Dang Foods Founder Offers Ways Natural Products Industry Can Support the American-Asian Population in the Wake of Recent Hate Crimes
This article originally appeared in Presence Marketing’s April 2021 Industry Newsletter
By Steven Hoffman
Vincent Kitirattragarn, founder of natural snack company Dang Foods, outlined ways in New Hope Network how members of the natural products industry can support the American-Asian population in the wake of recent hate crimes. Since March 2020 when the coronavirus pandemic started in the U.S., anti-Asian hate crimes increased 1,900% in the U.S., Kitirattragarn cited. Three thousand incidents have been reported, and many more go unreported due to language barriers and mistrust of authorities, he said. Kitirattragarn called on industry leaders to take action and to check in with Asian employees; making them feel seen can be a strong connector, he advised. Kitirattragarn also outlined things industry members can do to help, including: learn the basics of bystander intervention; have your companies take a stance (promote hashtags such as #StopAsianHate and #StopAAPIHate); amplify Asian voices in your community; and support the cause financially.