Life & Work with Lee Phillips Oakley

Today we’d like to introduce you to Lee Phillips Oakley.

Hi Lee, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstories.
In 1958 my mother, Leila Douglas Phillips started making her famous pickles in a 10-gallon earthenware crock on the kitchen counter. Her secret family recipe with a unique blend of spices and a 14-day process was treasured and brought up through the years to become a staple of the Southern table. Shortly after she passed I started making these pickles to give as gifts and quickly saw the signature ‘snap’ in every bite combined with the sweet and spicy flavor interested many to come back for more.

In 2011 Oakley’s Southern Delights was born with our Picklelicious Sweet and Spicy snacking pickle. Shortly after that, I created our Spreadalicious Red Pepper Jelly with the perfect consistency and sweetness! 12 years later we sell to restaurants, caterers, gourmet stores, grocery stores, airport gift shops, gift basket businesses, and Oakleyssoutherndelight.com.

We all face challenges, but would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
As a married mother of two and an elementary education teacher/tutor, the first obstacle I encountered was understanding how to start a business. As I combed through business requirements, I sought the business experience and knowledge of my husband, Allen Oakley, one of the best business minds around.

He was a huge help. The second hurdle I ran across was when I again found myself scouring for knowledge so I could apply for a license to be a food manufacturer in the state of Tennessee and understand the proper insurance that was needed to run this food business. Gaining the knowledge to operate a food business was both challenging and empowering!

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
My first goal was to ensure Oakley’s red pepper jelly and Oakley’s sweet and spicy pickles were made by hand and in small batches with the top-of-line consistency and quality of the product for retail distribution. These shelf-stable products needed proper nutritional information and bar codes. After these steps were achieved, I set out to build Oakley’s Southern Delights fan base which was one of my favorite experiences in the process of building my business. I met many Nashville entrepreneurs who have shops, markets, catering businesses, and restaurants with whom I found an instant connection and friendship. Many of us found our way to Tennessee’s Pick Tn organization supporting Tennessee farmers and food businesses where we gained additional local support.

When building my business, I wanted to be known for creating products that were the best in their category. I started with Oakley’s 14-day processed gourmet sweet and spicy pickle. It is deliciously crunchy and unlike any other pickle, you’ll ever taste. Our sweet red pepper jelly has the taste and constancy that stands out among other pepper jellies making it the go-to jelly for appetizers, dressings, and more!

One of the projects I am most proud of is the creation of a cookbook with friend and caterer, Jeannette Goddard.

Tried and true: A Celebration of Food and Friendship is a collection of both old and new recipes from our lives and experiences. We discovered in each other the shared love for creating joy in others using delicious foods. With this in mind, we wanted to create a book others could enjoy. We created our cookbook concept, compiled, and sifted through thousands of our personal recipe creations, tested and photographed the recipes/foods we chose to go in the book, planned the layout and surrounding materials, and finally edited and self-published our cookbook. With this cookbook, we have supported the Peterson Foundation for Parkinson’s with each book sold.

Instead of what sets me apart from others, I would just claim that I have a sweet pickle and red pepper jelly that are extremely delicious!

What would you say has been one of the most important lessons you’ve learned?
Typically, your margins are not very big with food products, so the volume of products sold is very important. To have a profitable business I had to manage diligently the cost of production and the number of units sold each year.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.oakleyssoutherndelights.com
• Instagram: @oakleyssouthern
• Facebook: @oakleyssoutherndelights
• Linkedin:linkedin.com/in/lee-oakley-a97a2a32
• Twitter: @oakleyssouthern