LA-based Taiwanese singer Jeffrey Kung may have largely stepped away from the entertainment scene, but the 45-year-old has been busy building a very different career.
Over the past decade, Jeffrey, the 76th-generation descendant of Confucius, has been growing coconut water brand Real Coco, which he co-founded with his sister, The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star Crystal Kung Minkoff, in 2012.
It is now the second largest coconut water brand in the US, and Jeffrey is reportedly worth more than NT$100mil (S$4.3mil).
But the road to success was anything but smooth.
In a recent interview with Taiwan’s United Daily News (UDN), Jeffrey revealed that he came close to bankruptcy several times while building the business.
The toughest period came during the pandemic, when shipping containers carrying his products were stranded at sea for six months.
To make matters worse, a major client suddenly cancelled orders for dozens of containers, leaving his company on the brink of a cash flow crisis.
“Running a business requires even thicker skin than being an artiste,” he said. “Every day is about solving problems. Life is just one problem after another.”
Jeffrey said the biggest reality check after leaving showbiz was realising that nobody cared who he was.
“When I was an artiste, people naturally respected you because of your status. But when you’re doing business in Europe or the US, nobody cares who you are,” he said.
He recalled showing up to meetings in a T-shirt, shorts and a necklace, only to be met with sceptical looks from potential business partners, making him realise that his celebrity status meant absolutely nothing in the business world.
The experience also forced Jeffrey to reflect on the person he used to be.
He admitted that becoming famous at a young age made him “narcissistic” and “arrogant”.
“As an artiste, you’re constantly surrounded by people encouraging and praising you. After a while, you really start to think the world revolves around you,” he said.
It wasn’t until he repeatedly hit roadblocks in business that he truly learned humility, adding that the setbacks taught him to see things from other people’s perspectives, both at work and in his personal life.
In 2024, Jeffrey married Malaysian heiress and educator Eunice Jaymie Tan, 34. The couple held a lavish second wedding reception in Malaysia in April.