From Biscuits to 500% CPG Growth! Mason Dixie Foods

All right, welcome to the podcast on today's show with Asha from Mason Dixie Foods. Thanks for joining. >> Thanks for having me. Really excited. >> For people who don't know, what's the company? >> Yeah, so we specialize in frozen natural comfort foods. Our premise is really that um people should feel good about the food they crave. And you know, comfort foods taken many forms and a lot of industrialization over the time. We actually started as a restaurant. >> Oh, no way. Okay. >> Yep. 11 years ago now. wanted to take out Chick-fil-A and the big guys that were just fail, you know, feeding people stuff filled with preservatives and nonsense and it really got away from the premise of what the origination of like comfort food in America really is. So, we took it back to basics, like five, six ingredient formulas, everything from scratch, handmade techniques, and then sure enough, you know, really quickly into having the restaurant, we had mile mile long lines. I mean, our first drive-thru opening, I'll never forget, we had lines two miles long out to this Costco that was opening. >> Wow. >> And this like guy on the security golf cart comes over. He's like, "What the hell is this?" He's thinking it's just like people blocking the Costco and he didn't realize it was our drive-through line. >> Wow. >> So, just just shows that people really want this kind of food. And so, just a year into our existence, we were asked by Whole Foods to launch um our biscuits actually. >> Okay. Okay. >> They wanted something signature and local that kind of would light the frozen category up. We did that. We outsold butter and milk sales that day and we just never looked back. It just totally burgeoned to this this full product line. You guys have your >> When you first opened, what were the hero products or what did you think they'd be like? What were the things that people were responding the most to >> at the restaurant? >> Yeah. At the restaurant. >> Um, so our biggest number one seller was our fried chicken sandwich, which shameless plug, launching into Whole Foods nationwide as we speak. >> Sold out at the West Hollywood location right now. Um but uh uh it was that and then our biscuit breakfast sandwich. So sausage, egg, and cheese. Okay. Biscuit. Um >> so you were crushing breakfast and lunch basically. >> Yeah. We were open 7 to 2 >> um six days a week and in the cut. Like we were in a very um food deprived zone, right? But we took over an old Wendy's. It was just It was so cool. >> Okay, that's cool. >> And it blew up and it just, you know, we were doing almost $2 million out of that location and quality of life was great. People were making money. We were we were selling out of food. Oh, that's how we knew we were like on to something. >> When you first came to market though, were you telling people that you're going to go with the healthy angle, like the the simpler, better formula, or were you just like, let's just go on taste and people would if they want to ask what's in it cuz that people at Chick-fil-A, they don't ask. They don't care. They just go, "Does it taste good?" I'm in. >> Yeah. Yeah. Both, really. Because we really believe that the quality of what you put into the food really brings taste forward, right? I mean, you're in California, right? That's the best. >> We're very blessed. >> Oh, 100%. So we really really speck every ingredient that goes into the food and in the end even though it's a simple formula it is incredible right and really even early on at the restaurants I think it was to your point it was a shift like we were in a food desert the only competition we had was a checkers a KFC Taco Bell and a McDonald's all of them lost thousands and thousands of dollars the first three months we opened because everyone was trying us because that neighborhood was begging >> for something Sure. >> And explaining to them like they would taste it. And they would be like, "Oh, this is so much more expensive than KFC." And we're like, "Right." But you're eating organic hormone-free chicken. We're frying it in fresh oil. It's not like being recycled. It's not hydrogenated oil. It's peanut oil. You know, we were doing all the right things. >> And once they realized how it could be done, they never went back to these chains. They were like, "Wow, this is such a different thing." Yeah. I mean, funny story, we were right across the street from a strip club and because we were >> This is amazing. Late night after the strip club. >> Well, not even late night, right? So, they're having dinner at 7 a.m. Those strippers are the reason why we started serving fried chicken that early. We used to wait till like 11. >> This is the first time anyone's ever shot out or plugged strippers. >> I'm just telling you, thank you to the ladies who supported. It was strippers and nurses, man. Cuz they wanted they wanted, you know, dinner for breakfast, breakfast for dinner. there was, you know, you're dealing with all kinds of people that are kind of ignored >> by the traditional fast casual space. So, >> yeah, it was it was a game changer