The brand that broke ChatGPT's 0% barrier

Executive Summary

• Brand: Premium Sichuan chili crisp and condiments, DTC plus Whole Foods, Target, and Costco, $15 flagship
• AI visibility score: 41/150 tests surfaced the brand (27%)
• The pattern: The highest AI visibility in the audit set, driven by category-defining cultural status rather than product data
• Key competitor gap: Lao Gan Ma is the undisputed category default, but Fly By Jing owns the "premium Sichuan" positioning
• Root cause for remaining gaps: 67-word flagship description, single "Verishop" tag with zero discovery value, 2 of 3 products returning 404
• Fix complexity: Low-medium — the brand power is doing the work; product data improvements would unlock significantly more

The brand

Fly By Jing is a direct-to-consumer food brand specialising in Sichuan-inspired condiments, sauces, and pantry staples. Founded by Jing Gao, the brand launched with its flagship Sichuan Chili Crisp and expanded into dumplings, spice mixes, and a broader range of sauces. The brand is built on the founder's personal story and a mission to bring authentic Sichuan flavours to Western kitchens.

The positioning is premium, founder-led, Sichuan-authentic. Where Lao Gan Ma is the mass-market default and Momofuku is the chef-celebrity entry, Fly By Jing positions as the artisan original — small-batch, Chengdu-crafted, all-natural, vegan, no preservatives. The brand has achieved significant DTC and retail scale, available at Whole Foods, Target, and Costco. Estimated revenue in the tens of millions.

The test

We ran 150 automated browser-based tests using Playwright — 10 repeats × 5 queries × 3 platforms (ChatGPT, Gemini, Copilot). Queries targeted Fly By Jing's core positioning: best chili crisp, Sichuan-style hot sauce, spicy condiment for noodles, unique food gift for spice lovers, and best Asian-inspired hot sauce brands.

The results

Fly By Jing broke ChatGPT's 0% barrier. Across the entire audit series, ChatGPT has been a near-total blind spot for DTC brands. FBJ achieves 18% on ChatGPT — not dominant, but unprecedented. Something about FBJ's cultural presence has penetrated ChatGPT's training data in a way other DTC brands cannot.

Gemini treats FBJ as the Sichuan category answer. On the Sichuan-specific query, Gemini surfaced FBJ in 9 out of 10 runs (90%). It describes FBJ as "The Premium Choice" with specific ingredient detail — Erjingtiao chilies and hand-picked Sichuan peppercorns. On the broad Asian hot sauce query, Gemini positions FBJ as the brand that "popularised Sichuan flavors in the West."

The query funnel effect is dramatic. Generic "spicy condiment" (0%) → "chili crisp" (43%) → "Sichuan hot sauce" (53%). As queries narrow to FBJ's specific positioning, visibility spikes. This is category ownership in action.

The gift query is a blind spot. Despite chili crisp being a popular gift item, only 1/30 tests surfaced FBJ for the gift query. No gift-specific tags, no gift set structured data, no "perfect gift for" language in descriptions.

Why this is happening

The ChatGPT breakthrough comes from cultural penetration, not product data. FBJ's product data is weak — a single generic tag, 67-word descriptions, 404 errors on product URLs. What FBJ has is cultural cachet. The brand has been featured in the New York Times, Bon Appetit, and major food media. It has become synonymous with the chili crisp movement the way Sriracha became synonymous with hot sauce.

The flagship description is 67 words. The Sichuan Chili Crisp description communicates brand personality and dietary claims but misses the ingredient story — Tribute Peppers, Erjingtiao chilies, Sichuan peppercorns — that is the brand's strongest differentiator. Ironically, AI agents already cite these ingredients when recommending FBJ, drawing from editorial sources rather than the product page.

Tags have zero discovery value. The single tag on the flagship product is "Verishop" — a marketplace syndication tag. No tags for flavour profile, dietary attributes, use case, or cuisine type.

Trustpilot is unclaimed. 0.0/5 with 21 reviews. While the impact may be limited given FBJ's strong on-site reviews (4.9/5) and Amazon presence (4.5 stars, 10K+ reviews), an unclaimed Trustpilot with 0.0 is a liability.

What Fly By Jing could do, in priority order

Phase 1 (quick wins):

• Fix the product URL structure — 2 of 3 tested products returned 404 errors
• Replace the "Verishop" tag with discovery attributes: flavour (spicy, numbing, sichuan, mala), dietary (vegan, sugar-free, no-preservatives), cuisine (sichuan, chinese), use case (condiment, dipping-sauce, stir-fry, noodles, dumplings)
• Claim the Trustpilot profile

Phase 2 (medium effort):

• Expand the flagship description with ingredient storytelling — add the Tribute Peppers, Erjingtiao chilies, and Sichuan peppercorns that AI agents already cite from editorial sources
• Make the product type more specific — "Sauce" loses the chili crisp distinction; "Sichuan Chili Crisp" would feed directly into shopping queries
• Add use case context: "best condiment for noodles", "spicy dipping sauce for dumplings"

Phase 3 (longer term):

• Create gift-specific product pages or bundles with appropriate tags
• Build comparison content: "Fly By Jing vs Lao Gan Ma", "Fly By Jing vs Momofuku"
• Defend the Sichuan positioning — continue reinforcing the Chengdu origin and mala flavour profile as competitors enter the space

Close

Fly By Jing proves something important: cultural penetration can break through AI platforms in a way that product data alone cannot. But it also shows the ceiling. 27% visibility with weak product data is impressive. 27% with comprehensive tags, specific product types, and structured ingredient data could be transformative. FBJ's case proves that brand awareness gets you in the door — product data determines how many rooms you can enter.