Lawrence Wu

BS marketing and entrepreneurship '14

Lawrence Wu '14 is in the middle of a Kickstarter campaign that will not only help him launch WUJU, his unique brand of hot sauce, but also allow him to support a cause that is extremely significant to him.

"For every $10,000 I raise through my WUJU Kickstarter, I will donate $500 to Drexel to go toward the University's partnership with Hope Lodge in Philadelphia," says Wu.

The American Cancer Society has a number of Hope Lodges around the country, which provide cancer patients and their caregivers a free place to stay when their best hope for effective treatment is far away from home.

Drexel has a unique partnership with the AstraZeneca Hope Lodge in Philadelphia through which the Drexel Food Lab - an interdisciplinary student research group - offers monthly cooking classes and quarterly community dinners for cancer patients and their caregivers.

"I knew I wanted to do something like this, but I didn't know how I could organically combine my hot sauce business and my desire to give back," says Wu. "This partnership with Drexel and Hope Lodge is perfect. I'm so glad we were able to make this happen."

The fight against cancer is very personal for Wu. His mother and cousin are both battling the disease, and he lost his good friend, Cody, to cancer in November. A dedication to his friend can be found on each bottle, and the WUJU labels are actually inspired by a photograph of Cody looking off into the sunset.

Cody never let cancer stop him and he always did everything 100%," says Wu. "The way he took on life really inspired me and put things into perspective for me."

Wu continued, "Every day I see my mom's fight. Mentally, there is just so much for patients and their caregivers to worry about, and that's why something like Hope Lodge is so amazing."

To date, Wu's Kickstarter has already raised over $50,000.

Wu hopes that a successful campaign will allow him to develop new products and increase his credibility with distributors, restaurants and grocery stores in order to get WUJU in the hands of their customers.

"I started WUJU with one intention in mind - to redefine the hot sauce world," says Wu. "Most hot sauces today focus solely on heat, but WUJU is very different. It is the perfect blend of heat and sweet."

Support WUJU hot sauce and Drexel's partnership with Hope Lodge through Wu's Kickstarter campaign. Donations will be accepted until Monday, Sept. 14.