and that's they all these people really were the focal point, right? They were the ones that to this day, I mean, we still pulse all those same customers that have been ride or die with us for 10 years >> as to what they want, which is why we have so many products now. >> There's a story there. It's like the strippers work so hard to eat our food. >> It's like they don't want to do their job. They're just they're just trying to eat the Mason Dixie chicken sandwich. >> Maybe that's it. They're just working for Was it working for Friday? >> That's Was your plan always to launch into into supermarket like into into frozen CPG? No. Okay. >> So, what did you think originally when you first started that you thought, "Okay, cool. Let's open up a brick and mortar, see how it goes, and then probably just expand it, I would imagine." >> Yeah. Yeah. I wanted I wanted to open a 100 plus brickandmortar location, fast casual alternative, right? Cuz like at the time we launched in DC, and DC, if people don't know, is a fast casual hotbed. There's just an epicenter there of people that are from all over the country. So you get a good litmus test, right? No one's really from DC. Yeah. >> So they bring all their perspectives in. Cava, Sweet Green, um, Five Guys, N Pizza, they all launched there, right? So I had a good cohort, right, to learn from and gather intel from and contacts and whatnot. And but the one common thread, right, there was better pizza, there's better burgers, there's better everything, but there was not better fried chicken and biscuits. It was still Chick-fil-A booming. What year was that? >> You know, that was 20134. >> Okay. >> Yeah. >> Yeah. Totally right. >> Yeah. Yeah. And and and that was before Chick-fil-A is what it is now, right? They were still >> still rising. And I'm like, when I looked at the ingredient panels for stuff, I'm like, "Holy crap, this is worse for their kids than them going to Popeye's." And it is to this day. >> It's pretty bad. >> It's bad. So, you know, I was like, "All right, there is room for this." If there's room for clean label burgers, right? If there's room for better for you pizza. Yeah. >> There's got to be room for better for you comfort food. And so when did the flip happen for you personally mentally around like okay let's make this a CPG brand and not scaling this to 100 locations. >> So when we launched into our first Whole Foods that was like a year into our existence as a restaurant >> and they approached you because of the success. >> Yeah. It was just gang busters and we went from like zero because we outsold like the dairy overall category sales. >> It went from zero to 200 overnight. So we were basically in every local grocery store around. Still thought it was great marketing for the restaurant. Yeah. You're thinking like this just drives people in. Cool. >> Totally. And >> you're making the product anyway. >> Exactly. Exact. Yeah. We were making out the back of the drive-thru, right? These are things you can't do anymore, but like this is how we did it, right? We were just grinders. And all of a sudden, we had two companies and I was like, "All right, let we'll figure this out, right?" And then, you know, three and a half, four years in, COVID hits, >> okay? >> And the restaurants went to a standstill. I mean, there were no people commuting on Metro. The federal government shut down. There were no customers walking around. and to mobilize quick enough to get delivery. So all that it was just so hard. So we closed the restaurants and then we totally pivoted to the consumer side >> survival >> survival. But the crazy thing was on the consumer side we were growing 500%. It was nuts. >> Wow. >> Because everybody was rediscovering their grocery store. Everyone was that was their freezer aisle became hot. >> Oh yeah. So it was like a whole different experience. And then >> holy >> you know, we just leaned in on it. And literally in the middle of the pandemic, Whole Food comes out again and they're just like, "Hey, can you make your restaurant stuff but in Frozen and we were like, uh, we can try." Um, but it was the best timing, too, because um, fun fact about us, too. We really work with a lot of the largest uh, manu food manufacturing partners in the in the world. I'm actually really proud to say that because >> I think there's a glory in startup culture to talk about starting grassroots and small, right? And there is, right? We're at the small local manufacturer, small local bakery, right? And and you want to support, but when scale comes, people aren't trying to spend $10 on a sandwich, right? >> So, when you really start thinking about that, you got to find these large partners. To me, it's a real achievement because these guys make biscuits for McDonald's, right? These guys make biscuits for Popeyes and they make it out of crap. And it's crazy because whenever we go, the line workers that make our product, they will only eat ours. So, you know, all the the uglies and the mistakes that come off the line and the extras at the end, they clamor to take those home. They never take the other stuff home. >> Wow. >> It