KESSHO's owners started crafting chocolate first, before producing gelato, because gelato is easier for people to consume at a larger volume, Liang said. (Katlynn Fox/Community Impact)
Liang Wang and Mark Huetsch shape Austin’s dessert scene by developing new flavor profiles for their locally made cookies, chocolate and gelato.
The context
Wang’s first introduction to the sweets industry was in 2009 when she and Huetsch started an American pie company in Beijing, China. For Wang, the goal was to bring American flavors to Chinese households. Now, with KESSHŌ, she strives to bring a mixture of Asian ingredients to Austinites.
After running the pie business for nearly a decade, Wang decided to study pastry and baking at Le Cordon Bleu in Tokyo. At school, her instructor inspired her to learn more about the chocolate-making process and ethical production.
Liang was born and raised in China, while her co-owner Mark Huetsch is from the Midwest. They both combine their favorite desserts and flavors to make new products, like the black sesame buttercups. (Katlynn Fox/Community Impact)
Diving in deeper
Wang and Huetsch officially launched KESSHŌ in 2019, before the pair relocated to Austin post-pandemic. The first food truck opened on South First Street in 2023, with KESSHŌ’s Burnet location launching in May 2025.
For dessert
It all starts with the Austin-made chocolate. All the brand’s chocolate is made at its central kitchen in South Austin, which is rare due to Texas’s notoriously hot weather.
Locals can find KESSHŌ's products at the trailers, or visit nearby stores such as Tiny Grocer and Central Market. (Katlynn Fox/Community Impact)
"It's not so easy, but we never regret making the decision [to come] here,” Wang said. “I really love the people here. However hot it is, we manage to ship chocolate [and] make gelatos.”
Chocolate flavors include the guava lime dark chocolate bar, jasmine yuzu dark milk chocolate bar and black sesame chocolate butter cups.
KESSHŌ also produces cookies, which are used to make ice cream sandwiches with signature gelato flavors. For gelato, patrons can choose between mango sticky rice, ube, banana shoyu or yuzu lemon cheesecake.
“We bake the cheesecake from scratch, and we cut the cookies into the gelato,” Wang said. “I'm a big believer in making things from scratch so that you know what you're actually using.”
What’s in a name
KESSHŌ means crystal in Japanese, signifying the crystalized structure of chocolate, Wang explained. The word also means fruit from hard labor, which pays homage to her family. Wang was born and raised in Beijing, while her grandma was born and raised in Japan.
“My grandma really inspired me to always be bold, to explore new things [and] to explore culture,” Wang said.
KESSHŌ has two locations, one located at South 1st Food Court, and another on Burnet Road, which opened last year. (Katlynn Fox/Community Impact)
Staying local
To celebrate Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, KESSHŌ will release a jasmine tea chocolate gelato in collaboration with West China Tea. The brand will also promote its ube horchata white chocolate.
“We want to celebrate both Hispanic and Asian culture,” Wang said.
Looking ahead
Also in May, KESSHŌ plans to collaborate with Fly By Jing, an Asian and women-owned chili crisp company, to create a chili crisp chocolate bar.
In her own words
“We hope we can connect the East and the West using sweets, especially in the current world where we see a lot of things, like collapsing,” Wang said. “I hope we can piece something together using sweets, and I hope people can be happy after eating treats.”
601 W. Live Oak St., Austin; 6726 Burnet Road, Austin
