Umei Is Australia’s (Vegan) Answer to Kewpie

Some of life’s best ideas started out scrawled on the back of napkins (Friends , the TV show) and scraps of paper (the DNA double helix). Sarah Leung scribbled the idea for her new condiment brand, Umei, on the back of a sick bag on a one-hour flight from Melbourne to Hobart.

“I came to Australia [from Hong Kong] when I was 15 and didn’t speak much of the language. Now I’m 38, I’ve started to think about what’s truly important to me. I’ve got two little kids who were born in Australia – if I don’t pass on the culture to them, no-one’s going to,” she tells Broadsheet.

“It was that hour of scribbling that made me realise I’d like to build a brand and tell those stories through the products we create.”

Umei (“u” for umami, and “mei”, the Chinese word for ‘flavour’) launched earlier this month with four mayonnaise flavours and recently debuted at The Little Food Market in Melbourne. (Masterchef judge Sofia Levin gave the brand a shout-out on Instagram and sent sales soaring.)

Each of Umei’s four flavours is inspired by the “richness of Asian food cultures”. Choose from gochugaru, seaweed, yuzu or a classic Japanese-inspired mayo. Can’t decide? The brand sells a sampler box with the entire range for just $36.

Like Kewpie’s popular vegan mayo, Umei products are made from plant-based ingredients, with pea protein as the emulsifying agent in place of eggs. The result is a creamy, convincing mayo that slaps hard on a sandwich and goes great in a rice bowl or salad. Don’t forget to try it with dumplings and onigiri, too.

Leung plans to add more products to the Umei range over time and offer an affordable alternative to some of the “ultra premium” Asian condiments hitting the market.

“It's a luxury to buy those really expensive products on a weekly basis,” says the former dietitian. “Food is about so much more than nutrition. It’s about connection, culture, joy and childhood memories.”

Umei products are available to buy online and ship nationally. The brand is popping up at Melbourne Japanese grocer Ima Pantry on August 2–3.

@umeifoods
umeifoods.com.au