just goes to show you like how much we've been able to not just change, you know, consumer products, but even food manufacturing. Mhm. >> So anyway, leaning in on those big partners really allowed us to kind of scale quickly and they're the ones that really just, you know, give us the opportunity to really say, "Okay, how do we how do we get this everywhere, right?" >> Yeah. >> So, it was the right partnership at the right time. Also during COVID, they were hurting, right? All the QSRs were down >> 100%. >> You know, food service dead. >> So, we were keeping the lights on because we were growing and they were like willing to do it. So there's this crazy like nexus, right, of like the I know when I think you don't get to be retrospective as a founder, right? You're just always like go go go, right? You don't look backwards enough. And so moments like these, it's kind of nuts when you think about it. Like holy Like >> the the amount of emergency board meetings I attended during that time. And so to hear I'm like in my head I'm just going okay so for you you're pivoting to CPG and at the same time nationally we're being told, oh, two weeks of spread, you know, two weeks to curve it. It's gonna be over soon. Three months and then two years later it's we're still in it. >> Still in it. >> And so you're all that's happening and you're growing a business in a category that is steeped in competition but you're taking off. >> Yeah. >> When does it click for you actually that okay we're going to we're going to be a CPG company. We're never opening the store again. >> You know that's so that's so funny cuz I think Yeah. In the back of my mind I'm like we'll go back to the rest normal. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Just normal normal life. I I think it was two years in. And I say that because we got approached by Marriott to help solve for the white paper bag situation they were in, right? They had no food to serve at the hotels when things started coming back on board because all the big guys had, you know, labor go down. You know, when you have a whole year of not making anything, it's really hard to start back up. So, they're in year two trying to get back to servicing all these customers. And so, Nara was like, "Nah, like we got to find other things." So, they were like, "Local brand. I heard they make biscuits. Let's talk to them." Right? And then they asked us if we could actually service, you know, 3,000 locations. And I just said, "Yeah, let let's do it." No idea like how this is going to work, but I bring it up because that was the moment where I was like, "Holy crap, I'm sitting here thinking about brick and mortar, right? Every brick and mortar is like one and a half million dollars cash in investment trying to scale it and then it's like two-year payback." Yeah. If you're lucky, right? Yeah. >> And then it's, you know, it's the change over and you go right into it, right? You try to plan 10 locations. I'm sure you know it's a lot, right? >> Where we are, we're having this conversation with Marriott and we're about to bust through 3,000 hotels. It's everything that I wanted originally, right? I wanted to make better food accessible to as many people as possible. In my mind, it was, okay, every hundred brick and mortars times 50,000 customer receipts, you know, I'm think this way. This was just like >> scale, >> boom, >> impact, >> impact. And that was where I was like, this was way >> better. >> I love that. >> Yeah. >> Yeah. So, for me on real estate, people ask me like, why don't I build like residential properties? It's like, okay, let's take a look at it. So, if I build a residential property, let's say it's 40 units. Let's say everyone has Christmas and Thanksgiving and Hanukkah at their place. I'm probably impacting, let's call it 2,000 people max, right? Y. >> If I build a brewery or sports bar, I'm doing that weekly. Yes. Or monthly, right? And so, the impact in is massive. And then like people will get married, they'll meet their husband, they'll meet their wife, they'll get divorced, whatever it might be. Exactly. But we're going to have real impact. So I totally get that the impact side of it is really what we're achieving. Not so much the let me have a 100 locations so I can flex. Yeah. >> And if you think about it too, co really changed everything about I mean we were just talking about it with your coffee shop here, right? Like >> it changed human behavior >> on a social level, on a consumer purchasing level, on everything. So >> we were limited to thinking brick and mortar was the way until co wipes that out. Right. Then you're like, man, now everybody just wants to buy to take it home and be socially like blockaded and you know, everyone's eating at their desk now and there's less of this like. So it was interesting cuz coming in from the consumer product side allowed people to have the best of both worlds, right? They could have restaurant quality food, but they could do it in their pajamas in the privacy of their home. >> Yeah. >> And then now as things kind of move forward, what is the new normal? While restaurants are now