Home cooking is having a global moment — but not in the “homemade” sense. Today’s kitchens look more like test labs for food-curious creators chasing flavor with the precision of a seasoned chef and the scrollable drama of a sizzle reel. And Korean BBQ? It’s the gold standard. Rich, caramelized, craveable — but notoriously high-effort. RubRub’s betting that flavor shouldn’t come with a 24-hour marinade or a vent hood.
The LA-based startup, co-founded by chef Michael Pyon, is collapsing the Korean BBQ timeline into a 30-second prep. His background tracks — raised in a Korean family where every gathering revolved around food, he opened a restaurant at 21, and later wondered: why couldn’t that depth of flavor live in your spice drawer?
RubRub was the answer. A shelf-stable dry rub that acts like a glaze, it coats, cooks, and caramelizes in minutes. Not “inspired by” Korean BBQ — built from it. The Original Blend hits sweet and umami with garlic at the core. The Spicy Blend adds habanero heat. And now, a new Yuzu Blend is about to enter the chat — zippy, aromatic, and engineered for flavor layering.
But RubRub isn’t just launching a new SKU. It’s building a brand moment. For the Yuzu drop, they’ve partnered with Croft Alley in Beverly Hills to create an exclusive Korean BBQ Breakfast Burrito — sweet, smoky, and hyper-specific. It’s one thing to season a dish; it’s another to show up on a brunch menu in LA’s most curated zip code.
The bigger play? RubRub is staking out a space in the new cultural pantry — one where flavor isn’t regional, it’s rotational. Where Korean BBQ isn’t a genre night, it’s dinner on a Tuesday. And where spice rubs aren’t just ingredients — they’re cultural delivery systems.
