Dietitians Wendy Lopez and Jessica Jones are on a mission to make health and wellness more inclusive, diverse, and accessible.
And it’s a good thing too, because the stats on food insecurity—aka not having enough access to nutritious food to live an active, healthy lifestyle—are staggering. According to Feeding America, more than 40 million people (and 12.5 million children) lived in food insecure houses in 2017. And, unfortunately, increasing access isn’t the only hurdle to ending food insecurity. The cost of groceries and purchasing patterns also play major roles too, according to The New Food Economy.
To help fill the void for healthy recipes made with ingredients that are both accessible and affordable, Lopez and Jones founded Food Heaven in 2011. Fast-forward to 2020, and what started out as a humble YouTube channel is now a full-fledged brand complete with a podcast, multiple cookbooks (28-Day Plant-Powered Health Reboot and A Diabetes Guide to Enjoying Foods of the World), merchandise, and a devoted social following. Proof that all their hard work is truly resonating with people and paying it forward.
Below, we chat with Lopez and Jones about what it’s like being at the helm of an influential mega-brand with a BFF slash business partner, why they encourage people to eat for nutrition and enjoyment (sans guilt), and how they built a successful business without losing their friendship in the process.
CREATE & CULTIVATE: Food Heaven has grown from a blog into a mega-brand—was this always part of the vision? How do you stay on top of all of those projects?
WENDY LOPEZ & JESSICA JONES: Not at all. We started as a creative outlet with no business aspirations. After about three years of making food and nutrition content with no real plan, we decided we wanted to try selling a product. The first items we ever sold were black shirts that read "kale & spinach & collards & chard" in white text. I remember being so excited when we sold our first tee. We decided to use all of the revenue we earned to create a more professional website and invest back in the business. After we sold out of shirts, we started creating different products and experiences (digital downloads, books, retreats) and then began working as dietitian-spokespeople for a bunch of different food and nutrition brands.
Your mission is to increase access to health and wellness and to allow black people to see their bodies and their needs reflected in conversations about wellness. What are some of the ways in which you are connecting and following through with this MO? What impact have you seen this have on the community already? How has it resonated with audiences?
We've had so many people of color—particularly black women—tell us that they thought nutrition and healthy eating was for white people, but once they discovered our platform, they realized it was for them too. We think it's really important to not make wellness a one dimensional, one size fits all conversation. Our motto is that we all have the power to define what wellness looks like for us, and for most people, it's going to be a lot different than what we see on Instagram. What's more, we don't all have to be pursuing weight loss or be a size 2 to be healthy. Research shows that our behaviors play a bigger role than our weight when it comes to health. Our audience members often feel both seen, accepted and relieved that we talk about health and wellness in a complex and comprehensive way that doesn't involve restriction or guilt.
You were best friends before you launched Food Heaven. What is it like to work with your friend? How do you build a business with a friend and not lose your friendship in the process? What are some boundaries you've set?
Having a business partner is legit like being in a relationship. Add being BFFs to the equation and, to quote “Basketball Wives,” it can go "real right or real wrong." For us, we lucked out when it came to working with a friend. We both have pretty chill personalities so over the last several years there haven't been any major conflicts of blow-ups. That's not to say that there haven’t been disagreements, hurt feelings or differences of opinion. At this point, we do a pretty good job of telling the other when one person is upset or unhappy with something. I think we've also gotten good at reading each other and knowing when we have reached our threshold or are starting to get annoyed (ha!). The good part about having a business partner is there is always someone to help with the load. Especially if one of us is going through a hard time - i.e. a breakup or loss. Having said that, there isn't always a clear distinction between a friend relationship vs business relationship. They both overlap all of the time. We try to maintain our friendship outside of the business by talking daily and going on fun trips.
When you hit a bump or hurdle in your career, how do you #FindNewRoads + switch gears to find success?
We are the queens of pivoting. If an idea or aspect of our business is not working, we have absolutely no issue slashing it and moving on to something else. We have to make sure that the work that we are doing is enjoyable, helpful and profitable. One thing that helps us evaluate this is by having quarterly meetings where we discuss "what's working, what's kinda working, and what's not working". Taking the time to look at the big picture is crucial for ensuring longevity and success.
