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In this episode of the Startup CPG Podcast, Caitlin Bricker is joined by Linda Xu, founder of Huā Wellness—a wellness brand dedicated to stress relief through natural, clinically backed ingredients. Linda shares her journey from a demanding career in health tech to launching Huā Wellness, driven by a deeply personal experience with burnout and a passion for holistic health.
They dive into the science behind key ingredients like ashwagandha, L-theanine, holy basil, and cacao seed, as well as the mental and physical impact of chronic stress. Linda also opens up about her own experience with burnout, navigating life as a solopreneur, and her mission to reconnect people with nature—even in an urban setting. They also discuss the gender stress gap, building brand community, and Huā Wellness’ commitment to promoting green spaces.
Whether you're an aspiring founder, wellness enthusiast, or just someone who needs a little help managing stress, this episode offers insight, inspiration, and practical tips.
Tune in to learn more about the science behind Hua Wellness and the entrepreneurial vision driving its growth.
Listen in as they share about:
- Founding & Mission of Huā Wellness
- Products & Ingredients
- Urban Wellness & Connection to Nature
- Branding and Cultural Roots
- Gender Stress Gap
- Entrepreneurial Experience
- Community and Customer Engagement
- Advice to Aspiring Founders
Don't forget to leave a five-star review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify if you enjoyed this episode. For potential sponsorship opportunities or to join the Startup CPG community, visit http://www.startupcpg.com.
Show Links:
- Transcripts of each episode are available on the Transistor platform that hosts our podcast here (click on the episode and toggle to “Transcript” at the top)
- Join the Startup CPG Slack community (20K+ members and growing!)
- Follow @startupcpg
- Visit host Caitlin's Linkedin
- Questions or comments about the episode? Email Daniel at podcast@startupcpg.com
- Episode music by Super Fantastics
Creators and Guests
What is The Startup CPG Podcast?
The top CPG podcast in the world, highlighting stories from founders, buyer spotlights, highly practical industry insights - all to give you a better chance at success.
Linda Xu
I honestly thought there was something wrong with me. And in the middle of the night I was just like, I can't sleep. I told my boyfriend, I think I need to go to urgent care. And the ER did a bunch of tests on me. They couldn't really find anything, but at the end they were like, yeah, you're just extremely stressed out. And that was when I really realized,, how physical symptoms could manifest from just stress.
00:42
Caitlin Bricker
Hey everybody, this is Caitlin Brucker, editor at Startup cpg. We are back with another founder feature. Stress got you down. Well, we might have a solution for you. Today we're talking with Linda Hsu, founder of HUAW Wellness. HUAW Wellness is an NYC based brand with a mission to reconnect people to nature through targeted natural stress relief products, green space advocacy, and embodying the urban wellness lifestyle. Born out of Linda's own battle with burnout, hua's goal is to help people manage stress so that they can live their best lives. I think we all need a little bit of that. After you listen to this episode, we invite you to chill out and go touch some grass. Enjoy. Hey everybody. Welcome back to the Startup CPG podcast. This is Kaitlyn and today I'm here with Linda Hsu, founder of Huawei Wellness. Linda, welcome to the show.
01:36
Linda Xu
Hi. It's so nice to be here. I'm really excited.
01:39
Caitlin Bricker
I am very excited to have you here. We got samples of your products during the shelfies and then we got to cross paths out in Expo West. I was so excited to meet you in person. Now I am equally excited to have you here on the show.
01:52
Linda Xu
Yeah, it was such a coincident. We just like bumped each other in that bathroom at Expo West.
01:57
Caitlin Bricker
I love how things work out that way. It's such a large community, but the world seems to get smaller and smaller within CPG and it worked out beautifully.
02:05
Linda Xu
So.
02:06
Caitlin Bricker
So I want to get started and I'd love for you to introduce Hwah Wellness to our listeners. For anyone not familiar with your brand, can you tell us what Huawei Wellness is?
02:15
Linda Xu
Yeah, definitely. So Huawei Wellness, we are a natural supplement brand focused on stress relief among other health areas. And our mission is to really reconnect people back with nature through our targeted natural ingredients, green space advocacy and just embodying that like urban wellness lifestyle. And. And our ultimate goal is to provide better solutions for stress management so people can really live their best lives.
02:42
Caitlin Bricker
I love that. I think even people who are super chill can still use a Little bit of stress management in their lives. So tell me about your star ingredients that makes this a stress management product.
