Nona Lim

 

Nona Lim brings her favorite dishes from her childhood in Singapore to the Bay Area through her meal delivery service in Oakland. As a former professional athlete, Lim is passionate about the way food can act as preventative medicine. She wanted to share anti-inflammatory, nutritious and convenient meals via a meal-delivery service in her community.

When she didn’t have the funds to get her idea off the ground, Lim needed backing from a bank that believed in her mission. When she approached Beneficial State Bank, the bank was eager to support Lim’s vision, and she’d soon launched her eponymous meal-delivery service, Nona Lim, in Oakland. 

Beneficial State Bank really tries to understand its customers and the story behind its customers. It’s not just about our balance sheet and our P & L, but it’s also about our mission, our vision, the quality and character of the people. When Beneficial State Bank and other banks are willing to take a risk outside of those qualitative criteria, that’s when they make a huge difference.

~ Nona Lim, Founder and CEO

From there, her business grew to a line of packaged, whole-food, nutrient-dense offerings, including bone broths, soups and fresh Asian noodles. “As a startup we had very limited resources, so we definitely had to get creative,” Lim says. The company has established relationships with local farms and like-minded purveyors. For example, Nona Lim sources tofu through its Oakland neighbors at Hodo Soy Beanery, organic zucchini from the third-generation family-run Dwelley Farms, and whole-milled varieties of flour from Community Grains.

Today, Nona Lim’s line of products can be found on grocery store shelves across the country. “When businesses are run with integrity, it should make the world a better place,” Lim says. “It means that we are treating everyone fairly—we’re taking care of the people we work with, we’re taking care of the environment, we’re taking care of the customers,” says Lim. “All of that is good for business, and it’s part of making the world a better place.”