IN PHILADELPHIA, FOOD IS MORE than sustenance—it’s a way of expressing identity, history, and heart. A new wave of local makers is taking that passion from the kitchen to the shelf. These entrepreneurs are creating standout products that blend personal stories, family roots, and serious flavor, proving that Philly doesn’t just do cheesesteaks—it does specialty food, and it does it with soul.
Philadelphia’s specialty food producer scene is thriving more than ever. Fueled by a spirit of innovation and a strong sense of community, a new generation of makers is putting Philly on the map as a hub for bold, small-batch, and thoughtfully crafted consumer packaged goods (CPG) products. Farmers’ markets, shared kitchens, and incubators like The Enterprise Center, Culinary Collective, and the Center for Culinary Enterprises are helping local entrepreneurs bring their products to life. Co-ops and small retailers, including Weavers Way, Riverwards Produce, and Reading Terminal Market, are eager to support homegrown talent. Philly’s food entrepreneurs are turning passion into pantry staples, building a specialty food ecosystem as vibrant and diverse as the city itself.
From nostalgic pasta sauces to modern takes on ancient spreads, from heirloom Indian recipes to next-level custard, these four makers are pushing boundaries and building community—one jar, dip, and bite at a time.
VESPER BROS.
A Family Recipe, a Philly Legacy
TWINS JOHN AND BILL VESPER grew up working in their family deli in Wayne, Pennsylvania, where they learned two things: Food brings people together, and good sauce is everything.
“Our marinara was the heart of our family table,” John says. “It’s more than a recipe—it’s who we are.”
In 2012, the brothers turned that identity into Vesper Bros. Foods. They started by canning sauce in the deli kitchen, hustling jars to farmers’ markets and their family’s deli. Eventually, with the help of a trusted co-packer and some seed funding from their grandparents, they scaled production. But the recipe? That never changed.
Each jar is still made with high-quality tomatoes, Italian extra virgin olive oil, and no sugar—just the kind of ingredients you’d use at home. The label features their grandmother holding baby Bill, tying the brand to their South Philly roots and a long family legacy of feeding people with love.
“We love winning over people who say they never buy jarred sauce,” John says. “That’s the best compliment—when they say, ‘This tastes like what my grandma made.’”
Now, the Vespers are expanding beyond the mid-Atlantic, working with Feast Foodworks in Reading, PA, to keep making their sauces with the same care and craft. For the brothers, it’s not just about sales—it’s about sharing their story, and Philly pride, with every spoonful.
AAJI’S
Family, Flavor, and Finding Joy in the Hardest Moments
FOR RAJUS AND POORVA KORDE, the idea for Aaji’s was born not from a business plan but from a moment of personal reckoning. In 2021, newly relocated to Philadelphia from Seattle, they were navigating new parenthood (they had a new baby and a 3-year-old) and a pandemic all at once. Cooking—and sharing meals—became a lifeline.
The couple decided to pivot from their corporate jobs and start a family food business. “Food was our way of creating connection and joy in a stressful time,” Poorva says. “It grounded us. It gave us purpose.”
With family roots in Western India, the couple turned to family recipes—especially the ones from Rajus’s mother, a gifted home cook who now lives across the street from them. They tested 60 dishes with the help of neighbors, turning it into a community- and connection-building endeavor. It turned out quite a few of the dishes were winners, but the group couldn’t get enough of their beloved tomato lonsa—a slow-cooked, spiced tomato spread. Their lonsa became the heart of Aaji’s, which means “grandmother.”
Each jar of lonsa starts with over a pound of tomatoes and simmers for hours with warming spices. It’s deeply flavorful, versatile (think: eggs, sandwiches, crackers, cheese boards), and made with love. The original is redolent with chili peppers, black mustard seeds, curry leaves, turmeric, and fenugreek. There are also spicy, garlic, and spicy garlic varieties—and Rajus and Poorva are hard at work on new offerings.
“We started with our hearts, but had to bring our heads,” Rajus says. “It became about building something sustainable for our family—and our community.”