02:54
Linda Xu
Yeah, sure. So our hero product is called Chill Switch. It has Ashwagandha, Altheny, gaba, holy basil leaf and cacao seed. And a lot of people take those ingredients individually, but you kind of get this like power formula with all of it together. And we don't just use any, you know, ashwagandha ltheni out there. We use patented forms that have been clinically studied in human trials. We think a landscape out there. There's a lot of ashwagandha out there, but you don't know the potency, the efficacy and how strong it is. And we really make sure to take the best ingredients.
03:31
Caitlin Bricker
I feel like cacao seed is not something that I typically see in supplements or honestly like cacao seed on an ingredient label. So how did you land on using cacao seed in your products?
03:43
Linda Xu
Yeah, cacao seed, it's rich in tryptophan, which is actually the precursor to making serotonin. So it's a mood booster. We pick these ingredients because some are, you know, good with just decreasing kind of like hyperneural activity in the brain. But then there's also ingredients that complements with like mood and serotonin. And there's a lot of connections once you get into the space to learn about it between like your mood and your focus and like cognitive ability as well. So when you're feeling stressed, obviously you're not happy, but you're also not like you can't perform from like a mental performance perspective as well. So they all really complement each other really well.
04:30
Caitlin Bricker
I have to ask, did you create this product out of a personal need or did you just simply see a need for it in the market?
04:38
Linda Xu
Definitely it was inspired by a personal need. So my background is in like the healthcare space. I studied engineering, I went into corporate healthcare, and then I was on the health tech side for many years working as a product manager for a lot of health tech startups. And the ironic thing of working in health care, which I don't know if I hear enough about, is like, it's actually kind of bad for your health in that it's a very stressful and oftentimes toxic environment and work environment. And I just got deeply burnt out and stressed and I really wanted to find a solution that could help me every day handle such like a stress intensive job. And I really couldn't find one that really worked for me.
05:28
Caitlin Bricker
Was there a moment in your career where you said okay, this is it. Like, did you reach a certain point of burnout where you said, no more. No more of the health tech and I need this product in my life? Yeah.
05:43
Linda Xu
I think I can pinpoint a time when I really wasn't sleeping very much during my last corporate, like, startup job. And, you know, everything felt right. Like, oh, the mission is to help people with their health care, but I couldn't really do that when I couldn't take care of my own health. And I got to a point where my heart was racing. Every day there are, like, heart palpitations, and I couldn't sleep. And I honestly thought there was, like, something wrong with me. And in the middle of night, I was just like, I can't sleep. I told, like, my boyfriend, let's just like, I don't know. I think I need to go to urgent care or, like, check this out. The urgent care at the time was like, oh, you know, we don't have, like, the right tools here.
06:29
Linda Xu
And I want you to make sure this is not, like, a pulmonary embolism. I think it's that what they said. They, like, referred me to the er and it was just, like, a really scary experience because I never experienced physical symptoms of stress, and I didn't know what it was and what it could manifest. And the ER did a bunch of tests on me. They couldn't really find anything. But at the end, they were like, yeah, you're just, like, extremely stressed out. Your heart, from a physical standpoint, as far as we can see, is, like, fine, but you're just really stressed. And there wasn't really anything that they said they could do for me. And that was when I really realized, like, how physical symptoms could manifest from just stress. You think it's, like, not this, like, tangible thing, right?
07:20
Linda Xu
You think it's, like, more of a mental thing. But then it started impacting me like that, and I was like, life is not worth, like, this level of stress in my life.
07:30
Caitlin Bricker
So aside from creating your own product, did you then take a step away from your career or how did that transpire?
07:38
Linda Xu
At that time, I didn't quit then and there, but it really got me thinking seriously, about was a very crazy, whirlwind experience, too. That company no longer exists. Like, they ran out of funding, and it was a very dramatic experience. But I started laying the groundwork of, like, kind of dissociating myself a little bit, because I've always been this person who had really high expectations of myself. Like, I wasn't capable of just, like, coasting you know, like I was always giving 110%, but then I just reached a point where it's like I just really need to be in a self preservation mode and just like do what I needed to get done. But if this company, like I didn't feel value, like it's not worth putting in that extra effort that would harm my own mental and emotional stress.
08:35
Linda Xu
So I try to like learn, lay those groundwork and then figure out like what I want to do and also just take that time to reinvest in my own self care and redoing a lot of that damage. So I did that for a couple of months before I fully decided to quit.
08:52
Caitlin Bricker
Good for you. I feel like that is such a big move, not only to make that move in your career, but also while you're experiencing those issues personally. Like burnout is no joke. It feels like this ambiguous thing until you're in it and then it's life or death. That's what it feels like. You and I have talked before about the gender stress gap. Do you want to speak to that at all?
