Producer

Hei Ma (formerly known as Big Spoon Sauce Co.) started as a tiny chili crisp project in a Brooklyn apartment back in 2019 by Lani Chan and Nathan Bender, just two Northern California kids trying to recreate the flavors we loved from Cantonese home cooking, years spent abroad in China, and our adventures through New York’s three Chinatowns.

When we returned to California and made Sonoma County our home in 2020, everything clicked. We were suddenly surrounded by small-scale farmers, wild ingredients, and adventurous diners, but little access to the regional Asian flavors we missed most. We felt that this was the perfect place to build a sauce brand that celebrated the flavors we craved, Chinese culinary traditions, and peak-season produce.

We mixed our first batches by hand, jarred them up for friends, and eventually scaled the recipe in 2021 to raise funds for AAPI-led community relief efforts during a time when our elders were being targeted. That moment shaped a lot of what this brand has become: community-driven, culturally rooted, and grown with heart.

We’ve been hand-mixing batches in rented kitchens ever since.