Amazon launched a new storefront featuring Asian American, Native Hawaiian & Pacific Islander-owned businesses in conjunction with Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) Heritage Month. Here, customers can discover a wide selection of unique and desirable products in Amazon’s store to shop with purpose and support the AANHPI-owned business community.
More than 60% of sales in Amazon’s store come from independent sellers—most of which are small and medium-sized businesses. Amazon supports small business success by investing in people, resources and services. Entrepreneurs can leverage these resources to establish and grow their brands, engage with more customers and create jobs in their local communities.
The Only Bean
For co-owner of The Only Bean, Jason Ko, Asian American, Native Hawaiian & Pacific Islander Heritage Month is a time to reflect on the business he has built alongside the community he has made.
“As an Asian-American entrepreneur, community is our foundation. We all have shared experiences throughout our lives, which is what brings our culture together. It’s not just how we look, it’s all the experiences that we’ve gone through, and it fosters a sense of trust and community where we all lift each other up. Not only are we able to leverage the community to be successful, we use our success to pay it back as well,” said Jason Ko, co-owner of The Only Bean.
The Only Bean sells bean-based pastas and edamame bean snacks, high in protein, naturally low-carb and gluten-free. Their edamame products, are a nod to the four owners and their Asian heritage. The edamame bean holds cultural significance in Asian & Pacific Islander culture and, as Ko points out, tastes delicious. He is hoping this May can be a moment of exploration for everyone. Keep an open mind, he said, and try something new from another culture.
“Food is the great equalizer, bringing people together. It’s a universal language of the world,” said Ko.
Hanna Roberts
As children of Chinese and Korean immigrant parents, Hanna Choi and her husband Robert Choi, co-owners of Hanna Roberts, said they were taught things are to be kept for a long time, not for just a fun time. The things you really love, “you use it, you keep it and when the time comes, you want to pass it on,” said Hanna Choi.
Hanna Roberts sells affordable home and lifestyle décor in their Amazon store that can be reused throughout its life. Their wedding card boxes, were their first product, designed by Hanna and manufactured in her parent’s home country of China. It’s intentional, said Hanna Choi, as she’s hoping to change the perception that Chinese made means cheaply made.
“It’s my mission to change that perspective,” she said. “Our products are 100% handmade. We can make products that are high quality that we put a lot of love and care into, and that can last a long time.”
For Hanna, AANHPI Heritage Month is a time to share the messages of Asian & Pacific Islander-owned entrepreneurship. Amazon, she said, is giving small business owners that chance with their new storefront.
“I want to make an impact with what I do. I want to empower other Asian-Americans that look like me, that grew up like me, to start a business and do what they love, because I really learned how beautiful this process is,” said Choi.
Working together to celebrate and inspire
During AANHPI Heritage Month – and all year long – Amazon aims to empower Asian American, Native Hawaiian & Pacific Islander-owned businesses by making it easy for customers to shop their extraordinary products. Small businesses like The Only Bean and Hanna Roberts make up the diversity of the Amazon store to the delight of their customers.
“As the voice of the AANHPI business community, National ACE is thrilled to see the success AANHPI business owners are having in stores like Amazon. Businesses like Hanna Roberts and The Only Bean represent the ingenuity and creativity of the AANHPI business community, which created 1 trillion dollars in economic output in 2021,” said Chiling Tong, President and CEO of the National Asian Pacific Islander American Chamber of Commerce and Entrepreneurship, known as National ACE.
National ACE seeks to improve the economic, political, and social well-being of Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islanders by encouraging the growth of existing AANHPI entrepreneurs, advocating for AANHPI businesses, fostering the next generation of AANHPI business owners, and promoting the need for wider AANHPI leadership nationally.
As part of Amazon’s continued commitment to support and amplify Asian American, Native Hawaiian & Pacific Islander-owned businesses, Amazon pledged $10 million during The AAPI 2021 Giving Challenge, becoming a founding partner of The Asian American Foundation, a new nonprofit organization serving the AANHPI community in the pursuit of belonging and prosperity, free from discrimination, slander, and violence.
All year long, customers can also shop from a wide array of categories on the Support Small storefront, including Asian American, Native Hawaiian & Pacific Islander-owned, Black-owned, Women-owned, Military Family-owned, Hispanic-owned and LGBTQIA-owned businesses.