09:16
Linda Xu
Yeah, the gender stress gap is a real thing. It's basically that women experience twice as amount of stress compared to men on average. And yeah, I don't feel like people talk about it enough. It's this idea of women have to be this like superwoman in the modern world where you're balancing career but also you're still expected to do a lot of like the childcare, the taking care of like elderly parents, just maintaining the home. And women tend to internalize the stress a lot of times, whereas men can externalize it a lot better and like dissociate it from themselves. So yeah, if you look it up, there's like an article in New York Times about it and there's many research article about it. So it's definitely a real phenomenon that I don't think enough people are talking about.
10:08
Caitlin Bricker
It's definitely worth a discussion. That is for sure. Again, it sounds like something that's so ambiguous and so just out there until it's happening to you and then it becomes so real. So similar to burnout. So are you targeting your products towards women? Are they made for anybody?
10:26
Linda Xu
So the formula anyone can take, but definitely from like a messaging standpoint of what we see as a gap in the market is addressing women, young women dealing with corporate jobs at the beginning of their career that have that corporate core like stress issue. But yeah, anyone can technically take it. But I think from a messaging, marketing and branding perspective that is like what the target audience we're focusing on.
10:56
Caitlin Bricker
I'd love to hear more about your other products outside of Chill Switch and how those are addressing stress in our lives too.
11:04
Linda Xu
Yeah, definitely. So our other bestseller is our whole food, Marine Magnesium Powder. So it's marine based. We source it from red algae and seawater. So that one is very popular and it's very related with stress because it helps with sleep as well as like muscle recovery headaches, like muscle cramping. But yeah, it's one of the most versatile minerals that your body needs. Every cell in your body requires it to function, and it's one of the most common deficiencies so very related with stress. If you're stressed, you're not sleeping and then vice versa. If you're not sleeping, you can be more likely to be stressed out. So that's one of our very popular products as well.
11:49
Caitlin Bricker
Magnesium is such a magical ingredient. I had no idea what it could do for me until I started taking it. And then when I tried your product, it tasted good too. So there's always that added bonus of it not tasting overly salty or like seawater, but having that like nice little fizz when it goes into the glass. It really is an all star ingredient and I think it's not talked about enough. We hear a lot about adaptogens, but I think magnesium needs to be in the spotlight more.
12:20
Linda Xu
Definitely. Yeah, yeah. It's just like a very versatile ingredient that if anyone is like super new to supplements as a whole, I would say, like, magnesium is a great first one to start with.
12:33
Caitlin Bricker
I would agree with that. We're not doctors or pharmacists. We can't diagnose or prescribe. But speaking from personal experience. So I'm really curious about the transition from going to corporate to being a solopreneur, because correct me if I'm wrong, but you're building this business on your own. Right. How did that look for you and what was that transition like going from. It sounds like a very high powered, very high stress job working on a team of people to then taking this idea for your own business and hitting the ground running, bootstrapping and all?
13:06
Linda Xu
Yeah, it's definitely a very different environment. And I think for me there's a lot of confidence. Product management world was what I knew. I was comfortable in it and in that role with every new job I get, like in the beginning I might feel a little less confident, but I quickly become the expert on an area of that product. And I advise the engineering team, the design team, marketing teams, I work with all these stakeholders and you really build up the confidence because you know, you're talking about, you're like an expert on that product and people go to you for questions. In the startup world and bootstrapping, it's like you're kind of starting over in a sense. Like you have to learn not just like one area, you are experimenting, exposed to all the functions. So there's definitely that.
13:56
Linda Xu
You know, I've always experienced imposter syndrome to an extent, but I think it's even more pronounced when you're in this like bootstrapped solopreneur journey because suddenly it's like, okay, I don't necessarily know what I'm doing day to day and you kind of just have to figure that out and like be okay with it and continue to go with it. So I think that's the biggest difference in a corporate role. There is a lot more structured. You have a role description, you know what you're doing, and then in the entrepreneurial world, you're just like anything, you know, like you do everything. Yeah.
14:32
Caitlin Bricker
So how do you prioritize what's best for your brand or what next steps you should take? When you wake up in the morning, what's the first thing that's on your mind? And then what do you have for long term goals for your business?
