When you think of big box stores with global reach, e.g. Walmart, the name Walton should come to mind. The Lay family has come to dominate the potato chips industry. And Milton S. Hershey and crew are the people behind what has now become a chocolate dynasty (though the lion’s share of the cocoa used to make chocolate comes from the Ivory Coast, West Africa).
Lindbergh and Kim Williams want their name and business, Jinka Premium LLC, to have that kind of global reach. The Houston-area duo have been in business together for eight years selling Jinka, a turmeric-based, all-natural, anti-inflammatory product with a wide array of health benefits.
Lindbergh created Jinka as a way to fight back against the diabetes diagnosis Kim received. Not only did Kim receive the “healed” stamp of approval from her doctor after using her husband’s creation, countless others who tried the product shared with the couple a laundry list of testimonies, convincing the Williams they had a product that could both sell and help people simultaneously.
Currently, Jinka can be found at over 40 H-E-Bs, with major expansion coming soon. But the couple has their sights set on even higher heights: global expansion.
The Defender spoke with the married couple about the ins and outs of being business owners and their growth aspirations.
DEFENDER: What the heck is Jinka?
LINDBERGH: Jinka is a health and wellness herbal modality that focuses on the human condition by focusing on the mind, body and spirit. It’s a product that consists of eight roots and herbs, designed to release and reduce inflammation in every organ in the body.
DEFENDER: Where is this product made—California, Mexico, China?
LINDBERGH: Right here in Houston, Texas. Yes sir.
KIM: The goal for us is to keep the manufacturing. This is the long game for us. We have a lot of people that talk to us about the business and they see where it’s going and they instantly start talking about selling and what we can do, and all the things. What we know is, we’re creating something for our family. So, once you’re in the grocery store, you see Hines Ketchup and Kellogg’s. Those are last names. We’re going for that, and that space. And Williams is a last name too.
DEFENDER: So, it sounds like your long game is taking over the world.
KIM: Healing and helping the world feel better. That’s the goal. The game right now is to continue to learn. We’re really, really new in this.
LINDBERGH: And coming to the understanding early on researching that these ketchup companies are in over 200-something countries, and their food requirement or restriction is not even close to what we have. We have 100% food. So, we’re looking at being able to be putting 100% food products for functional food markets—food products that actually help heal the body. That’s the market we’re looking at really exploding in.
KIM: So, the current plan is to do Texas. We’re currently in 40 locations here with H-E-B. We’ll be moving to about another 140 in the next quarter. Also, in the next couple days, we’ll be live on the Military Exchange website and we’ll be going into AAFES (Army & Air Force Exchange Service)—30 air force bases. And there’s thousands that we could grow to. And being available to help share what we know with other people. Our personal family goal is to sew into 20 other families like ours. We know that this information isn’t really out there. So, we want to share that. I feel a lot of us, a lot of our culture, we’ve created most things that are currently in the grocery store. So, all those things people have in the refrigerator and the little mason jar whipped up, their little creams and gravies, and the aunt that makes the best pumpkin pie and all those things; those are products. We want to teach and share how this can happen.
DEFENDER: Why is it important to you two to do things 100% in-house?
LINDBERGH: When you’re looking at these companies that you outsource your products to, and hoping that they have your best interest at hand, they can use lower-end products and it won’t have the same outcome. And you’ll be taking a loss and driving your customers away because you can’t guarantee them the 100% that you’re promoting. And our goal is also to build our warehouse to where we have other people that have products that we can help get on shelves. Help produce the product. Help bring it to market. Help label it. Johnson & Johnson has been doing it for years. They will partner with a company, bring a company up, and there it is, another generation has been saved from tyranny. Because, that’s what’s going on now. It’s not a middle class. That’s cut out. Either you making it or you’re not. And, we would like to be on the side where we’re making it, because now we’re able to empower other people.
DEFENDER: Any advice for folk who want to get in business?
KIM: Yes. Start. When it comes to products, make it, give it away, sample it. Ask to share it at a friend’s birthday party. Get it in people’s mouths and their hands so they can give you some feedback. I think there’s a season of birthdays and Thanksgiving and Christmas and holidays that you should be able to share and get some feedback concerning your product. And then, I say the best thing to do is pay for a mentor, off the rip. Today, information is out here.
LINDBERGH: Not a coach.
KIM: No. A mentor. I think today information is out here. And as a culture, I believe we’re already too many years behind. We shouldn’t allow someone to have to catch up with us. We’re looking to bring people here with us so we can all go up. That’s extremely important. We don’t have any space to not share.
LINDBERGH: Find the need. Fill a need. That was on old cartoon, back in the day and it resonates so great today. Find the need, fill a need. You’ll never be broke.
DEFENDER: Can you tell me how Jinka and your business is a prime example of Black resistance?
LINDBERGH: Dealing with the state of health that we are in, trying to create a product or a line of products that will help get us off this medicine that’s killing us. We had a lady who gave us a testimony last year. She came off of 19 medications in 12 months. We could talk for an hour and a half on all the things that Jinka helped her with. But looking at the outcome of her not being sick. She can think better. She can do more for her family. We can get on a straight path and we are not dealing and battling different illnesses. And even trying to pay for the pills. We go broke trying to just pay for the medicine to keep us alive. We have a product that could reduce the health issues. You can get back to a fully functioning life. And that’s our goal.
KIM: Ownership. We don’t own a lot of things. We definitely don’t manufacture a lot of things. So, to us, it’s ownership, it’s manufacturing, it’s having a vision that could shift some things for us. And that is all ownership. And that’s us being able to push through the hard times. Not sell when someone comes waving a million-dollar check in your face. Because they do. And that’s not always easy to walk away from. And as a culture, we always have feelings about it when companies do have to take that check. But instead of having a feeling about it, we should all support. We should support so we don’t have that feeling.
LINDBERGH: The mantra is “build and sell,” “build and sell.” Coca-Cola never sold. Sprite, Sam’s, none of them had to sell.
KIM: So, resistance is doing our own thing. Owning something, taking care of our own self. I don’t believe we should expect people that oppressed us to lift us out of our oppression. And so, to me, that only comes to ownership.
