Ayeshah Abuelhiga, Founder of Mason Dixie Foods on Building a Successful Brand, Financing Growth and Marketing Strategy

What was the driving force behind starting Mason Dixie Foods and what led you to selling B2B?

I started Mason Dixie, in part, because I believe everyone should have access to affordable, wholesome food. I grew up poor. I was raised in low-income housing in Baltimore up until I was 11, but my parents did their best to instill the values of home-cooked, wholesome meals. We shopped at farmer’s markets and bought produce that was bruised, but we ate very balanced meals. I notice now looking back that the kids I still remember that I grew up with in Section 8 that ate out of vending machines are still in the system today, and those who had better access to food, are in better places. You truly are what you eat and I have always believed we deserve better.

In that same vein, my immigrant parents owned a soul-food carry-out restaurant and convenience store when I was little and I got my taste for American cuisine from it. I craved soul food even as I was coming of age in college, but I could never find homestyle, scratch-made comfort food, only fast food equivalents.

After working for 14 years in male-dominated industries, like tech and auto, and quickly climbing the corporate ladder, I decided it was time to start my dream of owning a restaurant. So in 2014, I founded Mason Dixie. I saw a huge opportunity in the lack of comfort food options available in the growing, better-for-you food space, and an even bigger opportunity making biscuits the focal point since there were no real, scratch-made biscuits on the market. I also saw an opportunity to make scratch-made comfort food affordable and accessible to the masses versus just doing better-for-you food in the fine dining realm by looking at the fast-casual scale and ultimately, grocery, as an even better avenue to do just that.

After starting the restaurant just months in, a regional marketing manager at Whole Foods Markets asked to feature our product in stores and the rest was history. It changed our lives forever.

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Mason Dixie is a brand that stands out. What are some tips you would give to founders that are looking to create a strong business?

Fair warning: the market has changed a LOT since we first got started. Anyone who started before a couple of years ago were the pioneers. You did a lot and asked for forgiveness later and people were more willing to grow/make mistakes with you.

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Get educated, get funded, then jump into those waters with caution. Surround yourself with skilled and experienced advisors who have worked in the category/product type you are developing.

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Now, the world has changed. There is a lot more competition—a lot more products out there—and retailers are getting smarter. Before you go pitch to a big retailer, you have to really know if you are ready. Do you have the marketing and trade budget to support the account? Can you keep up with the volume? Can you afford slotting fees? Do you have a sales support team to monitor and manage the account?

Remember, these players have dealt with far more billion-dollar companies than they have thousand-dollar companies, so the rules are set for much bigger fish than you.

Get educated, get funded, then jump into those waters with caution. Surround yourself with skilled and experienced advisors who have worked in the category/product type you are developing. Ask other companies in those retailers about their experience—both their successes and their follies. Get informed before you pitch.

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You recently closed a $6.3M private round of Series A investment. What are some things founders should consider when going through their first fundraise?

Know the problem you are solving and how big the addressable market really is. Frequently I see founders who do not research the market space enough and show a $20M market opportunity. No investor gets excited about the opportunity to take up to 10% of a $20M market. If you make a seed oil and that segment is small, how big is the oil market in general? Sell the sizzle. It’s the opportunity size that gets early-stage investors going. But be realistic. Be able to defend the market size with real data.

Know your sales performance and gross margins inside and out; it is ultimately how investors judge your worth. I cannot tell you how many founders I talk to that don’t even know what goes into a gross margin calculation, or where their strongest sales are coming from. This is important stuff you should be able to spat out on command.

Know how you are going to use the funds. Don’t just say I need $1M. What is that $1M built from? Half to overhead/salaries, some to equipment, a third to working capital? Show in your projections how you get to that number. You will always be surprised after analyzing cash flow projections how much more you really need than you thought.

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Tell us about Mason Dixie Food’s financial structure: What made you consider a line of credit, and what made you choose Assembled Brands as a strategic investment partner?

The worst use of your precious cash from investors is working capital to finance manufacturing your products. It ties up valuable capital to use for investing in people, tools, equipment and even marketing. When we started to realize our demand was growing month over month in a big way and generating a need to finance more inventory to finance the growth, we wanted to stop using cash to finance it so we started looking at lines of credit. Assembled stuck out to us because it had the most flexible terms and didn’t lock up our own cash. It operates like a true line of credit and it’s allowed us to grow our inventory positions and scale our business month over month without limitation, which is usually not a resource available to emerging brands.

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What are some marketing strategies that have helped Maxon Dixie Foods gain more brand recognition and awareness?

It’s never a bad idea to be true to yourself. We have never spent money on traditional marketing outside of cultivating all star customer service, being authentic in our social media platforms, and our philanthropy and mission-driven work to promote DEI in the CPG industry and promote female and LGBTQ inclusion and equity socially. Standing up for what you think is right builds consumer trust and identity and finding your authentic voice can be the best marketing tool you have.

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2022 is looking great for Mason Dixie Foods. What do you have planned in terms of product launches and growth for this year?

We launched 6 food service products into Marriott this year including ready to heat/eat scones, biscuits and our cheddar sausage biscuit and buttermilk biscuit melt. These items have exploded and are rapidly growing. You can find them on the complimentary breakfast offering at your next Marriott Select Brand hotel stay. Our foray into food service and our growing breakfast demand in retail is trending toward 500% growth YOY, YTD and we expect to do 10x by year end.