“We’ve had so many people of color—particularly black women—tell us that they thought nutrition and healthy eating was for white people, but once they discovered our platform, they realized it was for them too.”
Today's diet culture is constantly skewing people's relationship with food—how do you cut through the noise and encourage people to enjoy their food and eat for nutrition without the guilt?
We are big advocates of helping people tune out the noise and tune in to their bodies. For the most part, our bodies do an excellent job of letting us know what we need without us having to micromanage our food intake. We love to help people bring satisfaction and joy back into the eating experience. Our podcast is our favorite platform teaching people concrete tools for becoming more connected with themselves. If someone wants to get started with tuning out diet culture, one place to start is unfollowing any social media accounts that make you feel bad about yourself or provide a one-dimensional portrayal of health and wellness that isn't realistic for you.
You have seen incredible success so far—what advice do you have for other entrepreneurs at the beginning of their journey? How can they achieve the same success you've experienced?
As entrepreneurs, I think it's easy to fall into the comparison trap because there are so many examples of success on display. I have found it useful to disconnect a bit from what everyone else is doing. It's important to create a path to success that reflects your own passions and goals. Taking on this approach has allowed for my own creativity to flourish. I also think that as entrepreneurs, we strive for perfection when starting out because so much is on the line. In my experience, the perfectionist mentality has been very paralyzing because it limits the amount of growth you can have with your business. Once I embraced progress over perfection, I adapted much better to the ever-evolving nature of our business and as a result, we've been able to take our business to the next level.
With success comes opportunity but that also means you have your hands full—what keeps you inspired and motivated to keep going even on your most challenging days?
Our community keeps us motivated and inspired. They're constantly sending us words of affirmation and gratitude for the work we're doing, and that really helps us continue creating and grinding. We want all people to feel seen and represented in wellness, and our platform has been able to provide a space where all bodies are celebrated.
The wellness industry has seen a massive boom in recent years. How are able to stay unique in such a saturated industry? How do you cut through the noise and ensure your voices are heard and you access the audience you're targeting?
We're registered dietitians, and so all of the information we provide is evidenced-based. Unfortunately, the wellness industry has become saturated with people giving out recommendations that are not based on any science or research. Oftentimes these recommendations are based on personal experience and don't take into account an individual's health history, socio-economic status, culture, and personal preferences. We take on an individualized approach to health. Everyone's wellness journey is different, and that should be celebrated. Instead of trying to look like someone else or live their lifestyle, we should support people in creating a lifestyle that works for them.
“Having a business partner is legit like being in a relationship. Add being BFFs to the equation and, to quote ‘Basketball Wives,’ it can go ‘real right or real wrong.”
What is your best nutrition advice for those of us who want to eat better and take care of ourselves? How can we be healthier on a busy schedule?
Same advice for entrepreneurs applies here! Progress over perfection. Identify 2-3 things you want to work on, and create practical steps that you can do consistently over time to help get you there. Perhaps you add 2 cups of vegetables to your daily intake, get 8 hours of sleep, drink at least 5 cups of water a day, or move your body in the morning. These things may not sound like much, but it's really the small habits that add up over time. Doing a complete overhaul with your meals or fitness routine may not be realistic for you long term. This doesn't mean that you should ditch it all completely. Focus on what you're able to do at this very moment.
What's a mistake you made and what did you learn from it? How did you turn it into an opportunity?
There have been so many mistakes. I think one of the biggest ones was thinking that I could do it all myself because I was afraid of delegating tasks. I quickly learned that this was a fast path to burnout. I've been much better now at releasing control, and trusting that other people can handle things within our business. They may even be able to do it way better than I can! Since taking on this approach, I feel much more at ease and have been able to direct my energy to growing the business.
What is the #1 book you always recommend? Why?
Health at Every Size by Linda Bacon is a great starting guide to understanding our approach to food, nutrition, and wellness! Linda dives deep into the research surrounding weight science and addresses the history behind some of the prevalent wellness trends we see now.
VIEW THE FULL CREATE & CULTIVATE 100 FOOD LIST HERE.
