The ice cream store that I had passed countless times behind the Taikoo Li belonged to a high schooler—that was to my knowledge only a week before I was about the meet its founder—Milly Wang. Milly is a high schooler at Xicheng Experimental School who is about to start her senior year next semester. Jingkids first interviewed her when she first launched her business back in November. The ambitious (and unconventional) extracurricular activity for this high schooler really intrigued us and we absolutely had to learn more about her.
Her sedate and calm personality contrasted the neon decorations in her store, EIS Engelchen. As I sat down with Milly at a small table around the corner of her crowded shop, I still couldn’t believe that she did all of what I saw.
The first thing I wanted to know first was the story behind the creation of this brand. Milly said that it all started when the food served at her school’s cafeteria during breakfast hours did not satisfy the palates of herself and her friends. She did not want her friends to go hungry in the morning so she started to make oat cookies for students who stopped by the cafeteria for breakfast. “The [cafeteria]food served was very high sugar and oil, and it was very unhealthy, so it was unacceptable to myself and my friends” Milly stated, “so I wanted to create something that was healthy for my friends, so they will not go hungry in the morning. Then I started to make oat cookies and did that as my first business.” And from that love of great taste, an eye for seeing opportunities, and genuine drive and ambition put her on the path to creating her very own ice cream shop right in the middle of Beijing’s most sought-after real estate.
Milly’s ice cream business was a completely separate idea and process from making cookies for friends at school, but the goal was the same—to create healthier food options.
We often see ice cream as a food high in sugar and fat, but at EIS Engelchen, you can get completely vegan, gluten-free, and sugar-free options. “We are not selling a product, but the idea of a healthy lifestyle,” she tells Jingkids. I guess it won’t be too hard to kick off a healthy lifestyle with two scoops of ice cream, right?
When asked about her time management tactics with balancing her school work and work for the store, Milly shares how she prioritizes all her tasks and goals for each subject and tackles one goal at a time. She finished all of her academic exams and studies in tenth grade so she can now devote 100 percent of her energy and time into this business and her organization Health and Wellness, which she founded and revolves around the concept of promoting a healthy lifestyle through workshops and events. She started the organization along with her ice cream business when the shop started to make a profit so she could put part of her profit into the startup fund for her non-profit organization. She has set future goals for EIS Engelchen such as collaborating with hotels and restaurants and having it appear in supermarkets for an expanded market.
Through Health and Wellness, she works on promoting healthy lifestyles through food. Healthy and delicious recipes are taught to students during workshops at schools Milly collaborates with. After the food is made, all the products will be sold on online platforms and the proceeds from the sales go right back to the schools that the students study at, which Milly sees as a “wheel of kindness” for giving back to communities. Even the sale from every customer’s purchase at Milly’s ice cream shop includes a small portion that goes toward her non-profit for helping children.
Milly stated that she wants EIS Engelchen to be able to be seen in the U.S. market when she departs China for university. She sees the US market as one where citizens have become more and more conscious of their health and EIS Engelchen’s focus on how to make ice cream healthier and available for a bigger market with ingredients that are allergy-friendly perfectly aligns with customers there.
Looking back at the past year, Milly concludes that the year has been marked by numerous obstacles, but the EIS Engelchen Beijing team has overcome them with remarkable resilience and adaptability. She recalls that the main challenges were building a strong team connection and communication as the jobs of each team member is being assigned evidently to prevent misunderstandings and biases and to create harmony within the team.
Milly believed what was being exercised within the past year was the ability to handle unforeseen emergencies, such as delays with the import-export process. She recalled an incident that led to insufficient ice cream stock, but the team handled it by re-evaluating order timelines, leveraging technology for better inventory management, and informing customers about temporary changes, such as offering only beverages the following day. “This proactive approach ensures minimal disruption to our services and maintains customer trust,” Milly says. She also learned to emphasize the well-being of the employees as the employees are the top priority of the company. However, the intensity of their work can sometimes lead to feeling overwhelmed. As the founder, it is not only crucial to identify and address the mistakes but to also support her employees. By “fostering a culture of teamwork and shared challenges, we enhance morale and reinforce the spirit of collaboration,” the rising senior concludes.
So what does a high school entrepreneur do during the summer months? Milly will be spending time holding organization events and workshops. Milly hopes that she makes enough profit from her business so she can pay for college on her own – an ambitious goal that parents all over can appreciate and respect.
Seeing EIS Engelchen being such a huge success, of course, I had to ask for advice Milly has to give to teens who are about to start businesses, and she emphasized the importance of taking action. “People think a lot and that sometimes hinders our actions,” Milly says, “it is important to simply do what seems right to you”. She says that taking action is the only way to create a successful business, thus, getting caught up in thoughts and the anxiety of problems in the process can set back the actions. So if you have an idea that you want to implement, why don’t you start now?
Find it:
108, 1st floor, 1st floor, 43rd floor, North Sanlitun South, Chaoyang District (opposite Sanlian Bookstore)
朝阳区北三里屯南43楼一栋一层108（三联书店对面）
185 0117 0258
Inspired? We know we are! If you’re a teen with an incredible achievement, let us know! Get in touch with Mina Yan via email at minayan@beijing-kids.com or WeChat (ID: Wilhelmina87)
Images: Margaret Yang, Milly Wang