becoming again that third place environment, to your point, they have to be absolutely reimagined. >> Totally. >> We're coming out where like alcohol can't just be the center fold anymore because everyone's on all kinds of no this, no that, right? You got introduction of anything from marijuana to whatever, right? You've got so much stuff. >> Yeah. >> So you you really think, okay, then what are people going to lean on? >> Sometimes you just want a little bit of comfort, right? Sometimes you just want a little bit of normaly and like yeah I'm trying to tear up a biscuit sandwich right now right like >> that. >> So we really you know when we think about it like >> we love that this all happened the timing that it did because it really allowed us to branch out and finally become a restaurant and a freezer door, right? Cuz the world's not 50/50 normal yet, right? It's still >> Yeah. >> still different. >> I love that. Did you raise capital at all or were you approached maybe after COVID or during? >> Yeah, it was it was funny. We were we were raising just at the start right before CO happened. A small round >> co happened then obviously we needed a much larger round. >> Okay. >> Um >> and you were able to get it. >> Yeah. Yeah. The boom was crazy. Um I have incredible investors. I'm not going to lie. I've been very lucky to recruit missionbased people that really just want to get behind success. >> And you know for me it's a lot of success, right? Like I grew up in section 8 housing till I was 13 years old. I came from nothing, right? But I work hard as Like I this is everything. I I'm all in, right? I did everything my immigrant parents told me not to do >> to lean in on this business. And so, you know, I think our partners really believe in that, right? They don't there's no failure button in their mind, right? We're going to figure this out. And >> you know, it's been a wonderful ride with them. For sure. >> I go back to this all the time where just to your point, like similar upbringing for me, but it's like the hard work is undefeated. Yeah. Yeah. >> And if you're an immigrant, it's it's it's the same. It's like feeding your families equals hard work equals undefeated >> 100%. >> Like it's a pretty simple formula. >> Yeah. It's like what are your real battles, right? Like becoming a millionaire. Sure. Right. But I'm like no, no, it's whatever the hell is on the docket today. Like what is my new every day? Like it's just ingrained in your brain to work like that, right? Like what is >> you have reference point too cuz your you saw your parents do it. So you know what it looks like. you know what sacrifice looks like. And so then it's like having that and it's so funny because growing up with that you kind of feel bad about it. You're like, "Oh." And then at some point you're like, "Holy that's my superpower." Yeah. >> Because I have that reference. How many people don't have that reference? Right. >> Exactly. >> So you can always tap into it. >> Exactly. >> I always thank my mom at the groundbreings as like she's the first person I think for showing me what sacrifice and hard work looks like. >> Oh yes. >> Because that's like I'll never have the problem. You'll never we'll never have the problems our parents had. Correct. And so in that we live in this space of complete luxury cuz we can choose our adventure. >> Yeah. >> But we also know we're going to bring that type of hard work and grit to that adventure. >> Totally. >> And that that hard work is undefeated. >> Totally. >> It's the best. >> In many ways, too, it's like for my parents, they they used to own a little convenience store deli. In Baltimore, we call them carry outs. But my mom's Korean and she had no idea about running a business, but she just did it. And she had she did it really well because we were in like a food desert again. not too far from Hopkins and she just realized there was no place to get food. So, she was like, "All right." She learned how to make um fried chicken and like comfort food when she was working at this like old school market called Lexington Market. It's like her first job when she came to the States. She was like, "Well, I know how to make these things, so I'll just sell that." >> And so, she used to sell it out of like the cold case, but she would put like warmer I mean, she was >> she was grinding, right? And and she did it so well, but then she had such little confidence because she wasn't American. because she didn't have the business degree. So, she ended up handing it over to her dad and you just wrecked it, right? >> And then she was like, "I'm never going to business again cuz I'm not good at it." I'm like, "No, it's not that you weren't good at it. You just didn't you just >> you made one bad decision and then you just let it stop you, right?" Yeah. >> So, sometimes I think back and I'm like, "This is crazy. Is this just some weird curse that's being passed down?" And it's like my mission to correct for it, right? Or or it's not. Like, I just think she she was on to something and she just didn't get to finish it. I always think about it like it's skill acquisition. That's