KHOBO is a playful nod to "khô bò" (Vietnamese for beef jerky), and it is a celebration of our Vietnamese American roots and bold flavors. We're here to share the joy of Vietnamese jerky while fueling your daily grind and bringing people closer with every bite.
Hi! My name is Diana, and my appreciation for jerky goes way back.
When my family immigrated to the states after the Vietnam War, my dad was the stay-at-home parent while my mom worked at various restaurants to raise their three daughters in a new country. To support us, my dad started making and selling Vietnamese beef jerky with recipes that were passed down to him. Word spread fast that he had the best jerky in town, and as a result, my sisters and I grew up eating jerky in between helping him in the kitchen and going to school.
It's been a long time since those days. As a kid, I did not realize the enormous challenge of migrating to a foreign country to provide a better future for your family. As an adult with a deep appreciation for my parents' hard work, I still fondly turn to jerky as a my go-to snack while on the road, on the trails, or just getting through the everyday hustle.
But it is hard to find a jerky that was as a good as my dad's. Many tastes boring or not texturally natural. I also noticed that the jerky industry lacks diversity and representation of all the amazing immigrant stories and flavors in the U.S. The Vietnamese jerkies I did find every now and then were overly sweet and/or filled with artificial junk. So I decided to start KHOBO as a way to say thank you to my dad and honor his recipes. I hope our jerky can power others through life’s grind the way it’s powered our family.