Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) Heritage Month just passed, but celebrating AANHPI brands and achievements shouldn’t be limited to May. While this month-long observance is certainly important, let’s not forget the importance of highlighting these contributions all year.

Also notable is that the AANHPI consumers have exponentially increasing purchasing power, exceeding $1.6 million in 2024, according to Nielsen. Even as the fastest-growing consumer group, Asian food continues to be underrepresented at markets and grocery stores. Rallying behind AANHPI brands not only helps to equalize the economic playing field, but it’s also an important step toward racial quality as Asian hate crimes reportedly continue to rise. To join in the support, here are 10 luxe gifts from AANHPI brands fighting for representation—that also happen to be absolutely scrumptious.

MìLà

Founded by Chinese American Jennifer Liao and Caleb Wang, the brand’s name—meaning honey and spice in Mandarin—showcases their dual American and Chinese Heritage in what they consider a “third culture” generation. Instead of having two distinct identities, they consider their heritage a blend; thus the brand name signifies inclusivity and accessibility. The couple started MìLà to celebrate and preserve the best of Chinese culture and food. MìLà’s Soup Dumpling Experience includes everything you need to start making soup dumplings at home, including pork and chicken dumplings, sauces, bowls and a bamboo steamer basket.

Lady M Cakes

Ken Romaniszyn, of Japanese and Ukranian descent, runs Lady M cakes. He took over the distressed business in the early aughts, turning it into a multi-million worldwide endeavor in the past decade. At least 20 layers of delicate crêpes make up each of Lady M’s decadent cakes, which have been called the Louis Vuitton of cakes. Their Dassai Blue Mille Crêpes are sake-soaked for a luxe and boozy host gift or birthday treat. It’s decorated with gold leaf and white chocolate sake kasu glaze, and the vanilla sponge cake is soaked with Dassai Blue 23 sake.

By Jing

Founder Jing Gao reclaimed her birth name after changing her name to Jenny in Europe in her youth to fit into the Western world. Growing up, she became deeply proud of her Chinese heritage and food. Her brand, Fly By Jing, features the flavors of Chengdu and is best known for its Sichuan Chili Crisp. Pick up the By Jing Box for six of their most popular sauces, three times more piquant Xtra Spicy Chili Crisp and an ultra-crispy Chengdu Crunch.

Junbi

Founded by two Asian American couples, Junbi aims to share matcha’s goodness with the world. A more than century-old team farm in Uji, Japan supplies the product, and they have several brick-and-mortar stores across the U.S. If there isn’t a store nearby, order online. Try their Matcha Kit, which even a beginner can use to experience homemade matcha. It includes a bamboo matcha whisk, bowl, sifter, ladle, holder and the brand’s Daily Ceremonial Matcha.

Nguyen Coffee Supply

First-generation entrepreneur Sahra Nguyen’s family escaped Vietnam by boat. She founded the U.S.’s first specialty Vietnamese coffee company to promote cultural integrity. Nguyen Coffee Supply also supports Vietnamese farmers through direct trade with Mr Ton, a fourth-generation farmer in Vietnam, supplying the brand’s organic green beans. The Original Vietnamese Coffee Trio is a great introduction to the brand, featuring three 12-ounce bags of their most popular coffees, including their best-selling Loyalty, which has 25% more caffeine punch than arabica-made blends.

Cabi Foods

Cabi Foods aims to combat the idea that Japanese home cooking is difficult and intimidating. Japanese American founders Eri and Miki found friends were completely unfamiliar with commonplace Japanese ingredients such as mirin and dashi. The Soy Sauce Tasting Palette teaches about the wide variety of soy sauce flavors beyond the familiar black soy sauce. From white soy sauce to traditional brown/black, these are brewed for three months to three years.

Twrl Milk Tea

Hawaii-grown Pauline Ang founded her milk tea latte company to supply a much-needed plant-based version of this popular Hong Kong treat. It eliminates artificial flavors and is made with pea milk, single-origin, non-GMO, organic tea. A good introduction gift is their Twrl Milk Tea Variety, which comes with two cans of all their flavors: Taiwan Style Black Milk Tea, Ube Milk Tea, Jasmine Pu’erh Milk Tea and Hojicha Roasted Green Milk Tea.

Sans By Taejin Beverage

Sobriety is rarely discussed in the Asian American community, and Bling Empire’s Kevin Krieder wants to normalize the conversation. Instead of alcohol, this tasty drink is packed with ingredients used in traditional Chinese medicine, such as ginseng, adaptogens and L-theanine. The twelve-pack of the Dragon Ginger or Ginseng Apple Guava flavors makes for a great hostess welcome wellness gift.

Socola Chocolatier

Chocolatier Wendy Lieu co-founded Socola Chocolatier with her sister Susan as a DIY business selling directly to friends and family. It’s since has rocketed into an award-winning company with clients such as Tiffany & Co. and American Express. Socola means chocolate in Vietnamese, and although there are traditional truffle flavors, they specialize in highlighting Vietnamese flavors such as durian and soda chanh. Splurge on the Chocolate Lovers Ultimate Gift Set with over 50 pieces of Socola’s most popular truffles, bars and confections. To continue celebrating AAPI month, pick up their Little Saigon Box dedicated to Vietnam’s most famous flavors.

Kasama

This Filipino-owned brand is founder Alexandra Dorda-Marcu’s love letter to the Philippines, highlighting the little-known fact that her country is one of the world’s top rum producers. Pick up a bottle of their Kasama Rum to taste a seven-year-old Philippino spirit. It’s small batch, and its flavor profile includes sea salt, pineapple and vanilla.