organization as a whole. Karren, the eldest, was in charge of logistics and anything administrative-related. Kihyan, the middle sister, handled operations and finance. Koleen, the youngest, took care of sales and marketing. 

Working for their mother’s company made collaboration second nature for the three sisters. This synergy proved invaluable when they decided to start a business driven by their shared dream of allowing their mother to retire from her stressful work, particularly when the pandemic hit. 

“We can say that the company was born out of love for our mother,” says Koleen. “We worked very hard ever since the pandemic struck because we felt that there was a huge decline in the corporate uniform industry. 

“Two weeks into the lockdown, we’re already on our toes creating new opportunities for our family,” she recalls. “And so the core of the Aegyo Brand is to #SendLovewithAegyo.” 

Transitioning from corporate uniforms to the food industry was a big leap, but it became a reality after a pivotal conversation between Koleen and Kihyan.

“It was a conversation made between me and Kihyan. The then-VP Leni called out [for] a mission towards every mananahi to make masks and PPEs for our fellowmen and frontliners,” Koleen recalls. “We fervently participated but after making thousands of masks and PPEs, we got a little tired. At 5 a.m. while ironing microfiber masks, she asked me what my dream business was and I said I wanted to sell food.”

“My love language is service, most specifically through cooking. I love cooking expensive meals like handmade pasta and lamb chops for special occasions to make my family happy. It’s instant gratification and a seemingly very fulfilling job to do,” she explains. “She, on the other hand, wanted to make anything pretty. She quit taekwondo for figure skating because it’s very pretty. So, we thought, as avid Cupcake Wars watchers, the perfect match of food and art was in pastry. And so we started making pretty food.”  

First Mover Advantage 

There were countless businesses, especially during the pandemic, that focused on offering pastries, and figuring out which product to offer became the next big question they needed to answer, and they found it thanks to a birthday. 

Unable to celebrate their godfather’s birthday due to pandemic restrictions, the three sisters sought for a way to mark milestones even when loved ones were apart. This led them to create a birthday cake for him, sparking a crucial realization that would change everything.

“And that was when we felt like there was an opportunity for us to create a business,” says Koleen. 

Driven by a desire to stand out from other cake makers and fueled by their love for various aspects of Korean culture, the three sisters ultimately chose to specialize in Korean minimalist cakes for their business. 

“I believe our advantage is that we chose a very, very unique niche that we know and understand very well,” she explains. “It’s not enough to make beautiful cakes because there are thousands of beautiful locally made cakes already available. And so, we choose a target market that is very very very specific. We call them the Korean-Loving Titas of Manila.” 

While there were a few competitors who already covered minimalist cakes, Aegyo Cakes was the first shop to devote itself to this trend. 

“We also had the first mover advantage over the rise of Korean minimalist cakes,” says Koleen. “There were already a few minimalist cakes made but we’re the first minimalist cake focused shop in the market and because of that, we got picked up by a lot of online publications. This helped us very well in building reliability in the online business market.”  

Aegyo Cakes was born out of not just a love for Korean culture but also a love for service, which they learned from their mother and her uniform business. 

“We plan to keep it sustainable by bringing our own original flare of the Aegyo Brand into the experience that we make. We aim to be industry drivers and not imitators of something that already exists,” Koleen explains. Our brand of service is to always serve with love. That includes using the best ingredients, the most intricate recipes and, of course, never releasing something that is just ‘okay lang.’ Everything should wow us first before we serve it to our clients.”

The Struggles of Starting a Business During the Pandemic

Starting a business at home during a global pandemic is easier said than done, and Koleen and her sisters had their fair share of struggles. 

“As a pandemic business, one page wouldn’t be enough to share all our struggles,” Koleen admits. “It was hard to procure materials when everything was closed. Every time you go outside, you were risking your life. It was very early in the lockdown when we decided to make the business. It was a time where the possibility of dying through the virus was very real.”

“We really gave our all to this business,” she adds. “Our mother would always say, ‘’Wag kayo puro salita, gawin niyo.’ And so we gave it our all.” 

