EAGG Meets Yee Kwan Chan, Founder of Yee Kwan Ice Cream & Adventures

Yee Kwan Chan, Founder of Yee Kwan Ice Cream and Adventures

⁠EAGG could not be more excited to meet the actual creator of their #1 favourite ice cream!

Yee Kwan is a premium brand inspired by Yee Kwan Chan's East Asian heritage and love of ice cream. Born and raised in Sheffield, she grew up in her family’s Chinese takeaway before qualifying as a Chartered Surveyor. In 2008, Yee left her corporate career to launch her own business, debuting with Harvey Nichols in Knightsbridge and later securing investment from Deborah Meaden on Dragons’ Den.

Today, Yee works with the UK Government’s Department for Business & Trade to champion British food exports, while her award-winning ice cream can be found nationwide at Wagamama, Giggling Squid, Banana Tree, Zizzi, and Japan Centre, with exports to Dubai and China. At its heart, Yee Kwan Ice Cream remains a family-run business, built on innovation, resilience, and the values of community and heritage.

Ice cream! East Asian flavours! Walk us through that lightbulb moment.

It all began on a cold winter’s night in Sheffield in 2008. I was at home with my husband Anthony and my sister-in-law, reminiscing about our honeymoon and travels across Southeast Asia. We were talking about the incredible food and cultures we’d experienced — and that’s when I had my lightbulb moment: to create ice cream inspired by East Asian flavours.

Food has always been central to our lives. Both Anthony and I are children of the British Chinese restaurant and takeaway trade — we grew up in the kitchens, watching our parents cook and serve the local community. Holidays to Hong Kong to visit family introduced us to new flavours and traditions, giving us a strong sense of cultural pride.

Ice cream, meanwhile, was part of my childhood joy: knickerbocker glories at the local parlour, mint choc chip at Baskin Robbins after dim sum in Leeds, and chasing the ice cream van down the street before it pulled away. I wanted to combine that nostalgia with the authentic flavours of my heritage.

We started from scratch with no industry experience, building a small factory, creating recipes, and designing our own branding. Our very first prestigious client was Harvey Nichols, who exclusively launched Yee Kwan Ice Cream in their Knightsbridge store as a premium brand. That moment gave me the confidence to keep going.

some of the delicious flavours found in Yee Kwan's ice creams

Beyond the amazing flavours, what is the thing about your company that makes you most proud?

I’m proud that Yee Kwan Ice Cream is a true family business. Like many typical Chinese families, everyone plays their part — our three young children help out, and extended family step in to make sure we always meet our ice cream production targets. It’s very much a team effort, built on the values we grew up with.

Business-wise, there have been so many highlights: winning investment from Deborah Meaden on Dragons’ Den, securing a nationwide listing with Wagamama, exporting containers of ice cream and sorbets to Dubai and China, and, of course, that very first launch at Harvey Nichols.

I’m also proud of our flavours — our matcha green tea and black sesame have won awards and are now featured on many of the UK’s leading Japanese restaurant menus. Those moments prove that authenticity and innovation can create something truly special.

Tell us a bit about growing up in the U.K and what your experience of that has been?

Both Anthony and I grew up in takeaway families in the UK during the 80s. Our parents worked incredibly hard, and we spent our childhoods helping out in the kitchens, answering phones, or serving customers. We also experienced racism, both at school and through the business, which sadly was common at that time.

But what we took from that was resilience and determination. Watching our parents’ work ethic and the sacrifices they made instilled in us the values that still drive us today.

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And as a parent, what kind of cultural landscape do you hope your children inherit?

It’s so important to us that our children are proud of their Chinese heritage. We want them to understand our culture, language, and traditions, and to feel a part of the local Chinese community — just as we did when visiting relatives in Hong Kong.

At the same time, we want them to feel confident embracing their British identity too. They don’t need to choose between the two cultures; being British-Chinese is a strength. They should grow up knowing there are no barriers to what they can achieve.

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The East Asian Girl Gang is all about shared cultural and ethnic heritage. What does it mean to you and why did you join?

I’m proud of my roots — and of what both my parents and Anthony’s parents built through sheer hard work. Their businesses were not just about food, but about community, and those values have stayed with us.

For me, joining East Asian Girl Gang is about connection and sisterhood. It’s about building friendships, supporting one another, and celebrating the experiences we share as East Asian women in the UK.

some scrumptious recipe ideas from the website

What does the future look like for Yee Kwan Ice Cream — and for Yee Kwan?

The future is exciting. We now work with distributors across the UK and have developed a reputation for innovating quickly, creating products for our clients.

Personally, my focus is on continuing to grow as a business leader while staying rooted in my values — family, resilience, and heritage. And, most importantly, inspiring my children to dream big, work hard, and take pride in who they are.

https://yeekwan.com/