Melvin Maddux
Melvin Maddux, Global Sourcing & Innovation
Gourmet Foods International
June 28, 1967 – October 24, 2024
Melvin was an enthusiastic and knowledgeable founding member of The Vision Group. His expertise in the production and distribution of food products, his insights on new product innovations gathered on his global travels, and his insatiable curiosity helped give life to TVG and encompassed the philosophy of the Vision Group Network, “Sharing today to shape tomorrow”. We will miss him.
Melvin Maddux worked for Gourmet Foods International (GFI) in Worldwide Global Sourcing and Innovation, for all Gourmet Product Categories. Melvin brought a worldwide perspective in terms of brand management, retail solutions, innovation, and global procurement. Melvin was an industry veteran with more than 40 years of experience, in both retail and brand management. Melvin lived on three continents and had done business in 6 of the 7 continents around world during those 40 years.
Melvin assisted in the development of proprietary brands at HEB Grocery Company in Texas, The Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company in New Jersey, AEON Group in Tokyo, Japan, Lotte Group in South Korea and Lianhua Supermarket Holdings Co. Ltd in Shanghai, China, while working for Daymon Worldwide. Melvin was elected as the youngest Vice President and Officer, at that time with Daymon. Melvin performed various leadership roles in developing those businesses into the successes they still appreciate today.
There are very few people that understand all aspects of the retail business, as well as the destinations around the world to procure high quality safe foods. Melvin’s life work had been studying all channels of retail trade around the world, while fostering relationships with the best manufacturers in those respected countries. Melvin had flown more than 5,000,000 miles and visited thousands of factories and most retail chains in the major markets worldwide.
At GFI, Melvin developed and launched many proprietary brands from different parts of the world to include Italy, USA, Spain, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, Canada, Netherlands, Canada, Portugal Mexico, Japan, China, South Korea and France to name a few countries over the last few years with great success, with a focus on finding the best people with the best products. In his last 7 years with Gourmet Foods International Melvin set-up more than 200 new suppliers and developed and launched more than 1,800 items from around the world selling exclusively to GFI customers.
Melvin Maddux and his wife Janet were married for 31 years, with twin daughters that were born in Tokyo, Japan. Melvin and wife have lived in Japan, China, South Korea, New York, New Jersey and spent extensive time in Europe, before moving back to Central, Texas, now living in Salado. Melvin’s daughters are attending the University of Oklahoma (OU) where one daughter is a Double Major in Business and Entrepreneurship and the other as Pre-med, they are both in their Junior year at OU. Melvin enjoyed cooking international foods, spending time on the lakes and rivers in Texas, and all High School Sports.
Melvin was always visiting stores, taking photos, and consistently looking for new innovative ways in every aspect of the business from new equipment, food products, transportation efficiencies, GFI E-commerce platform from across the globe. Melvin believed there is an opportunity to learn every day and applied “first principles thinking” to everything that was done to create something new or different, never being satisfied with the status quo.