Meet Freya Pan | Sommelier, Founder of Somm Copy Co. & Writer for Somm Copy Co

We had the good fortune of connecting with Freya Pan and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Freya, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
I have been in the restaurant industry for 13 years, and witnessed the scene change a lot after COVID-19.

Businesses that used to be profitable suddenly lost touch with their customer base and struggled to recover. Due to the digitalization of nearly everything during the pandemic, effective marketing changed for restaurants. Most consumer-based businesses saw a need for social media promotion, let alone restaurants.

The problem was that most social media managers SUCKED.

They overcharged for content that was tacky, generic and lacked passion. Advertisements are supposed to make money, and too many restaurants were losing money rather than making it.

I decided that with my passion for food (from my restaurant background), my love for tasting (from my wine background, both as a sommelier at both Ariete and Lucky Cat by Gordon Ramsay and as the former President of Florida International University’s Wine Guild), as well as my skills for copywriting, I could create some killer advertising for hospitality businesses. So I combine social media with copywriting and passion for hospitality to create Somm Copy Co.

As I was practicing and having fun with writing restaurant and wine copy, I also rediscovered my love for researching trends and analyzing business plans, as I actually studied three years of International Business and Marketing before graduating with my Bachelors in Hospitality Management.

I realized that I did not want to just write “killer advertisement.” I wanted to revolutionize the scene entirely.

No more asking small businesses to pay ridiculous salaries to social media managers for average content and account growth. No more “not understanding the food you’re posting about” and unthoughtful captions.

This would be helpful to small businesses especially, which is the community in which I’d like to uplift most.

What should our readers know about your business?
My business was created out of my distain for the current social media marketing scene for restaurants.

Most social media managers have no love, let alone understanding for food, but as the world changed after COVID-19, many businesses started employing mediocre social media managers and doing their business more harm than good.

When I recognized these issues, I knew I was not expert enough in terms of palate and marketing experience, so I held off on starting the business until I completed my degree in Hospitality Management at the Florida International University and worked for Michelin Star Ariete and Lucky Cat by Gordon Ramsay as a sommelier to train my palate.

Finally, after years of preparation, training on food and beverage knowledge, researching and interacting with the market first hand, I created Somm Copy Company, which passionately markets restaurants and wine businesses.

Starting the business was not easy. It’s hard to admit, but I was at an all time low in my personal life, but I had to much fire in me to answer my calling, so I did it anyway.

Throughout this time, God tested me nearly everyday. I got into multiple car accidents (once, I wasn’t even in the car), my apartment started molding (I had to throw nearly everything I owned away and start over), finances were tough (I even went into debt for a short amount of time) and I was going through a break up. Still, something in me told me to keep pushing. I continued to network and secure deals with a smile on my face. I felt so isolated from my friends and family because I did not want anyone to worry about me. My mental health was at an all time low. It was not easy, but everyday I told myself,

“It’s easy, just smile like you usually do. You have the skillset, the experience and most importantly, the heart.”

I did not feel “like I usually do.” But I had to fake it until I was okay again.

Along this journey, I have learned so many lessons. People that I thought knew me and believed in me made fun of me. A lot of those people were close to me, too. It really hurt me. But hurt often comes with lessons to learn. I learned to guard my heart better and be careful with whom I shared my dreams and ambitions with.

If there is one thing I’d like the world to know about my business, it would be my mission: to bring power to mom and pop businesses. I’d like for small restaurant owners to know that the girl who started working in her parents’ Chinese restaurant before she graduated elementary school because she wanted to be helpful has grown up. She has grown up to be strong so she can uplift her community and give back.

I will never forget my roots and the reason I started everything. For all the small business owners out there, I am sure it is the same for them. Let us stand strong against the challenges life has to offer us and continue to rise!

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I enjoy slower entertainment which Miami has to offer like Frost, Paradox and Perez museums. I would take the girls for activities such as museums and wine and cheese at the beach.

My best friends are also all foodies. I would most definitely take them to Boia De, Krus Kitchen and of course, my prior jobs, Ariete and Lucky Cat by Gordon Ramsey.

Dinner is a concept and we can have multiple dinners a night, it is something my friends and I have done before.

To cap off the nights, I would go to Lagniappe for live jazz and some more wine, as well as Bar Kaiju for well crafted cocktails.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
There are just too many people who have uplifted me and encouraged me to build my business.

First, I’d like to thank a very dear mentor, Eric Hemer.

Eric is a man who has passed both the Master Sommelier and Master of Wine Exams. Only four people in history have achieved what he has. When imagining a person like this, most will be intimidated, but Eric is one of the most genuine and caring human beings you will ever meet.

I know Eric because he was a professor of mine at the Florida International University.
After graduation, Eric continued to mentor me and noticed when post-graduate life started to take a toll on me. He pulled me out of a burn out and encouraged me to march onward with my dreams and ambitions.

When someone who has achieved such impossible things in this world to not only believe in me, but also uplift me is life changing.

With his guidance, I could not let myself give up.

The second person I’d like to thank is Bob Dickinson. Bob is the Chairman Emeritus of Camillus House. I also met Bob through FIU.

When I met Bob, I started going through what is commonly known as the “quarter life crisis.”
Bob took on the kind gesture of mentoring me through those dark times and strengthening my faith and spirituality. Now, my faith is so strong that I know I am nothing without it.
I thank Bob for offering his help to me and teaching me the power of trusting in God and recognizing myself as someone with a purpose in this lifetime.

Bob’s mentorship helped me with the mission, purpose and visualization of my business.

Last but not least, I’d like to thank my dear friend, Gabriel Saldaña.

Gabriel witnessed a very distressed version of me that struggled with self doubting thoughts.
When the Miami hospitality scene was in a distressing down season, I wanted to work a second job.

It was then that Gabriel told me that I could utilize the slow season to build something for myself rather than put more labor into another sommelier role.

Having a friend by my side to tell me to not be afraid and try out new things made all the difference for me.

Without the support of my community, from mentors, friends and family, I would not be where I am today. It sounds cliche, but it’s true. A business is brought up by its community.

Website: https://www.sommcopywriter.com

Instagram: @sommcopy

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/freya-pan-2145031a5

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61562035023268

Image Credits
Images include my upbringing in a restaurant, time serving the FIU Wine Guild, Celebration photos with Master Sake Sommelier Guilherme de Macedo and Marketing coordinator Zara Rudolph, Celebration of Master of Wine and Master Sommelier, Eric Hemer, Nami Sake Event with Sommelier Aixa Martinez Zuviria.