The three sisters began their business armed with things they already had, such as Koleen’s camera, cheap lighting gear, and a 15-year-old oven. They also shelled out around PHP 30,000 to PHP 50,000 in order to buy a mixer and packaging materials. 

As the trend for Korean minimalist cakes grew, Aegyo Cakes found itself bombarded with orders, which also became a struggle as well. 

“Another struggle was expanding. We were always fully-booked during the first few months of our business because it was only us four doing all the operations from inquiries to interviews, to designing, to baking, to marketing, to washing dishes and booking riders,” Koleen recalls.

“It was also very hard to hire because they had to be in-house due to the pandemic. It was hard to look for new venues because everyone was hiding.”

In order to make things work for their business, the sisters and their mother worked 37-hour shifts on most days. Koleen admits that they never slept properly for the first two years of the business because they knew they needed to ride the wave. 

“Starting your own business is not glamorous. It means showing up for yourself and your business with self-imposed pressure,” says Koleen.” No one’s going to correct your work ethic but you.” 

She adds, “We don’t want to glorify the hustle, but we put in the work, and we believe that’s what it took to make our visions come to life.” 

From Online to Physical Space

Koleen proudly shares that, beyond what they initially shelled out to get their business going, the rest of Aegyo Cakes’ growth was funded by sales. When they opened the first dates for custom minimalist cake orders for 2021, the family was astounded when they earned PHP 1 million in one night, which happened to be Koleen’s birthday. 

“When we posted that the slots were open and we hit the live button on our product page, our phones were literally hanging from the notifications. All night, for my 24th birthday, I watched the numbers go up, and of course I cried because many of our clients see our hard work, and they were willing to trust us and book a cake months in advance for our art.” 

“We expanded twice in our first two years,” she reveals. “First, in a small apartment outside our house. Second, in a three-floor commissary fully funded by Aegyo Cakes’ sales.” 

With lockdowns now behind them, the three sisters have taken the leap and opened a brick-and-mortar café under their brand, aptly named Aegyo Café.

“There was a big shift in their behavior when the masks came off,” Koleen points out. “Suddenly, sending love wasn’t much of an important part of their celebrations. People were robbed of the chance to celebrate milestones together, and finally, they could. Aegyo Cakes has built a community of clients and it was such a waste if we didn’t explore those opportunities with that market.”

The family initially thought they would have to wait until their fifth year to open a café, but a shift in the market turned that dream into a reality much sooner. By the time Aegyo Cakes reached its third anniversary, the family was already crafting plans for the café, seeking the right partners, and scouting the perfect location.

“Our deciding factor was really the location,” says Koleen of the location where Aegyo Café. now stands. “When we saw the location, we had goosebumps. We lived in the Scout Area for over 20 years. We know the good spots. This location, to us, was a very good spot.” 

Changes That Come With a Physical Space

Operating a cafe came with its own set of challenges. Koleen admits, “It felt like we were brought back into the pandemic where we had to do everything ourselves but a million times harder.”

“Being first time restaurant owners is hard, but no one said it would be easy. We are still learning the ropes,” she acknowledges. “We have a lot of mixed reviews, but we are ready to learn and serve better. We stay true to our vision, and we find people who can understand and honor the same vision. We are deeply in love with our staff. We share all our success with them.”

Still there are joys that come with having a physical space. When they opened the cafe, Koleen and her family were able to physically see and hear the joy that their cakes bring to their customers. 

“Now, we finally see the smiles on their faces when they see our works of art,” she shares.

A Family Business With Sisterhood at Its Core 

While Kihyan serves as Aegyo Cakes’ CEO, the three sisters view each other as equals, never keeping score of one another’s contributions. Instead, they place deep trust in each other’s integrity and work together to match each other’s efforts, fostering a strong, collaborative partnership.

“As mentioned a while ago, we had several years of practice in terms of working together,” Koleen reminds. “We already know our strengths and our weaknesses so it’s like second nature for us to know which tasks will the other sister do or which task she shouldn’t.”

Starting a family business has its many advantages. For Koleen, having the right family members means they will “go all out with you without looking for anything in exchange.” 