how I look at everything. That's a good point. So it's like it's always like okay like if something's bothering me, flustering me, whether it's employee and like people related or whether it's like numbers related >> and if and if it's bothering me or keeping me up at night or whatever it might be, I'm just like oh this is just a skill. >> Yeah. >> That's all it is. I just I just have to get the skill. >> Bezos also says that. Is that right? So he he said that like stress anything that stresses is just unadressed things. >> Yeah. And so the second you address it, it no longer is a stressor for high high performing people. >> Y >> and that's so true. >> And you just have to skip the emotional like the natural human part of oh no I'm going to this up blah blah blah and then you're in your head just so my body's good my brain is good at skipping that now. >> Yeah. >> And then I go like what's the skill? What is the thing I'm missing? >> Yeah. It's that breakdown moment, right? Where it's like okay there's a problem must compute. Like it's like these are the options. Pick one. Right. like you just you don't give yourself the opportunity to wallow and to be threatened. >> You can't >> you cannot >> Yeah. I realized this is another learning for me where I was like when I did wallow something clicked for me where I just realized this wallowing is making me an incredibly selfish person because while I'm wallowing nothing's improving. >> Yeah. Yeah. >> And like this isn't good for the team. This isn't good for the brand. I'm not growing anything. The impact I'm chasing isn't getting any closer. >> Yeah. >> So it's like it's of no value. And once that clicked for me, it was really interesting. Took me a while. Took me like a long, long time of sleepless nights, but once that clicked, >> it was it was like, "Oh, I never have to deal with that again." >> It's funny though, don't you think? Like I I I get this a lot. Maybe more cuz I'm a woman, but it's like everyone's expecting you to be human and in their minds human is having a full scale breakdown in in crisis. >> And I just don't like I've never operated that way. And I've been through way worse crises than anything in this business. just personally. >> Totally. >> So, it's it's funny cuz I've I've never really broken down for anything cuz I really don't believe anything is not accomplishable, you know, like I just I just genuinely don't. >> When I was in LA, I had this job where I was at this firm and this guy, Pastor Kasanova, >> what a name. >> What a name. And what a guy. He was he was great. He fell in love with this girl in Maryland and he was trying to get her over to the US and it was, you know, crazy town. just hard as hell cuz I mean, hey, we're full circle now, right? Immigrant stuff is just nuts. >> Yeah. >> But then he was like on his down and he was just so disappointed cuz he made the first effort, it didn't work out. >> And he was like, but then I just thought, you know, what have I ever failed at that I put 100% of myself into? >> And he's a first generation Mexican-American. And I'm like, that's a that's a great question. And then I literally I just stewed in that for like days. I was like trying to find something to disprove that comment, right? Like where where have I failed where I haven't put, you know, where I put 100% of and I couldn't think of it. And here we are like 20 years later. I still think about that quote every day and I still try to find a moment where I put 100% of myself into something and I failed at and I can't find one. >> I like that. But it's all okay. So then I'll go deeper. So but it's like what is failure actually then? >> Well, that's a that's a good question too, right? Because then it's like if it brings you to something closer or different or better then it's like you're in some way you could say your brick and mortar failed. You just don't look at it like that cuz wiped it out. Something you did. >> I always tell people failure is a period. Pivots are ellipses, right? >> I love that. >> And you just add two more periods, right? You just you now it's no longer done. You've just >> you've given yourself time to come out of it, you know? Yeah. >> And so yeah, I think the we would not be here if we didn't have that restaurant. It was an absolute part of the story 100%. It was a necessary >> also great feedback loop, right? I mean like incredible >> always. Instead of doing demos, you're doing in in city demos and like now everybody knows about it. >> She's on the top of the box. RIP. >> Oh, that's awesome. >> You know what I mean? Like that. >> Do you ever have the itch to open again? >> Oh gosh. You know, >> you must you must. >> I do. I do because I think all I've learned now 10 years later, if I if I could apply it again, I would do so many things differently. >> But at the same time, I also think, man, we were on to something >> way before people got onto it, right? And I was like, if I could scale that, you know, like it would be amazing. But, you know, it's interesting you bring it up though because I think thanks to that Marriott relationship, we really started to