# Christiana Luo

> Christiana Luo is the Vancouver-based co-founder and marketing and brand executive behind Big Way Hot Pot. Alongside co-founder Jack Yao, she helped turn a communal dining ritual into an individual, build-your-own format: guests select ingredients, pay by weight, choose a broth or dry mix, and receive a finished bowl from the kitchen. Public interviews show Luo concentrating on customization, transparent pricing, younger diners, and expansion from British Columbia into Ontario and California.

- **Role:** Co-founder and Chief Marketing Officer / Chief Brand Officer at Big Way Hot Pot
- **Organizations:** Big Way Hot Pot, Gloria Jean's Coffees
- **From:** Jiaxing, China
- **Known for:** Co-founded Big Way Hot Pot and helped develop its individual, build-your-own, pay-by-weight format., Helped guide the brand's expansion from British Columbia into Ontario and California., Named a 2026 Pacific finalist in EY Entrepreneur Of The Year Canada's brand-driven growth category alongside Jack Yao.

## Career timeline

- **Before 2021** — Luo and Jack Yao operated Gloria Jean's Coffees franchises in Melbourne, Australia.
- **2021-2022** — Co-founded Big Way Hot Pot in the Vancouver area; the company dates its founding to 2021 and its first restaurant opening to 2022.
- **2024** — Spoke publicly as co-founder and Chief Marketing Officer as Big Way prepared to expand from Metro Vancouver into the United States.
- **2025** — Led brand messaging around Big Way's first California location in Rowland Heights and subsequent Southern California growth.
- **2026** — Named a Pacific finalist in the brand-driven growth category of EY Entrepreneur Of The Year Canada alongside Jack Yao.

## Achievements

- Co-founded Big Way Hot Pot and helped develop its individual, build-your-own, pay-by-weight format.
- Helped guide the brand's expansion from British Columbia into Ontario and California.
- Named a 2026 Pacific finalist in EY Entrepreneur Of The Year Canada's brand-driven growth category alongside Jack Yao.
- Helped position Big Way for a 2026 strategic partnership in which Jiumaojiu increased its economic interest to 49 percent through a US$43 million transaction.

## Latest updates

- **2026-08** — EY listed Christiana Luo and Jack Yao as 2026 Pacific Entrepreneur Of The Year finalists in brand-driven growth.
- **2026-03** — Jiumaojiu reported a strategic partnership with Big Way and an additional US$43 million transaction that increased its economic interest in Big Way Group to 49 percent.
- **2025-10** — At Big Way's Monterey Park opening, Luo discussed the chain's Southern California customer mix, menu localization and four North American openings that month.
- **2025-07** — Luo represented Big Way at the opening of its first U.S. restaurant in Rowland Heights, California.

## Links

- Website: https://www.bigwayhotpot.com
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/christiana-luo-78119b293
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bigway.hotpot/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BigWayHotPot
- TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@bigwayhotpot

---

Profile page: https://yespress.io/christiana-luo
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-08-24