A Lie at a Family Reunion Turned Into a National Frozen Food Brand: Feel Good Foods

Vanessa Phillips, co-founder and CEO of Feel Good Foods, grew up in the restaurant industry before turning a personal health challenge into a national frozen food brand. After being diagnosed with celiac disease, she set out to recreate the foods she loved, building a career that blends hospitality roots with consumer packaged goods innovation.

Watch now to learn how a lie at a family reunion became a national brand, the Whole Foods moment that changed everything, and why belief beats credentials.

Sponsored by:

• TOAST AllIn1 Restaurant POS

Chapters:

[02:32] - Celiac Diagnosis and Reinventing the Menu

[06:16] - The “Manifest” Lasagna Business

[11:12] - Sending Dumplings to Whole Foods

[20:33] - Branding, Packaging, and the Frozen Aisle

[24:26] - Building a Brand That Can Grow

SPONSORS:

RESTAURANT INFLUENCERS IS PRESENTED BY TOAST —

Restaurant Influencers is brought to you by Toast, the powerful restaurant point of sale and management system that helps restaurants improve operations, increase sales and create a better guest experience.

• Toast AllIn1 Restaurant POS

Episode Links:

Vanessa Phillips LinkedIn

Feel Good Foods

Feel Good Foods Instagram

Feel Good Foods Facebook

Feel Good Foods Tik Tok

Feel Good Foods X

Friedman’s Restaurant

Key Takeaways:

Belief Beats Credentials: Vanessa Phillips had no business school or CPG background when she sent dumplings to Whole Foods. Conviction and action carried her further than a résumé ever could.

Start Scrappy, Fix Fast: From daily demos in Boston to hand-stamping thousands of cartons after a packaging mistake, Feel Good Foods was built by moving quickly and correcting mistakes in real time.

Make It Delicious First: Vanessa focused on recreating the foods she loved and missed, ensuring they tasted great. The gluten-free label became a benefit, not the headline.

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ABOUT VANESSA PHILLIPS —

Vanessa Phillips, co-founder of Feel Good Foods, grew up in the restaurant industry, working in her family’s Chinese restaurants and bagel shops while dreaming of one day owning a restaurant of her own. At age 20, after years of not feeling well, she was diagnosed with celiac disease. The diagnosis was devastating, especially the thought of never being able to enjoy the potstickers at her father’s restaurants again. Determined to recreate the foods she loved, Vanessa set out to find a way to make them gluten free without sacrificing flavor. She partnered with chef Tryg, and together they developed gluten-free versions of the nostalgic dishes she missed most. After years of hard work, dedication, and research and development, Feel Good Foods was born. Today, Feel Good Foods offers a wide range of chef-inspired frozen foods designed for everyone to enjoy. And yes, Vanessa can finally enjoy her favorite potstickers again

ABOUT RESTAURANT INFLUENCERS —

Restaurant Influencers is a weekly video podcast series presented by Entrepreneur Media and Cali BBQ Media. Every week host and restaurant owner Shawn Walchef (@shawnpwalchef) talks with business leaders like Shaquille O’Neal, Rob Dyrdek, Emeril Lagasse, Mayim Bialik, Jon Taffer, Robert Irvine, Toast co-founder Aman Narang, and more, about their secrets to Smartphone Storytelling, marketing, branding, and how to show up where customers are engaging online.

Published by Entrepreneur Media

Produced by Cali BBQ Media