After spending more than a decade in finance as a CPA working for one of the Big 4 accounting firms and a large Canadian bank, Charlene decided to pursue lifelong creative and entrepreneurial aspirations.

She co-founded EATABLE™️ in 2019 together with her husband Vincent Li. Their journey began while the pair was living in Boston, and their desire to find a community in a new city led them to nurture a lifelong passion for food at a local commercial kitchen. When a unique Whisky-infused caramel popcorn they'd been making in their own kitchen for years ended up winning in a pitch competition, EATABLE was born.

Since their launch in 2019, EATABLE's unique line of wine and spirits infused gourmet popcorn has been enjoyed by Chefs, Sommeliers, Celebrities and picky toddlers alike. EATABLE popcorn is sold in 1600+ retail doors in Canada and USA.

Charlene is a self-taught marketer with a specialization in e-Commerce who has managed to grow a "bootstrapped" direct-to-consumer (DTC) brand from $0 to $1MM+ in just over 3 years.

Since the humble beginnings from our home kitchen to our own production facility, I drove growth through e-Commerce channels during the global pandemic, and expanded our retail footprint to over 1600+ high end specialty retailers across Canada and USA.

Charlene has been recognized as NACO 30 Women Entrepreneurs of 2024, Markham Board of Trade’s Top 40 Under 40 Entrepreneurs (2024), a Top 5 finalist for the Mompreneur’s 2020 Startup Award, and nominated as "One to Watch" in 2021's Women of Influence Awards.