Meet The SHEeo: Chef Adyre Mason Of The Veggie - A Vegan Comfort Food Delivery Service
With the rise of more and more black women breaking away from traditional 9-5s to become their own bosses, the CEO is getting a revamp as the SHEeo. CEOs are forging their own paths, blazing their own trails, and turning their passion into a profit. In the Meet The SHEeo series, we talk to melanated mavens leveling up and glowing up, all while redefining what it means to be a boss.
During her twenties, Adyre Mason began suffering from extreme health issues including digestive distress, adult acne, joint pain, and high cholesterol. Over the course of two years, she transitioned to a vegan lifestyle and eliminated her ailments. But despite having more energy and a new business plan for a food service company, she struggled with the idea of leaving behind her dead-end job and taking the leap into entrepreneurship.
With the loss of her mother in 2017, she realized life was too short to be scared or comfortable. She cashed out her 401k and in 2018 launched The Veggie — a prepared meal delivery and catering company serving vegan comfort food. The Veggie regularly travels all throughout the southeast with its vegan fare to service individual clients, events, and festivals.
In this week's feature, meet Adyre Mason of The Veggie.
Courtesy of Adyre Mason
Title: Founder & CEO of The Veggie
Year Founded: 2018
Location: Huntsville, Alabama
# of Employees: 3
30-Second Pitch: The Veggie specializes in vegan comfort food served through fully prepared meal delivery, catering and personal chef services, and wholesale partnerships. Using Huntsville, Alabama as a launching pad, The Veggie regularly travels throughout the southeast with its vegan fare to service individual clients, events, and festivals. It is our goal to situate our products and our presence in spaces in need of variety wherever vegans are, and where they want to be!
The Details:
What inspired you to start your brand?
In my twenties, I began suffering from issues like extreme digestive distress, adult acne, joint pain, and high cholesterol. I knew I had to do something different. I began transitioning to vegan over a two-year period, moving intentionally from meat eater to pescatarian to vegetarian and finally, vegan. Within a few short months, many of my problems were gone or vastly improved, and I had more energy and stamina than ever before. I am passionate about exposing people to vegan food in a familiar way that helps with trying and sticking to something new.
"I am passionate about exposing people to vegan food in a familiar way that helps with trying and sticking to something new."
What was your a-ha moment that brought your idea into reality?
For years, I sat on my business plan and my passion for food while sitting behind a desk at a job I hated. Staying where I was seemed like the only option until my mom suffered from multiple strokes and was paralyzed in 2017. After losing her only four months later, I realized how short life was and that I didn't have time to be scared or comfortable. I cashed out my 401k to become my own investor and have used my grief as a catalyst for reinventing myself through my business in my mother's honor.
What obstacles did you have to overcome while launching and growing your brand? How were you able to overcome them?
My biggest obstacle has been working through my grief and depression. I started my business less than a year after my mom's passing and although my business has helped me get out of bed every morning and deliver, at times my grief has been a major roadblock. There have been many days I have literally worked and cried at the same time. Days where instead of being the push I needed, the business felt like an impediment to me getting the time I needed for me. I am learning that so much of life is about balance. I try to maximize every moment for myself when there's time, and I maximize every moment immersed in my craft when I'm working. Giving space for everything that makes me who I am and helps me become who I want to be - rest, work, self-care, planning, having fun, wherever it may be - is what I believe is key.
"There have been many days I have literally worked and cried at the same time. Days where instead of being the push I needed, the business felt like an impediment to me getting the time I needed for me. I am learning that so much of life is about balance."
What was the defining moment in your entrepreneurial journey?
Last fall, I had the esteemed privilege of catering a studio session for Grammy Award winner Anthony Hamilton. This was a full circle moment for me because I was first in close quarters with Mr. Hamilton when I was only a sophomore in college working at The Gap. To go from bagging his clothes to preparing his meal as the Chef and Owner of my own business was definitely a full circle moment!
Where do you see your company in 5-10 years?
I would love for The Veggie to become a familiar brand through nationwide shipping of our fully prepared meal service, as well as making some of my unique drink and small snack products available in stores like Whole Foods. As my company outgrows my individual effort, it is my hope that my passion for food and travel can collide to service personal chef clients wherever needed.
Where have you seen the biggest return on investment?
Oddly enough, I have spent very little money on marketing. I have primarily built my business on consistency, hustle, and word of mouth. I believe a key has been capitalizing on marketing opportunities that also generate revenue. This is one of the reasons I have put myself in a position to be able to travel so that as I vend across the region, I can market the business as well as generate the revenue I need to sustain and grow.
"I have primarily built my business on consistency, hustle, and word of mouth. I believe a key has been capitalizing on marketing opportunities that also generate revenue."
Do you have a mentor? If so, who?
No, but I would love to have one. I do try to share knowledge and ask questions, because I always consider myself a student, with other chefs who do work similar to me.
