While some people’s destinies are written in the stars, Kerry Tam’s was spelled out in noodles. Growing up in Markham, Tam spent his days at Mimigo, his parents’ noodle company, where he learned the skills and traditions that have shaped the company’s products for more than 25 years.
Since taking over in 2020, Tam has grown Mimigo from a 3,000-square-foot facility to a 15,000-square-foot location. It’s where you’ll find Tam as he leads the company in creating new products to meet the changing tastes and needs of its customers. Tam says Mimigo’s home in Markham is the perfect location for new product research and development.
“We have such diverse demographics here and many of our restaurant partners are all in very close proximity,” Tam says. “We’re able to do a lot of R&D to help make our products restaurant quality and then get that restaurant quality product into a retail shelf version so anybody can experience that quality at home.”
Being part of Markham’s small business community has additional advantages for Tam, who says it’s almost impossible to walk around town without running into a customer or partner. Tam and his wife were downtown recently when he ran into another entrepreneur in the food manufacturing and research space.
“We had a good impromptu chat. There are always these opportunities for conversations to come up with new ideas and continue growing,” he says. “Being able to work together has been a real blessing for us.”
The company’s growth goes beyond developing new products. Today, Mimigo ships its noodles across Canada, the U.S., and Europe. Tam says the key to the company’s success is found in its people.
“It's tough because nobody goes to school saying they want to make noodles,” he says with a laugh, “I found a lot of success developing talent from the ground up, just like how I learned.”
In addition to investing in its people, Mimigo also invests in technology to improve efficiency and quality.
“We’ve had a robotic area in our kitchen since 2021, it’s a technology you’re starting to see out in restaurants now. We also have AI that can detect quality control issues,” Tam says.
Tam’s leadership hasn’t gone unnoticed. The Association of Chinese Canadian Entrepreneurs (ACCE) recognized him with the 2025 Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award in April and the Markham Board of Trade recognized him with a Top 40 Under 40 award in July.
“It’s been a whirlwind, with COVID, inflation, and challenges today with tariffs,” Tam says. “But, the good thing is that, at the end of the day, people have to eat. We work to make sure all our products are as nutritious and cost-efficient as possible. We want the food you eat to be good for the body and mind.”
For Tam, the future of Mimigo is about more than noodles. It’s being intentional with decisions to carry forward a family legacy while building something new for the next generation.
“That's the only way that we can grow,” Tam says. “We're not a multi billion dollar international company. We're a growing small business working to understand the market, our customers, and our partners to see what makes sense for us.”