After farmers’ markets gave them their first big boost, Aaji’s quickly found a home in local shops like Riverwards Produce and Weavers Way Co-op. Now, you’ll find them at Whole Foods across the Mid-Atlantic, collaborating with chefs, and showing up in the coolest sandwiches in town (shout-out to Bart’s Bagels and Liberty Kitchen).
They’ve felt the love in the Philly food community. “There is a sense of trying to make Philly proud,” Rajus explains. “There’s sharing of resources, support, and locking arms and doing this hard work together.”
“We want our kids to feel like they’re part of this,” says Poorva. “And we want people to feel the joy in our food.”
Soom
Tahini’s Time to Shine
BACK IN 2011, Amy Zitelman and her sisters had a gut feeling that tahini was poised for a glow-up. At the time, the sesame paste was mostly relegated to hummus. But in Israel—where their tahini is still made—tahini was everywhere: sauces, desserts, dips, dressings.
“We wanted to bring that quality and versatility here,” Amy says, “to make tahini a staple in American kitchens.” She found her work was educating Americans on tahini’s culinary merits and possibilities. From dressing veggies to topping a burger to mixing into cookies and brownies, Soom’s tahini lends depth to sweet and savory dishes.
They named their company Soom and based it in Philadelphia, where the food community welcomed them with open arms—and open mouths. In the early days of Soom, Amy went door to door to restaurants, asking chefs to try her product. Soom’s creamy, silky, a-little-bit-runny tahini has a bright sesame flavor—pure, rich, and clean. Zahav’s Michael Solomonov was an early fan. So was the team at High Street on Market, who even created a tahini bread based on Soom’s rich spread, and the Fork team.
Amy and her sisters sold their jars (made simply with roasted and salted top-quality sesame seeds) from the trunk of a car, delivered to local grocers, and sampled at every market and festival they could find. The hard work paid off: Today, Soom tahini is available in over 4,500 stores, beloved by chefs and home cooks alike, and the leading U.S. brand of tahini. (The other makers in this story look to Soom as a Philly specialty food success story.)
“Tahini is healthy, delicious, and deeply meaningful,” Amy says. “Growing this business has been one of the hardest and most rewarding things I’ve done.”
For Soom, the mission goes beyond sales. It’s about changing the way people think about ingredients—and honoring the cultural richness behind them.
Poppa’s Custard
Legacy, Love, and Gourmet Pastry Cream
JOSH JOHNSON DIDN’T SET OUT to run a custard company. A former engineer and Wharton grad, he was deep into a successful career in consulting when Covid changed everything. The loss of a beloved aunt—“the glue of our family”—in the pandemic’s first wave prompted him, his wife Christen, and his sister Jewel (a two-time Food Network champ and head of pastry at Dirty French in New York City) to start something new: Poppa’s Custard.
“This business is our love letter to her,” Josh says. “And to Philly.”
Their custard is not what you think—it’s not soft-serve or frozen. It’s a rich, velvety pastry cream, like the inside of the best crème brûlée you’ve ever had. Made with clean ingredients and free from major allergens, Poppa’s Custard comes in decadent flavors like Madagascar Vanilla, Belgian Chocolate, and Cold Brew Coffee. They also make decadent vegan custard with coconut cream.
Dreamed up around their kitchen table in Chestnut Hill and crafted in Philly kitchens, Poppa’s has grown into local specialty shops like Di Bruno Bros. and Carlino’s, and even landed in bulk at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. For Josh, the magic is in watching people take their first bite.
“You see their eyes light up,” he says. “It changes what they think custard can be.”
In 2023, Josh AKA “Poppa,” took a leap and retired from his day job to run his food business full-time. Leading a food business is no cakewalk—especially as a small brand navigating the complexities of distribution, margins, and scaling up. But Josh wouldn’t trade it.
“If it were easy, it wouldn’t feel so meaningful,” he says. “We’re building something beautiful, one bite at a time.”
Philly Flavor, Philly Heart
THESE MAKERS EACH BRING SOMETHING UNIQUE TO THE TABLE—but they share a commitment to community, to craft, and to making Philly proud. In a city where the food scene is fueled by collaboration, resilience, and creativity, their stories illustrate the recipe for specialty success. Because in Philadelphia, good food isn’t just about what’s on the plate. It’s about who made it, why it matters—and who you share it with.
