Pivot, Don't Panic: Growing a Restaurant Into a Multi-Channel Brand

Made Locally · Jul 9, 2026 · 40m

What if the key to building a resilient business isn't sticking to your original plan, but knowing when to reinvent it? In this episode of Made Locally, host Rahul Jaswa sits down with Maiko Kyogoku, founder of Bessou, to explore how she transformed a single Japanese restaurant into a diversified food brand by staying committed to her mission while continuously adapting her business model.

Growing up as the daughter of Japanese immigrants in New York, Maiko always believed food had the power to create belonging. That philosophy became the foundation of Bessou, originally launched as a…