enter into this new vertical of food service and being an operator first >> gave us a really good lens and then having incredible partners like Marriott to lean into to learn the operating environment. We're talking about night auditors ordering and making food, right? This isn't like traditional back house staff, you know, like this is this is hard. Yeah. >> And you realize how many food outlets in this country are run like that. they're not run properly with a back of house staff full-time, you know, you know. So, we were like, how do we start becoming a solution for these people? And so, >> here you're seeing all the retail items, but we have a whole lineup of food service ready. We have a packaging component now that's like >> high heat safe. It could sit in a warmer. It could sit in freezing in in cold temps, hold great, individual UPC, so people don't have to unwrap it and sticker. Like, we really kind of started coming up with solutions. >> Efficient. Yeah. >> Yeah. If we didn't have the restaurant, I wouldn't have had the operator mindset to even think >> people want this, you know. >> Totally. >> And it's crazy because we're about to launch in 300 plus colleges and universities this fall >> because of those little things, those little tweaks. >> Yeah. >> You know, like I said, the new normal postco is really supporting low-skll labor in high yield environments and food. It's hard. >> And on top of that, you got the Starbucksization of coffee. People want everything in two minutes, including hot food. >> Y >> So if and you want it to be done well, right? So like to marry that, it's a lot of hard work. And so, >> you know, being an operator first, being in a highpaced breakfast environment every day where you had strippers and children, 7 a.m. hungry as hell, line out the door, you got the drive-thru, you got the front, you know, you're used to so much blended experience, you know, that it really influences product in a big way. >> We're okay. So on the growth plan, >> yeah, >> outside of grocery, so you have this the the universities you're launching. Yeah. >> What else is on deck? >> Oh gosh. So convenience is a big play for us. Um it's an interesting channel because the fastest growing segment is Gen Z. People don't realize that >> in in this in food >> in convenience. Yeah. Convenience like small format stores. >> Okay. >> And but the variety is terrible, right? It's just slim gyms and you know 5 hour energy, right? It's still not where it needs to be. >> And like over 70% of customers want better items, but they're just not getting it because the infrastructure for how convenience is run hasn't really kept up as quickly as it needs to. But that's changing. And I think with brands like us entering into that world, there's a huge impact we can have because again going back to the mission and the goal of making this stuff accessible, making better food accessible. What an environment to be able to do that, right? Do you know how in parts of like in China you you go into a convenience store, it's got like a number on it like one, you buy it and then you go to the microwave and you hit one. >> Do you think that'll I'm I'm shocked that doesn't exist at scale. >> You you wouldn't believe it. I mean Netflix headquarters here buys our stuff. >> Um a lot of it's m micro vending or unmanned. >> Yeah. >> There's over 24,000 private micro marts in the country. So these are anything from your office buildings to basement of apartment buildings to whatever >> and 9,000 of them have cold to hot service within the micro mart. So it could be a machine or it could be a self-s serve. It could be various formats but it's one of the fastest. It's funny in Europe they're all over the place. Like when I was in Lisbon at the metro station like if you're hung over there's a place to get like those awesome Portuguese sandwiches in the vending machine. You just click it and it comes out. Yeah. In the airports you get sandwiches and coffee. And then here it's that crappy like coughatic at the Austin airport. It always cracks me up cuz I'm like this is 1960s Jetson technology here. This is terrifying. It's >> so bad, >> you know, because it'd be so much better, you know, and it and the technology is available. There is ways to do it. But yeah, like entering into that whole space is a whole another that's a whole other subsection of convenience too. Yeah. >> And we're about to really blow that up too in a big way. So there's restaurant for iteration, for ideiation, for corrective action, retail for learnings, consumer, brand awareness and building. And then to me really it's like that food service, convenience, college, university, hospitality, uh medical. I mean there's so many verticals of that that we're just beginning to touch and learn about. But that to me is really where we can, you know, be that impact, right? Better than the 100 brick and mortars, right? >> Absolutely. Where do you want to take this? Do you want to go public? like where do you ultimately see the brand globally, nationally, or just financially? >> I just I want to make it as big as I can. You know, I think