Beneva Mayweather Foods/Visions Enterprise LLC
Daniel Watson
Founder/President/CEO/Owner
Region: West - Shelby County
Method of Sale: E Commerce, Foodservice Restaurant, Retail, Wholesale
Additional Information: The founder's grandmother, Beneva Mayweather, was the head chef at the Memphis Hunt and Polo club. She worked her way up from salad girl to head chef and was encouraged by the members to start her own catering company. In 1973 she founded Mayweather Catering. She specialized in creating fine Southern Cuisine from scratch for everyone from friends and family to the Who's Who of Memphis, TN and around the globe. The catering business lasted for well over 4 decades even after Beneva passed in 2000. Her eldest daughter and business partner, Emma Mayweather Lincoln, took over the reins for another 15 years until her untimely passing in 2015. Ironically enough they each transitioned in the month of January just days apart. Beneva's youngest grandson had always been around the kitchen from the time he was born. Upon graduating from White Station High School in Memphis, TN and being only one of only three grandchildren. Daniel attended Morehouse College. Upon graduating with honors in 2003, he came back to Memphis and founded Beneva Mayweather Foods in 2008. He was inspired to return to Memphis after graduating for two reasons as follows: 1.) His aunt, and Godmother, had raised him since the second grade. He wanted to thank his aunt and honor his grandmother by giving what he believed was a guaranteed successful idea in creating the Beneva Mayweather brand of food products based on Beneva's recipes that made her a culinary savant. His aunt had already written a cookbook to honor her mother after her passing entitled, "Our Mother's Table: The Culinary Journey of Beneva Mayweather." Daniel decided that the perfect supplement to a cookbook would be actual products that all highlight and focus on Beneva while offering a business that could retire Emma and repay her for a seemingly unpayable debt when she took Daniel in and raised him as her own son. 2.) Food is pretty much recession proof. So, Daniel decided if his talents were good enough for some of these major firms as a new college graduate. Bringing his talents back to Memphis would be something most beneficial for his family, the city of Memphis, and developing his own entrepreneurial skills. Daniel returned to Memphis in January of 2004. He had to earn his stripes by starting from ground zero. As his aunt would tell him. He had book sense, but he did not have experience in the kitchen. So, Daniel performed all aspects of the catering business from supply management to food prep, to cleaning industrial equipment, to customer service all in an effort to earn his experience. In 2008 Daniel launched his first food product which was Beneva Mayweather's Chicken Seasoning. His plan was derived from his understanding of food which included three phases: Seasoning, Baked Goods, and eventually Frozen Entrees. All of these items would be and are based on Beneva's successful menu items. Daniel feels the first thing people do after seeing food is taste it. Seasoning offered a means to establish this relationship with the market while also offering a low barrier of entry. Daniel got with a co-packer and got his first deal with the former Piggly Wiggly, now CashSaver, and the former Easy- Way. Between demoing the seasoning with hand cut chicken breast tenderloin nuggets with his little Fry Daddy at the handful of locations. He gained decent traction. He was also giving the product away to create traction as well. All of this was done out of the trunk of his car until November of 2010. At that point is when he landed a DSD distribution deal with Kroger in the local Memphis market. After two years of R&D to develop enough offerings to meet Kroger's requirements. He successfully pitched to Kroger in Cincinnati, OH and landed nearly all of the Memphis market. He drove from store to store dropping off product out of the trunk of his car. Daniel had a successful run, but he ran out of money. In 2012 he was forced to pivot into what his business plan called the second phase of development. The second phase was the baked goods line. Daniel concluded that most people have bread with their meals. So, after he gave them seasoning. He wanted to give them a complement to enjoy their seasoned item(s). Plus, he saw how Sister Schubert was cornering the market, and he always knew his grandmother's yeast rolls were one of the most popular items in her catering business which preceded Sister Schubert by at least a couple of decades. Daniel was seeking another co-packer for his baked goods line. He could not find a co-packer. He then took matters into his own hands. He and his aunt were already using the same gutted out house in South Memphis, TN where Beneva founded Mayweather Catering to continue that business. So, Daniel began baking cinnamon rolls and yeast rolls. He cold called a rehab facility LaPaloma and a fine dining restaurant named Flight. Those were his first two accounts, and now there are over fifty different accounts covering three states. His customer mix includes food service outlets, convenience stores, grocery stores, direct to consumer, and corporate events. The path has not been without the challenges that all businesses face. In 2019 the roof of the building his grandmother founded caved in. It forced Daniel to move to a different facility, but with the growth came better equipment and better performance capabilities which allowed Daniel to scale Beneva Mayweather Foods while also remaining artisan. Beneva Mayweather Foods focuses on quality and a commitment to excellence. We do not chase profits. We chase being our best, giving our best, and making our best. The rest will work itself out.
Available: Bread, Sandwiches