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.
Exclusive: Melanie Fiona On Making High-Vibrational Music & Saying Yes To Partnership
Melanie Fiona is back! After taking a little more than a decade-long hiatus, she has officially made her return to music and blessed us with two singles, “Say Yes” and “I Choose You.” While both singles are very different from each other, they both reflect who she is today and the type of music she wants to make. In our conversation, the mom of two expressed what she learned during her time away.
“It's interesting, even when I said it is like coming back, I don't ever feel like I really left because I was always still performing. I've still been public. It's not like I went into being this recluse person or version of myself, but the thing that I really learned in this process is that I think things take time,” Melanie says in a xoNecole exclusive.
“I think often we're so caught up in it, being on the timing of demand or popularity, or, like, striking while the iron is hot and the thing that I've learned is that everything is on God's time. That's it. Every time I thought I would have been ready, or, like, things were taking too long, I had to reship some things, personally, professionally, in my life. I also gave myself permission to make a living, not just make a living, but make a life for myself.”
Making a life for herself included getting married to Grammy-nominated songwriter Jared Cotter, starting a family, and embracing new landscapes, such as podcasting as a co-host of The Mama’s Den podcast. She also began doing more spiritual work and self-care practices like meditation, sound healing, Reiki, acupuncture, and boundary setting, which allowed her to get in touch with her inner voice.
“I wasn't putting out music, and I wasn't experiencing a number one record, but I was being a number one mom,” she says.
“I was experiencing things that were allowing me to heal and get in touch with myself so that I could make new music from a space of joy and freedom, and excitement again because I definitely feel like I did lose some excitement because of just politics and industry and what it can do to your mental health and even your physical health. So giving myself the space to really just say, ‘Hey, it's okay. Everything's right on time.’”
The joy and excitement are felt in one of two new singles, “I Choose You,” which is more of a lovers rock vibe, a tribute to Melanie’s Caribbean roots. While the Grammy award-winner is known for ballads like “It Kills Me” and “Fool For You,” she is becoming more intentional about the music she makes, calling it high-vibrational music. She says her music is a “reflection of my life,” as it captures every facet, from hanging out with friends to riding around in her car.
“Say Yes” has the classic R&B vibe Melanie is known for. However, both songs are inspired by her relationship. Melanie and Jared got married in December 2020, and the Toronto-bred artist dished on their relationship. Fun fact: he is featured in the “Say Yes” music video.
“When we first started dating, I had come into that relationship post a lot of self-work. I had gotten out of a long-term relationship, I had a year and a half to date and be by myself and do a lot of work on myself alone. And when we met, I remember feeling like this has to be my person because I feel it,” she says.
“And so when we went into that relationship, and we started dating, I was very clear. I was like, I know what I want. I'm very clear on what I need, and I'm not going to withhold my truth about myself in this process because of pride or fear of rejection. I know you love me, but I'm coming with my heart in my hand to let you know that if we're gonna get there, we have to put fear aside and say yes. So that was kind of like my open letter to him, which is why the video is us having a conversation.”
Melanie also shares that saying yes to her partner has empowered her in many ways, including motherhood and showing up for herself. Her new EP, also titled Say Yes, will be available at the top of 2025.
Check out the full interview below.
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Feature image by Franco Zulueta
Serena Williams Hits Back At Skin-Bleaching Accusations: 'I’m A Dark, Black Woman, And I Love Who I Am'
Serena Williams is clapping back at skin-bleaching accusations. During a makeup tutorial for her beauty brand, Wyn Beauty, the tennis legend took the opportunity to address the "haters."
“And then I put just that neutral color, that is actually my skin color, and no, for you haters out there, I do not bleach my skin,” she said. “There is a thing called sunlight, and in that sunlight, you get different colors.”
The rumors started after the mom of two posted a video of herself and her husband, Alexis Ohanian, at their daughter's school play. In the video, she appeared to look a few shades lighter. During her response, she revealed that she was volunteering at the play and wore stage makeup.
“Yes, I’m calling you out on this because it is ridiculous that everyone’s like, ‘Oh, she bleached her skin,’" she said. "I’m a dark, Black woman, and I love who I am, and I love how I look and that's just not my thing.”
The 23-time Grand Slam champion also said that she doesn't judge anyone who bleaches their skin as she "stays in my lane."
Serena has always had style on and off the court, and even collaborated with Nike with her own collection Serena Williams Design Crew. However, the tennis champ has now pivoted into beauty.
Wyn Beauty was launched in April 2024 with at 10-piece collection of lip, eye, and complexion products. The brand was inspired by Serena's time on the court and the packaging is reminiscent of a tennis ball due to its chartreuse color.
“Throughout my career, I was always searching for makeup that looked good after hours on the court, mixing products myself and creating my own formulas while traveling the world,” she said in a statement. As she continues to make a name for herself in the beauty industry, I'm sure we will see a lot more looks from the tennis star.
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Feature image by Marc Piasecki/WireImage