um the the interesting thing about this industry, and I'm sure you know, right, there was a lot of people thinking it's a get-richqu scheme. Like they all idolize what's CPG in general. >> Yeah. Yeah. Food CPG specifically. Like everyone wants to be like it got hot for a minute, right? I'm like, bro, like he was one lucky dude, but if you go back and look at some of these brands, like the Chobanis, like the these were 27, 30y old brands before they really got to where they were. You got to really want to do this. This is a hard industry and gosh, you throw a little bit of COVID and all the other craziness at it, right? Like you got to be agile and you got to be >> you got to want it. I mean, to me, this is a legacy. Like >> why we're still serving Jimmy Dean to 17 year olds who do not want to buy it. I mean, let's be real. They're like, who the hell is that, right? like there needs to be a relevance factor. There's you got to be speaking to the consumer and right now comfort food in the frozen aisle doesn't and we're just getting started, you know. >> Yeah. Is that how you feel? >> I do. I think we're just getting started. I mean, all the crazy things shifting in in food today, even food regulation, right, with make America healthy again. >> Yeah. >> It's actually really good for us because all these big companies are going to be scrambling to figure out how to do it right. And we're we're just like, you just just just take this, you know, we're good to go. Let's let's do it, right? Yeah. >> And then once people really People are reading, right? They're researching now. They're trying to figure it out. >> The information's everywhere. >> It's everywhere. Bad and good, right? But there's no lies here. Like it's really easy to take the back of this box, look at the ingredient deck, and go, "Okay, I understand what everything is on this." Cool. Right. And that's that's what that's what it's going to take. >> What's your favorite product to date? And what's your hero product? What's your favorite kid? >> I keep looking at I'm like, which one am I going to have? And so I realized if I put it on you, I'll have that one when we wrap. And that makes my job easier. >> My everything. It started with a recipe from a public library. There are people, I'm sure, tuning in that have no idea what that is or was. When there was a photocopier, I took a I took a book, photocopied this southern cooking book and it was a fiveingredient recipe for biscuits and I made it for my sisters for the first Thanksgiving I had to cook alone for cuz my latch key kid, right? >> Yep. So I was 10 and I made these biscuits because my sisters asked for biscuits. Why they didn't ask for like stove top stuffing where I could have just added hot water? >> Your life forever. >> Changed my life. >> That's amazing. >> That one moment. So like that recipe right there is completely based on that that blue box. Yep. That is the the legacy >> biscuit sandwich. Buttermilk biscuit sandwich. >> Our buttermilk biscuit is the best. It just it just hits on very different levels. So I would say that. >> Okay. But I will tell you, we just got People's Choice Award from People magazine on our pancake sandwich and Good Housekeeping on our biscuits for best biscuit snacks. So, >> all over the map. >> We're all over the map. It's I mean, it's doing the brand's doing really well because we're doing all the things right. Right. I think when you do stuff right, people get it. >> And for people listening, so I know it says microwave here. Can you Can you air fry this also? >> You can air fry. You can toaster oven it. You can do all the things. Yep. Oven. >> This is quick. It's very and I actually I'm not gonna lie, microwaving that biscuit sandwich to me is the best >> because the moisture in the biscuit stays really really beautifully. Okay. It's actually You'd be surprised what can come out of that microwave. Trust me. >> I do. I trust you. You're the pro. Well, >> thanks for coming on the pod. >> Thank you for having me. This is so much fun. >> Tell people where they can buy Whole Foods. They got to enroll in university again. Go back to school. >> Yeah. No, you can find them at your Costco most likely um nationwide. We're in Albertson's. We're in Kroger's. We're We're pretty much everywhere. If you check our website, masondixiefoods.com, we have a store locator on there. They'll tell you their closest store where you can find us. >> Love it. >> Thanks for coming on the podcast. >> Thanks for having me, Diego. >> Thank you for tuning in. If you enjoyed this episode, share with your friends, your family, or anyone you might think might benefit from the conversation we've had today. And if you haven't already, please take a moment to leave a review on your favorite podcast platform. We'd greatly appreciate it. Your feedback helps us improve and reach more people who can benefit from our discussions. The best way to stay connected with us and get the latest updates on future episodes is through our social media channels. You can find us at Startup Storefront. We'll be back next Tuesday with another great episode. See you then.