14:45
Linda Xu
Great question. I'm still like grappling with that from time to time, but I think having reflection moments are really key. I try to do what I call like a dump list and I do that either every evening or sometimes when I first wake up in the morning. Just basically get everything in my brain out on paper where I can see it and then I can kind of think about, okay, what do I prioritize for this week or this day? What's also useful that I've been doing now is like kind of quarterly planning, which is what's like one or two overarching goal for the quarter. Because I think as a solopreneur you can be very lost on what to focus on. Like things are changing every day and you can technically spend time doing anything.
15:39
Linda Xu
But yeah, I think having a couple like high level goals for the quarter and then you can focus on like smaller concrete actions that support those goals and that has helped me keep focus.
15:52
Caitlin Bricker
It's so funny that you mentioned the dump list because I'm looking right at my computer right now and one of my bookmark tabs is my own personal brain dump. So I do the same thing. It's just like the best way to not forget anything that's going on in your head because it might seem like a very fleeting thought, but it might be groundbreaking once you actually execute on it.
16:12
Linda Xu
Right, right.
16:13
Caitlin Bricker
I love that similarity between us. I wish more people would have dump.
16:17
Linda Xu
Lists and it helped just feel better. Otherwise, it just feels like there's so much things just like swimming around my brain and I, like, need to just like get it out somewhere.
16:26
Caitlin Bricker
Exactly. Like, we have these things in our head and if we don't say it, we need to write it down. Otherwise it's giving it a space in our head and a place to live instead of an exit. Figure it out. So you're still figuring things out day by day. What would you say the biggest challenge is that you're wrestling with right now?
16:43
Linda Xu
I think there's a lot of distractions. There's a lot of, you know, when you go meet other founders and learn about their stories, you get a lot of good advice. But sometimes you get like, oh, you have to do this or you have to do that. So I think the challenge right now is staying on, like, okay, this is what I'm focused on right now and this is gonna move the needle the most. And while I have all these systems to try to remain grounded and focus on it, I think it's so easy to be pulled in different directions. And when you get tons of inbound emails all the time that say they're going to like, do X, Y, Z for your business, I think that is like one of the hardest.
17:23
Linda Xu
And you know, when you're a solopreneur, you're often get lonely and like, easily discouraging when you like, hit a wall or have an issue that you need to figure out. So I think it's like remaining grounded despite all the different distractions and like, comparisons and what everyone else is doing.
17:43
Caitlin Bricker
Unfortunately. I'm glad that you brought up the loneliness aspect of being a solopreneur. I feel like that's something that I hear too often, but this is a good segue into my next question. So how did the pandemic reinforce your connection to nature and how does that translate into your urban wellness approach for your brand?
18:02
Linda Xu
Yeah, it's funny you asked that. When Covid hit, I was in LA and I was still working at the medical device company I was at and were all working remotely and in la a lot of times the activity you do is you drive from one place to another place and like, it's a very driving, car based city. And for the first time, I think LA really discovered like walking around your neighborhood and like going to parks. Like, I think the park culture that New York City has in other cities, like, it didn't really exist in LA before the pandemic of like, people actually discovering this space and appreciating it. And I was one of those people where that was really helpful in getting me through the pandemic. And I also still had a very high stress job.
18:53
Linda Xu
All my jobs have coincidentally been like, very insane. So just like the daily habit of going out for a walk really helped me get through that time. And I just fell in love with the idea of like, urban wellness and parks. And I think there's a time where everybody escaped all the cities and like, went to Utah and Colorado and like, much more like remote areas. But honestly, I think there's not enough love for like, urban parks and how cities like New York have prioritized building these green spaces that you can still be in the city and also be in nature at the same time. And I think areas like Central park has areas where you're so deep in Central park, you have no idea you're in the middle of New York City. And I think that's like a really magical thing.
19:41
Caitlin Bricker
So I'm assuming the phrase go touch grass holds a lot of truth to.
19:45
Linda Xu
You whenever I'm getting too in my head about it or like, yeah, just go touch grass. Like, just get in touch with reality. Go outside. And then our ethos of our brand is like, well, if you can't physically do that, then we try to bring that nature to you in the form of our ingredients.
20:02
Caitlin Bricker
I really love that. I feel like I hear a lot about brands who are doing 1% for the planet or other initiatives like that. But urban wellness is not something that I hear about at all really. So it's very refreshing to hear that is a pillar for your brand.
20:17
Linda Xu
Yeah, we're really excited about it. We're so early in, like the projects that we want to do, but we definitely want to partner with community gardens and local parks. We just did our first community event on last month where we did like a community picnic in Central park. Invited all of our customers and community in New York to have picnic together.
20:38
Caitlin Bricker
I saw on Instagram it looked like a really good time. I wish I had more of a CPG community in my local community south of Boston, but hopefully we're. We'll establish it here because we have some good parks. So I would love to know what advice would you give to any other founders considering entering the wellness space?