Biggest lesson you’ve learned in business?
It's less about what you start with and more about what you do with what you have. I have not had an investor (yet) but I regularly see businesses that did sell less than me when side by side in the same venues. There are people who have more bells and whistles, yet people will bypass them to come shop with me because they've heard about the product or recognize my consistency. It's about working what you have, and sometimes that isn't always money. But when you work with what you have and stay consistent, I believe more resources come.
Follow The Veggie on social: Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.
ItGirl 100 Honors Black Women Who Create Culture & Put On For Their Cities
As they say, create the change you want to see in this world, besties. That’s why xoNecole linked up with Hyundai for the inaugural ItGirl 100 List, a celebration of 100 Genzennial women who aren’t afraid to pull up their own seats to the table. Across regions and industries, these women embody the essence of discovering self-value through purpose, honey! They're fierce, they’re ultra-creative, and we know they make their cities proud.
VIEW THE FULL ITGIRL 100 LIST HERE.
Don’t forget to also check out the ItGirl Directory, featuring 50 Black-woman-owned marketing and branding agencies, photographers and videographers, publicists, and more.
THE ITGIRL MEMO
I. An ItGirl puts on for her city and masters her self-worth through purpose.
II. An ItGirl celebrates all the things that make her unique.
III. An ItGirl empowers others to become the best versions of themselves.
IV. An ItGirl leads by example, inspiring others through her actions and integrity.
V. An ItGirl paves the way for authenticity and diversity in all aspects of life.
VI. An ItGirl uses the power of her voice to advocate for positive change in the world.
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Sheila Rashid's Androgynous Approach To Unisex Clothing Is A Lesson In Embracing Individuality
The ItGirl 100 List is a celebration of 100 Black women who aren’t afraid to pull up their own seats to the table.
For Sheila Rashid, it all started with some free-hand drawings and a few strokes of paint.
The Chicago-based clothing designer and creative director of Sheila Rashid Brand recalls using her spare time in high school to hand paint designs on t-shirts and distressed hoodies, distributing them to classmates as walking billboards for her art.
Rashid sought to pursue fashion design at Columbia College in Chicago but eventually took the self-taught route to build upon her knack for crafting one-of-a-kind, androgynous pieces.
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Thanks to the mentorship of local designers taking her under their wings, Rashid was able to gain valuable experience in putting together collections and creating patterns; equipping her with them with the necessary skills to pursue her own collections.
After two years of living in New York, Rashid returned home to the Chi and uncovered the unique flair she could offer the city. “I moved to New York after that because I wanted to be in the fashion capital world,” she tells xoNecole. “That's when I really got a leg up. I found myself when I moved back to Chicago after moving to New York.”
For the Midwest native, inspiration comes from her time around creative peers and the city’s notorious winters — known to be a main character in many Chicagoans stories. “It's a different perspective and mindset when I'm making stuff because of the weather here,” she explains. “When we get summer, it’s ‘Summertime Chi’ — it's amazing. It's beautiful. Still, I find myself always making clothes that cater to the winter.”
"I moved to New York after that because I wanted to be in the fashion capital world. That's when I really got a leg up. I found myself when I moved back to Chicago after moving to New York.”
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Many designers have a signature aesthetic or theme in their creations. In Rashid’s design story, dancing between the lines of femininity and masculinity is how she’s been able to distinguish herself within the industry. Her androgynous clothing has garnered the eye of celebrities like Zendaya, Chance the Rapper, WNBA star Sydney Colson, and more — showing her range and approach to designs with inclusivity in mind.
“I think I do reflect my own style,” she says. “When I do make pieces, I'm very tomboyish, androgynous. My work is unisex because I feel like everybody can wear it. I cater to everybody and that's how I try to approach my clothes.” From denim to overalls, and color-drenched outerwear, Rashid has mastered the structure of statement pieces that tell a story.
“Each collection, I never know what's going to be the thing I'm going to focus on. I try to reflect my own style and have fun with the storytelling,” she shares. “I look at it more like it's my art in this small way of expressing myself, so it's not that calculated.”
"My work is unisex because I feel like everybody can wear it. I cater to everybody and that's how I try to approach my clothes."
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Still, if you were able to add up all the moments within Rashid’s 20-year career in design, one theme that has multiplied her into becoming an “ItGirl” is her confidence to take up space within the fashion industry as a queer, Black woman. “Being an ItGirl is about being yourself, loving what you do, finding your niche, and mastering that,” she says.
No matter where you are on your ItGirl journey, Rashid says to always remain persistent and never hesitate to share your art with the world. “Don’t give up. Even if it's something small, finish it and don't be afraid to put it out,” she says, “It's about tackling your own fear of feeling like you have to please everybody, but just please yourself, and that's good enough.”
To learn more about the ItGirl 100 List, view the full list here.
Featured image Courtesy