CHICAGO, IL / ACCESS Newswire / May 18, 2025 / The 2025 Taste of Asia Food Brand Summit made a powerful return to Chicago during the NRA Show week, bringing together over 200 leading brand founders, investors, system service providers, and supply chain professionals. Sponsored by MenuSifu, the leading POS and restaurant technology provider in North America, this closed-door summit provided a deep dive into how Asian food brands can achieve systematic replication and mainstream growth in North America.
Set in the N226 conference room at the NRA Show's main venue, the Chicago event centered on three pillars: standardization, systemization, and capitalization. The summit served as a critical platform to share insights on how Asian food entrepreneurs can scale sustainably while preserving their brand identity and culinary heritage.
A Powerful Lineup of Themes & Speakers
This year's Chicago summit featured a diverse array of panels and keynote talks focused on current industry trends and challenges:
-
"From 1 to 30 Locations: How to Expand Across Regions"：Representatives from Botrista, Kizuki Ramen, Workstream, and MenuSifu shared lessons on growing operations by aligning systems, people, and location strategies.
-
"Spicy is the New Classic"：Fred Wang, Executive Chef at Lee Kum Kee, joined Essent Capital Co-Founder Cosmo Hu for an in-depth fireside chat on how evolving flavor trends can inspire scalable, localized product models.
-
"Decoding Wealth in Trends"：MenuSifu Co-Founder and COO Leo Li presented a tech-forward framework for restaurant profitability, from POS to AI, explaining how to upgrade systems and unlock margin growth.
-
"The McDonald's Playbook"：Ebrahim Maghsoud, McDonald's veteran operator, unpacked the brand's franchise model and operational strategies, offering a rare inside perspective.
-
"Restaurant Tech Spotlight"：Botrista CEO Sean Hsu explored the latest in drink automation, while Andrew Wang of Workstream discussed how to build high-efficiency HR systems for growing brands.
-
"Capital Pathways for Global Expansion"：Former Yum China executive Dongfeng Wang and UNLV Professor Dr. Zhixian Li shared practical strategies from their upcoming publication on navigating global F&B expansion.
-
"Risk & Opportunity in the U.S.-China Trade Landscape"：Lao Chuan Chuan founder Hu Xiaojun addressed the impact of shifting U.S.-China trade policies on supply chains and how brands can build resilient contingency strategies.
-
"Space & Branding: Designing for Operational Efficiency"：Curtis Li, founder of CSA Design Studio, explained how smart spatial design can amplify brand identity and improve multi-location efficiency.