20:59
Linda Xu
I would say for the wellness space, it's so it's oftentimes feels very saturated and a lot of celebrity and influencer brands. And I would really focus on, like, what would make you different as a brand. What is, like, the health area that you think is not focused enough or what is the particular messaging that even if that health area is being played out, what is like, the particular messaging or group of people you want to target? And overall, I think another advice I have for just anyone starting out, like, not even in wellness, I think is just start. There's always something you could get started on. Even if it's, you know, only on weekends or if you still have like a, you know, a 9 to 5 job, there's always something you could get started on and it doesn't have to be perfect.
21:56
Linda Xu
And I think a lot of times that holds us back of, like, wanting to be perfect when you actually learn so much faster, when you're like, if you just start and make mistakes, but then you learn from those mistakes. Like, there's oftentimes I would say, like, going back, oh, I wish I, like, did XYZ when I was still in my corporate world. That would have given me the foundation as a solopreneur.
22:20
Caitlin Bricker
Really good advice. Hindsight is always 2020, right? As they say. So I've got a fun little question that I like to ask brands when they come on the show, and that is about your brand name. What does hua mean and what's the origin?
22:36
Linda Xu
Yeah, hua means flower in Mandarin Chinese. And it just symbolizes our natural connection to nature and parks and all the ethos that you've been talking about. It also symbolizes my. My personal heritage as Chinese American. And it's also reflected. Reflects kind of the identity that I grew up with. I grew up with a Dr. Mon, who, even though she's a medical doctor, was trained on Western practices because of our Chinese heritage. Also had a lot of those principles of holistic health. She was always very, like, always emphasized nutrition and prevention from the get go. Like, growing up, it was like, drink more water, you know, early on the hydration trend, I think. So that just kind of points to my background growing up.
23:31
Caitlin Bricker
I assume your mom is a big fan of what you're doing.
23:35
Linda Xu
Oh, yeah. She is normally pretty shy socially, but there's something about, like, what I'm doing where she will literally talk to strangers and be like, follow wow, wellness on Instagram. She'll just like, approach random people, like, tell them to follow us on Instagram. I don't know, like, how she gets like the courage or anything to do that. Yeah, it's so fascinating.
23:59
Caitlin Bricker
That is so cool. You have just like a built influencer and brand ambassador and it just so happens to be your mom. I love that. And another question I really love to ask all the brands that are on are how did you find Startup cpg?
24:13
Linda Xu
I honestly I, I feel like I just googled and I found you guys and I think maybe talking to other founders, they recommended the group. I can't remember to be honest, but I think it's a solo founder. It is so important to find community and people that are doing what you're doing. Otherwise it could feel so isolating. So that was one of the first things that I did was like how do I find other people that I can learn from and really connect with?
24:42
Caitlin Bricker
Amazing. So our mission is accomplished. We love that. And I'd also love for you to share with the listeners how can they find you whether it's online, in person, what's your handles? Are you in retail? What's the deal?
24:57
Linda Xu
So you can find us onlinewellness.com that's h u a wellness.com our Instagram handle is the same Instagram and Tick Tock is the same. Just hua Wellness. We are in a few different like independent grocery stores and like niche food stores. We're hoping to expand out more in the coming months and yeah, if any founder struggles with stress management like I like give us a try. Would love to hear your thoughts. We are pretty confident in our formula. We even have a money back guarantee on the first order. So love to hear anyone's thoughts.
25:33
Caitlin Bricker
That is quite the proposition for new customers. Well, it's been really fun talking to you. I'm a big fan of your products. I hope that you find some new fans through this episode and I'm really excited to see where the next year takes you.
25:47
Linda Xu
Thank you so much. Thank you so much for having me. I had a blast talking to you and just being part of the Startup CPG community.
25:55
Caitlin Bricker
Thank you so much Linda. See you later. All right everyone, thank you so much for listening. If you enjoyed this episode, do us a solid and leave us a five star review on ratethispodcast.com startupcpg I'm Kaitlyn Bricker, the host of the Founder feature series and editor at Startup CPG. Feel free to find me on LinkedIn or reach out to me on Slack and get on my radar. I'm always keeping my eyes peeled for new and emerging brands to spotlight. And if you're a potential sponsor who would like to appear on the podcast, please email partnershipstartupcpg.com and finally, as a reminder for anyone listening, if you haven't already, we would love for you to join our free CPG community on Slack. You can sign up via our website@startupcpg.com see you around.