Signal trace · food (Malaysian sambal condiment)

Homiah

Every press hit, ad, BSR data point, Instagram metric, and Claude thesis the pipeline used to score Homiah. Click any signal to inspect the source.

watchhomiah.com ↗last scored 7/2/2026
← Pipeline

At a glance

Founded
2021
HQ
New York City, NY
Total raised
—
Last round
—
Founders
Michelle Tew · Founder
Retailers
Whole FoodsSproutsWeee!
Instagram
@@homiahfoods
TikTok
@@homiah

Rhymes with

Fly By Jing

Founder-led heritage Asian condiment brand that built cult status on Amazon and DTC before scaling into Whole Foods — Homiah is following a similar Southeast Asian playbook but earlier and slower.

Jeff's verdict

Your vote biases future scoring. Hot = +8. Pass = -15.

Composite score
36/100
—
Score label
Research
90% confidence
Signals captured
15
8 sources live
Scoring runs
1
first run

Rubric breakdown

Traction & velocity
10/25
Team pedigree
10/20
Authenticity / fit
6/20
Capital signal (pre-raise)
3/15
Category timing
4/12
Defensibility
3/8
Scoring rationale
WATCH. Homiah is a legitimate Malaysian/Nonya condiment brand (sambal chili crunch, curry pastes) founded by Michelle Tew, with real Whole Foods distribution and organic Reddit love in r/chilicrisp where it's repeatedly named a top chili crunch. However, traction signals are modest for a brand that's been in-market since ~2021: best Amazon BSR is #15,437 with a -11% 90-day trend (slight deceleration), IG only 2,118 followers (and the scraped handle @homiah appears to be a personal account — the real brand is @homiahfoods), and TikTok is effectively dormant at 15 followers. The 2024 Momofuku 'chili crunch' trademark dispute gave Homiah earned media in Al Jazeera, Guardian, and Salon, but that PR moment is 18+ months stale and hasn't translated to breakout velocity.
Traction: 4 press · 30 ads · BSR Δ-11% · TikTok 15 → 10/25
Authenticity: IG 2,118 · TT 15 · -4 Amazon reviews · 7 subreddits → 6/20
Capital: 1 funding press (penalty 5) · TM sweet-spot no · 30 ads → 3/15 (higher = pre-raise)
Category timing: food (Malaysian sambal condiment) trend flat · brand trend flat → 4/12
Out of food+bev scope — will not surface on pipeline.

Score history

  • Jul 2, 06:52 AM36
    90% confidence · Research

Signal sources

Press signal

SerpAPI · Google News · 4

Ad activity

Foreplay · 5
  • Boxhero Underwear
    Enfin, des boxers premium réinventés qui offrent un confort incroyable toute la journée. Découvrez BoxHero 2.0 – la nouvelle version des célèbres boxers en bambou BoxHero. ✅ Nouvelle Balls Hero™ Pouch ✅ Fibres de bambou premium ✅ Garantie
    ClothingFashion
    foreplay.ad · live_ad · 75% conf · 7/2/2026
  • My Derma Dream
    I thought I had “bad under-eyes” until I learned this one collagen mistake… Dark circles and hollow under-eyes aren’t the real problem. The real issue is that most collagen products never reach the deeper skin layers where firmness and vol
    Health & BeautyBeauty
    foreplay.ad · live_ad · 75% conf · 7/2/2026
  • RIXO
    Rooted in female friendship. Built around the confidence it brings. RIXO x Billie is back.
    Clothing (Brand)Fashion
    foreplay.ad · live_ad · 75% conf · 7/2/2026
  • CrowdStrike
    Attacks by AI-enabled adversaries increased 89% in 2025. Get to know the latest adversary tradecraft in the industry's must-read cybersecurity report.
    BusinessBusiness/Professional
    foreplay.ad · live_ad · 75% conf · 7/2/2026
  • Bumpbyamo
    Harta creată pentru prieteni🗺️
    App PageApp/Software
    foreplay.ad · live_ad · 75% conf · 7/2/2026

Amazon traction

Keepa · Jungle Scout · 1
  • Best BSR 15437 · 90d improvement -11%
    B0CRHTZQ18 · BSR #15,437B0CQZ3TTH2 · BSR #15,437B0F3PR74L5 · BSR #15,437
    keepa · amazon_bsr · 85% conf · 7/2/2026

Instagram

Apify · 1
  • @homiah: 2,118 followers
    Calisthenics hybrid athlete • Dive Master • Qualified Chef • Traveller • Work hard, Play harder. Mommy’s boy 😎❤️ — Koh Tao📍The world is yours!!!
    @homiah · 2,118 followers · 85 posts · avg engagement 157
    apify.instagram · social_followers · 85% conf · 7/2/2026

TikTok

Apify · 1
  • @homiah: 15 followers · 4 hearts · 5 videos
    @homiah · 15 followers · 4 hearts · 5 videos
    apify.tiktok · tiktok_followers · 80% conf · 7/2/2026

USPTO trademarks

USPTO TSDR · 0

No uspto trademarks signals captured.

Reddit organic

SerpAPI · reddit.com · 1

Google Trends

SerpAPI · google_trends · 1
  • Google Trends for "Homiah" — flat, avg90d 10, peak 100
    → slope flat · avg90d 10 · peak 100
    serpapi.trends · google_trends_brand · 70% conf · 7/2/2026

AI thesis

Claude Opus 4.7 · 1
  • WATCH. Homiah is a legitimate Malaysian/Nonya condiment brand (sambal chili crunch, curry pastes) founded by Michelle Tew, with real Whole Foods distribution and organic Reddit love in r/chilicrisp where it's repeatedly named a top chili crunch. However, traction signals are modest for a brand that's been in-market since ~2021: best Amazon BSR is #15,437 with a -11% 90-day trend (slight deceleration), IG only 2,118 followers (and the scraped handle @homiah appears to be a personal account — the
    verdict WATCH
    claude.synthesis · thesis · 80% conf · 7/2/2026
●Reading live from Supabase deal_flow · brand_id homiah · 15 signals on file.