“If you work for a family business, effort will be highly self-imposed. How much effort you give is equal to how much growth your business will have,” she explains. “And if your finances are collective, you can expect everyone to work towards the goal equally.”

“There is also an aspect of trust. You’ve seen a person grow, make mistakes and live through life,” she adds. “You know their demons and their weak points. You can predict how they will react towards things, and of course there is an advantage towards having that knowledge.” 

However, there are some disadvantages too. According to Koleen, arguments can get personal, and age becomes a factor at times. 

“If you are equal partners, and you are meant to have equal weight in decisions. Sometimes the younger siblings can counter the decisions of the older siblings, and it could cause problems if you take it personally,” she shares. 

Is a Family Business for Everyone?

Koleen likewise believes that she and her sisters are unable to keep work and family life separate given the nature of their business. For her, this is not exactly a bad thing as it is a choice that she and her family has made, and they’re “quite happy with it.” 

“I think, 20 years in the family business, we have learned to live with it. Work never stops when you have your own business,” she says. “We’re the type of people who get anxiety when we’re not working. We get very guilty so we keep the non work-related occasions very minimal. They say you own your time when you have a business, but actually, your business owns all of your time.”

“However, we do have respect for each other’s happiness or personal time,” Koleen adds. “But we do try to schedule these things ahead of time. For example, our sister Kihyan coaches figure skaters on Mondays and that is pre-planned so that another sister can take on her work in her absence.”

Despite being happy with the dynamics that come with running a family business, Koleen thinks that running a business is not for everyone. 

“I believe it takes a certain type of upbringing or relationship for it to work,” she says. “Since our family’s relationship is very restorative, blurred boundaries are not an issue we cannot overcome. We’re used to it. As a family, we are also very fair with each other.”

“However, there are plenty of stories out there where siblings aren’t the best partners for each other. One, because money is a very hard thing to argue about. If you don’t believe your siblings can match your effort, sooner or later, money will become a problem and that will be very hard to overcome,” she adds. “You have to be honest with yourself from the get-go. You have to fully trust your siblings and if they fail to reach your expectations, you have to be able to fully accept their misgivings.”

According to Koleen, having a good relationship with siblings during or after the business means “you have to be okay with the fact that you will give your siblings unlimited chances to redeem themselves.”

“In business, you gamble on life with each other,” she points out. “Win or lose, it is still you who chose to do it with that sibling. You have to be prepared for any outcome and you have to react professionally.” 

Want to Start Your Own Food Business?

Aegyo Cakes’ success is one that many aspiring entrepreneurs, especially those interested in food, will want to emulate. Starting—and growing—a business is easier said than done, but following certain best practices can make the journey smoother. For Koleen, she believes in starting with a product that you believe in. 

“In our corporate uniform business, everytime I would have a showcase of our products for our clients, my mother would always stop me before leaving her showroom. She always asks me if everything I will be bringing to our clients is something I believe that is beautiful, because if not, better not bring it anyways,” she recalls. Like my mother always says, ‘Hindi pwedeng okay lang.’ Never have a cake or any product leave your bakery that you don’t think is 100% awesome.”

Next, it is also important to choose a unique target market. 

“You cannot sell to everybody because you will expand your efforts to billions of Filipinos and you will tire out. Choose a specific market,” Koleen advises. “Streamline your message, your efforts, your visuals and the way you communicate to cater to this market and that market will find you. For example, you cannot put up TikTok if your market doesn’t use TikTok. Knowing your market will help you know where and how to communicate with them.”

While big efforts matter greatly in running a business, the little things are just as important as well. 

“My mother always says that you should do any job like you wanna be the best in that job. May it be a simple task, it should be done the best way possible,” Koleen explains. “Your clients will notice the little things. If you do the small things well, the bigger things will turn out well.” 

Koleen advises to “just do it.” It’s not enough to just say it.

“Do the work,” she says. “Don’t start when you think you’re ready, because opportunities might have already passed before the time that you think you are ready. The faster you fail, the sooner you learn.”