As a child, Dumpling Daughter CEO and founder Nadia Liu Spellman always had fond memories of her parents’ Chinese restaurant in Boston, where she grew up.
“It was the most fun and enjoyable time of my life, to be in my parents’ restaurant,” she said.
As an adult, it was no surprise that she decided to open a restaurant of her own in her hometown to celebrate the flavors of her culture. Called Dumpling Daughter, the restaurant paid homage to generations of recipes passed down in Nadia’s family, with dumplings as the star of the show.
“Dumplings are really my comfort food. As a Chinese kid, you get dumplings like an American kid gets mac and cheese—so this is my mac and cheese,” Nadia said.
In Nadia’s first year as a restaurateur, business was booming until the pandemic hit.
“I had to figure out a way to keep the brand and the staff and the restaurant alive, so we locked the door and switched to online ordering,” she said. She also began selling bottles of their Spicy Sweet Soy Sauce directly to customers in the Amazon store—and it was a hit.
“I was sending sauce all over the country,” she said, adding that Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) “makes it so easy” for her to reach customers across the United States.
Fulfillment by Amazon allows independent sellers to have Amazon take on providing the storage, picking, packing, fulfillment, and customer service for their orders. Leveraging the tens of billions of dollars that Amazon has invested in its logistics and fulfillment capabilities, small businesses can provide customers with fast, premium shipping with FBA—and they can do so at a cost that is 70% less than similar premium shipping options from other carriers.
As orders came in, it helped inspire more creative opportunities for Nadia, including her new cookbook, “Dumpling Daughter Heirloom Recipes: From Our Restaurants And Home Kitchens,” now available in the Amazon store.
When it comes to the future of Dumpling Daughter, Nadia says “the sky’s the limit.”
“If you’re truly passionate about what you do every day, it’s not hard work,” she said. “Today, my mission is to pass on these recipes and the happiness that comes with them, one dumpling at a time.”