A Good Mood Food
Celeste Pianezzola is one part of the husband-wife team behind the fantastic A Good Mood Food Company. Together, they turned their passions for food, connecting and helping people into a business, selling healthy dips, sauces, and condiments.
Celeste and her husband Dave began A Good Mood Food during the 2020 lockdown when they were both out of work, and were looking for easy, healthy, and uplifting food. They combined Celeste’s passion for food, and Dave’s passion for connecting and helping people into a food business. Having been a chef for over a decade, Celeste began creating healthy dips, sauces, and condiments that both elevated their eating experience and uplifted their moods.
I had the opportunity to chat with Celeste to get an insight into their company and to find out how their first year in business has gone.
Tell us a bit about yourself and the motivation behind your business A Good Mood Food?
My husband Dave and I started A Good Mood Food last year and launched our own line of yogurt-based dips in May. Between our passion for food, and our desire to keep busy despite being left unemployed by the pandemic, we decided to be brave and take the road less travelled and become food producers.
Before this I worked as a chef. I trained in the States over 15 years ago, and my passion for food and flavours took me around the world. Eventually I ended up in Ireland where I met Dave. His passion is connecting people and helping them. When COVID-19 gave us the chance to hit reset, we realised we wanted to work together and combine our passions. I saw a gap in the market for healthy flavourful condiments that are completely Irish. Hummus is great and all, but most of the ingredients are imported. Our dips are made with local yogurt and roasted root vegetables from down the road, grown just outside of Cork City. We combined my passion for food by making things insanely tasty, and Dave’s passion for connecting and helping people by working with local farmers and growers to ensure that they can continue to grow and earn a living.
How has your first year in business been, has it been what you expected?
The first 9 months were all about taking this idea and developing it, turning it from a dream and doing the leg work to get it on shelves. Then in May we launched, and we’ve been selling at select shops around Cork City. Honestly, it was much easier to say that we were going to become food producers than actually doing it. There were several unexpected curve balls, and we had to up skill in many areas. Luckily for us, the Local Enterprise Offices were so supportive, and we were able to get mentoring and help along the way.
What have been your biggest successes you have experienced over your first year in business?
When we had this idea to become food producers, we reached out to the Food Academy at SuperValu. We were delighted when they took us on, despite the fact we were not in shops yet or even sure exactly what we hoped to make! Luckily, when we pitched our final product, they loved it! 
What has been your biggest learning experience from your first year in business?
Our biggest learning experience from the first year is that we can’t do everything ourselves… And even if we could, it’s better to get help!
Initially we tried to keep costs down and thought we could do everything on our own, but eventually we started to get a team of talented individuals together. They really helped us to make our products the best they could be.
Any future products you can tell us about?
Our Spiced Beetroot and Curried Carrot spreadable dips are only the start! We hope to launch more flavours (we will be releasing the third one later this year!) and hopefully expand our product offerings next year. We want to give you more condiments that infuse you, as a home cook, with confidence and pack your food with flavour!
You can check out their website here, and you can follow them on social media by clicking on the following links, Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.
By Emma Wilkinson
