A new mochi brand born in San Diego is putting a health-conscious spin on the traditional Japanese treat, swapping refined sugar for monk fruit and packing each bite with pumpkin seed protein and chicory root fiber. Made for MeiMei, created by Jacob Chen, is a line of low-sugar, high-protein and high-fiber mochi now landing on local shelves and in cafes across the county.
The brand's base recipe leans on rice flour and coconut milk as its primary ingredients, according to San Diego Magazine. Monk fruit provides the sweetness, chicory root fiber adds bulk, and organic pumpkin seed protein rounds out the nutritional profile — all standing in for the sugar-heavy formulas typically found in American-style mochi. Flavors currently include ube, matcha, red bean, black sesame, peanut butter and jelly, and chocolate hazelnut, per the same outlet's reporting.
Where to Find It Around San Diego
Made for MeiMei is currently sold online as well as in person at Easy Does It Cafe and Bodega Market, the magazine reports. Chen has plans to expand into more local grocery stores and cafes, with an eventual goal of reaching national retail shelves, though the timeline for that broader rollout has not been detailed.
Fans of the brand will have two chances to try it in the coming weeks. Made for MeiMei products are set to appear at Embolden Beer Company's Taste of Shogun event in San Diego this Sunday, September 27, and again at an Organic Oren pop-up on October 5, according to San Diego Magazine's reporting.
Mochi Gets a Culinary Glow-Up
The brand has also branched into a handful of specialty collaborations that push mochi beyond its usual form. Made for MeiMei teamed up with The Clovery on a funfetti chantilly cream dip mochi, worked with Mon Chourie on a strawberry daifuku cream puff, and partnered with An's Dry Cleaning on a mochi-wrapped gelato, the magazine notes.
Traditionally, mochi is derived from mochigome, a special short-grain rice, and holds a place of honor in Japan as a dessert served to celebrate the New Year. American-style versions have tended to skew sweeter, often showing up as mochi ice cream rather than the ceremonial treat of its origins — context San Diego Magazine included in framing Chen's approach as a departure from the norm. Chen has described Made for MeiMei as the first better-for-you mochi, and told the magazine that mochi is just the beginning for the brand.
A Business Built Around Giving Back
Chen's connection to food started young — he has said he began cooking as a way to spend time with his mother, a detail that traces back to the origin story he shared with San Diego Magazine. His path since then has included time working in rehabilitation clinics and volunteering at San Quentin in California, experiences that appear to inform the causes Made for MeiMei now supports financially.
The brand donates portions of its proceeds to three organizations: Border Angels, which works to reduce fatalities of people crossing the United States-Mexico border; Second Chance San Diego, which helps formerly incarcerated people find steady employment; and the Immigrant Defenders Law Center. That last group describes itself as California's largest nonprofit deportation defense law firm, providing free legal aid to community members affected by the immigration system, according to Immigrant Defenders Law Center's own site.
Made for MeiMei isn't the only entrant in the growing protein-mochi space — an Indiana University student has spent time developing a separate brand called Muscle Mochi, according to the Indiana Daily Student, and recipe creators elsewhere have published their own high-protein takes on the dessert. But for now, San Diego shoppers looking for the low-sugar version have just two local storefronts and a pair of upcoming pop-ups to check it out in person.
