The idea for Party Of was born during a 2022 visit to Thailand, when the Lertlumprasert sisters—Lisa, Lita, Charlene, and Charlie—returned with a suitcase of Thai snacks that instantly wowed their U.S. friends. Lisa, the owner of a D.C. Thai restaurant, said the flavors sparked a conversation about healthier snack options in the U.S. The sisters realized that existing “better‑for‑you” snacks lacked the punch of authentic Thai street food, and they decided to create something new.
They spent the next six months refining product‑market fit, using Charlie’s product‑management framework to map target customers, problems, and value propositions. The team invested $28,000 in a branding agency called Outline, and Charlene designed the first ZingPop stickers on Canva before rebranding to Party Of. Lisa says the investment paid off, noting that a clear brand differentiated them in a crowded snack market.
In March 2024, Party Of entered Compass Group’s Retail Incubator, a program that required the sisters to produce 30,000 units in 16 weeks—more than their total output since launch. The team had to switch from a standard pouch to a pillow‑pouch format, rework designs, and onboard a new co‑packer. Customs delays and unexpected tariffs added another hit, but the sisters leveraged their network and kept production lines running.
The production crisis forced them to learn on the fly, a lesson Lita says is just how they build resilience. They cut the cost of goods sold by roughly 25% by sourcing raw materials locally and optimizing packaging. Lisa credits the lean mindset for turning the crisis into a growth opportunity.
By 2025, Party Of’s monthly revenue had quadrupled from the previous year, reaching a steady $7,000 and occasionally spiking to $50,000 on large orders. Charlene says the real payoff is the autonomy it gives her, something she never felt in corporate roles. The sisters plan to scale production and secure a distribution partnership by Q3 2026.