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HARVARD GAZETTE ARCHIVES Good and Good for You By Ken Gewertz
Thong Q. Le is no relation to Sara Lee, but someday he hopes to secure a comparable place on supermarket shelves. Le, who is currently a nonresident business tutor at Adams House, is the president of a startup company called MiniMeals Inc., whose principal and so far only product is the Frugi. The Frugi (available in apple, cherry, pumpkin, and banana) looks like a little pie, but that description hardly does justice to what may be the food breakthrough of the millennium. "We believe we’ve tapped into a market segment, the desktop foods area," Le said. "It’s going to be a trend." In a fast-paced world where people can no longer sit down to three square meals a day, more and more people are gobbling lunch and breakfast at their desks or in their cars. But the nutritional value of most of this food leaves something to be desired. Le wondered: Why can’t fast food be healthy, too? Le began contemplating this question while he was still a Harvard College student (Class of ’98) and an Adams House resident. He was also working 30 to 40 hours a week at Capital Management Consulting, a biomedical venture development firm located in Cambridge and Framingham. "The Frugi was born out of the frustration I was feeling during my senior year. I was missing meals and looking for some sort of portable snack that was tasty, filling, and good for you. There was just nothing out there," Le said. So Le decided to create something. With advice and guidance from Michael Miller, executive chef in University Dining Services, Le began tinkering in the Adams House kitchen and then testing the product on fellow students. He derived the product’s name from the word frugivorous, meaning "feeding on fruit." He found that by reducing the amount of fat in the crust he not only lowered cholesterol but made the pie sturdier, less likely to fall apart and drop in your lap while changing lanes on Memorial Drive. Reducing the sugar also made the filling less gooey and less conducive to accidents, as well as having more fruit taste. Currently, the pies, which come in brightly colored little boxes and sell for $1.89 each, are only available at the Harvard Coop Cafe, but Le hopes to expand into the Medical School and Business School Coops later this month. He recently reached an agreement with Barnes and Noble to market the Frugi in the bookstores operated by that company at Boston University, Yale, and the University of Pennsylvania. Le is looking for a corporate partner that can help take the business to the next level, but without compromising his original vision. Running MiniMeals takes up most of Le’s time right now, but he still manages to fulfill his duties at Adams House, providing advice and support to Adams House undergraduates who are interested in a business career. "I let them know what’s available after graduation, explain what consulting is, what investment banking is. I try to help them understand their options," Le said. "He’s very engaging and dedicated to what he’s doing," said Victoria Macy, assistant to the house master. "As a model of success and enthusiasm he would be inspiring to people thinking about setting up their own enterprises." Le could certainly serve as a role model for students who may be confused about self-presentation. Wearing a dark suit, dark tie, and a spotless white shirt, and carrying a black leather sample case stacked with Frugi boxes, Le seems the image of the young, eager businessperson. "Thong is a classic overachiever, and I mean that in a good way," said Le’s former boss, Joseph Kozikowski, chairman of the board of Capital Management Consulting. Kozikowski also serves as chairman of Le’s company. It was Kozikowski’s firm that furnished much of the expertise and startup capital for MiniMeals. Kozikowski also stands solidly behind the Frugi. "It’s a great product. That’s not just me talking. That’s the market talking." Le describes himself as "very fortunate to be able to pursue my entrepreneurial activities." A first-generation American whose parents emigrated from Vietnam, Le grew up in what he describes as an inner-city neighborhood in Tacoma, Wash. Le’s father was a social worker while his mother stayed home to care for their four children. An older brother graduated from Harvard in 1996, and a younger brother is now a student at the University of Washington. In the tough, violent environment in which he grew up, "there was always a temptation to fall into gang-related activity, but I was always very focused on showing people there was a different way," Le said. When he first came to Harvard, Le thought he’d become a doctor, but after a few semesters he changed his mind. "I stumbled across things in the social sciences and humanities that I found intellectually challenging and thought-provoking, so I changed my concentration to government and economics." Le’s business bent was confirmed when he was selected as a winner in a student business plan contest, sponsored by the International Management Symposium. He traveled to St. Galen, Switzerland, to receive the award for his entry, Crimson Test Prep Inc., a virtual test preparation company. Le thought about making Crimson Test Prep an actuality, but decided that the expertise it required was beyond his current ability. Desktop foods seemed more realistic. What’s beyond the Frugi? Will there be desktop soup that doesn’t spill? Desktop spaghetti that stays on the fork and doesn’t drip sauce on your keyboard? Le, usually so ebullient, suddenly becomes guarded, secretive. "Well, yes," he said, "we have a few other products under development, but I can’t say anything more right now."
Copyright 1999 President and Fellows of Harvard College |
