Our Story

How a Bowl of Chicken Soup Became a Packaging Company

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It Started with Soup. It Grew into a Mission.

I never planned to build a packaging company. I was just a student between Stanford and Harvard, getting through Boston winters by making chicken soup for friends. We would crowd around a tiny table with steaming bowls, sharing bad days and big dreams. That feeling of being held by good people and good food was what I wanted to protect.

For a while, I thought my future was “Qixuan’s Chicken Soup.” I did the food safety courses, looked for kitchens, talked to suppliers, until I hit a wall I did not expect: packaging.

I wanted something simple and fair. Food safe, recyclable when possible, and beautiful, without a 10,000 unit minimum or “eco” priced like a luxury upgrade. But every quote told me the same story. If you want better, pay more. If you want sustainable, wait longer. If you are small, come back later.

That is when I realized it was not just my soup getting stuck. It was your cookies, powders, coffee, candles, skincare, too.

So I went upstream, visiting hundreds of suppliers across continents and learning the hard way where the traps are, so you wouldn’t have to. Out of those late nights, wrong turns, and small wins came something simple: a clear, transparent, founder-friendly way to do packaging. So every brand, no matter its size, can be thoughtfully wrapped and taken seriously.

Dylign was born in that tiny kitchen, from a pot of chicken soup and a stubborn belief that growing brands deserve better packaging.

This is our story.

—Qixuan Li, Founder of Dylign

A Bowl of Chicken Soup

When I started my dual degree at Stanford and Harvard, I moved from sunny California to Boston. The winters were brutally cold, so I invited friends over for chicken soup, just like my mother made when I was little: one Trader Joe’s organic chicken, a pinch of salt, and a sprinkle of scallions.

That simple pot brought friends around the table and sparked hours of late-night conversation.

The Moment Warmth Became a Brand Idea

Soon I was hosting “Qixuan’s Chicken Soup” twice a week, and friends swore it was the best chicken soup they’d ever had. A thought kept tugging at me: maybe I could share that warmth with more people, so I started exploring creating a chicken-soup brand.

The Wall I Hit

I lined up a commissary kitchen, food-safety training, and ingredient suppliers. Then I hit a wall: packaging. I wanted something recyclable, food-safe, and capable of showcasing the look I imagined, so the package itself could carry the warmth of Qixuan’s Chicken Soup.

For small brands, that’s harder than it should be.

The Challenge

Unrealistic Minimums

Most factories required at least 10,000 units. The print-on-demand platforms willing to make just a few pouches charged dozens of dollars per bag—enough to buy several chickens.

Too Many Materials

I didn't know the difference between PET and PE or OPP, didn’t know whether I needed VMPET, EVOH, or AL to keep my chicken soup safe and fresh—they all just looked like Wi-Fi passwords to me.

Too Expensive

I spent weeks researching high-barrier, more sustainable films. EVOH with recyclable structures looked perfect—until I saw the quotes. The “eco” options were so expensive that going green started to feel like a luxury.

So We Built

I threw myself into packaging. I talked with 400+ suppliers, flew across continents and ten cities, and visited dozens of factories—sleeping in the back of cabs, walking production floors, talking with line operators, and running lab tests myself.

From that journey came Dylign: a simple, one-stop, affordable packaging partner for growing brands. My chicken soup never made it out of my kitchen, but I hope Dylign helps more founders’ cookies, gummies, protein powders, and sunscreens make it out of their kitchens and labs—into real customers’ hands.

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