It all started with apples and pears. As a self-described "foodie," Chia Chiang didn't like the hard, unripe fruit found at many supermarkets. She began to imagine ways to solve the problem, and this process eventually led her to a business venture and a new product innovation.

The Liivia® Fruit Ripener is the invention of Chia Chiang and her husband, Brent Sokol. A mother of two small children, Chiang has a background in marketing and an MBA from the University of Southern California. Sokol has a degree in biomedical engineering from Northwestern University and is a registered patent attorney. The parents of two small children, both believe in fresh, whole fruits as one of the pleasures of daily life.

Chiang studied fruit ripening at the University of California, Davis. Together, Chiang and Sokol developed multiple prototypes, which they tested and modified to determine the optimal design.

Chiang selected the name "Liivia" from a baby-naming book, because the company was their first "baby."