Brands Built By Women: Miss Kim

Celebrating new and emerging brands built by women™ you'll want to know.

Since November 2025, we've been spotlighting the next generation of female-founded consumer brands and celebrating female entrepreneurship, showing that building a business is a real, viable career path for women from all walks of life, regardless of background, age, culture, or circumstance.

We started Mindful Brand to support women in succeeding in business - not just through what we do, but also through how we shop. We believe in a future where more seven-figure consumer brands are built by women, and we’re committed to helping make that vision a reality.

Deciding which businesses to support is a personal choice. If, like us, you prefer to champion female-founded brands, we hope you’ll join us.

Today, we’re featuring Miss Kim, founded by Heejin No in 2025 in the UK.

About the Brand

Miss Kim delivers the beauty and kindness of the Korean dream through food and culture. Starting with traditional Korean snacks, the brand offers beautifully made products that are naturally gluten-free, vegan, and whole food - without shouting about it.

Rooted in authenticity, thoughtful design, and care, Miss Kim is expanding into Korean pantry staples, bringing premium flavours and cultural storytelling to Western and non-Korean audiences in a modern, accessible way.

Meet the Founder

Heejin No is the founder of Miss Kim. Born and raised in Seoul, she studied Sculpture and History of Art in Korea, Museum Studies in Melbourne, and Art Business in London, where she has lived for over 20 years.

Since 2006, Heejin has worked as an independent art curator and advisor. A solo founder with no prior experience in FMCG or the food industry, she brings a consumer’s perspective and a curator’s eye to building Miss Kim.

How She Started

Miss Kim was born from both a personal desire and a sense of urgency. Heejin had long wanted to step outside the art world and challenge herself but hadn’t found the right opportunity.

After more than two decades living outside Korea, she felt access to truly good Korean food was incredibly limited. While Korean cuisine has grown in popularity, much of what’s available today fails to reflect its cultural depth or meet the needs of health-conscious consumers.

Driven by a desire to prevent Korean food and culture from being misunderstood, she set out to build Miss Kim.

What She Learned

Heejin has learned not to fear learning new things, to trust her instincts, and to embrace being a solo founder.

Early in her journey, a lack of confidence and industry knowledge led her to rely heavily on external opinions, which delayed her progress and resulted in costly missteps.

Now fully responsible for every decision, she finds the journey lighter, though still a little daunting. She feels grateful to ride the rollercoaster of building Miss Kim: fun, risky, and hopefully, safely thrilling.

Where to shop

Miss Kim is available at Selfridges; fashion and lifestyle stores such as Mira Mikati’s Happy House; and MINISO locations across the UK, including Belfast and Stansted Airport.

You can also find it at selected London delis and organic shops, including Panzer’s, Village Wholefoods, Eat17, The Fields N7, Laura’s Larder, and Drapers Lane Deli.

For more information visit www.misskim.co.uk.

Instagram: @misskimfood

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