Badass Women in Business

From Pathology to Purpose: Angela Zeng on Building Karviva and Bringing Ancient Wisdom to Modern Wellness

Aggie & Cristy Season 4 Episode 44

Send us a text

Angela Zeng, PhD, MBA, is the founder and CEO of Karviva, an award-winning wellness beverage company that blends Traditional Chinese Medicine with modern nutritional science. A pathologist by training, Angela immigrated from China to the U.S., built her own factory in St. Louis when co-packers couldn’t support her unique formulations, and has since carved out a space in the competitive natural food and beverage industry. In this episode of Badass Women in Business, she shares her story of resilience, cultural heritage, and the relentless pursuit of quality. Angela opens up about facing bias as a woman of color in business, the importance of educating consumers, and why she believes food is the best medicine. Her journey is both inspiring and practical for anyone looking to build something meaningful while staying true to their values.

Show Notes
In this conversation, Angela Zeng discusses:

  • Her early fascination with Traditional Chinese Medicine and how it shaped her entrepreneurial vision
  • Transitioning from pathology and pharmaceutical research into launching her own wellness beverage company
  • Why she built her own production facility instead of outsourcing to co-packers
  • Challenges of entering the U.S. market with products rooted in Eastern medicine
  • Navigating systemic bias in funding and retail as a woman and immigrant founder
  • The importance of consumer education in driving health-focused innovation
  • Lessons on resilience, rejection, and thinking outside the box when scaling a CPG brand
  • Advice for entrepreneurs on staying aligned with their mission while adapting to market realities

Guest Contact


---

Subscribe and Review
If you loved this episode, drop us a review, share it with a badass woman in your life, and subscribe to Badass Women in Business wherever you get your podcasts.

Stay badass. Stay bold. Build it your way.

Keep up with more content from Aggie and Cristy here:


People on this episode

Podcasts we love

Check out these other fine podcasts recommended by us, not an algorithm.

We Can Do Hard Things Artwork

We Can Do Hard Things

Treat Media and Glennon Doyle
Financial Feminist Artwork

Financial Feminist

Her First $100K | YAP Media