KeAndre’ Jordan aka My SOUTHERN Brand

2023 UP & COMING

I’m KeAndre’ Jordan, a southern guy through and through! In fact, I'm extremely proud of my southern roots and from where I come. I’m from a small town in the Black Belt region of Alabama called Eutaw, which is about 30 minutes southwest of Tuscaloosa.

Raised mostly by my maternal grandma with added rearing by my aunts, my mom, and my paternal grandparents, I was nurtured into a southern gentleman with Christian values and morals.

Growing up in the country, my childhood was average. I was a geek and loved studying maps and researching. I was very passionate and intuitive, which led to successful grade school years; I was the Valedictorian of my high school class and attended college on an academic scholarship. Also, thanks to family, I didn’t want for anything, but I dreamed big and had every plan to move away from my small hometown.

I graduated Summa Cum Laude from Alabama A&M University, the best HBCU in the land, with an engineering degree. Then after, I moved to Houston, the best city in the world besides my hometown, and started my career as an engineer in oil and gas. However, the oil industry had not been the best to me; I’d transitioned from job to job due to the oil downturn.

As for my career, I consult and market black restaurants. The consulting action comes to play, when I provide the businesses with social media tips, coach them on how to plate their food, provide customer feedback, and critique their food and products. After a small consultation, I understand their brand and market their business to my audience to ensure that restaurants receive a return on their investment.

Some of my proud moments include being featured as McDonald’s Future 22 Gamechanger; this recognition suggests that I’m making positive changes in the black community as a young black professional. In that same admission, I was entered by BET Talks, was featured on Revolt TV’s platform, and was recognized at the Essence Festival for my contributions to the black community.

I received the Black Book Houston Award for Houston’s Top Black Influencer of the Year. I was featured in the Houston

Chronicle and on Fox 26 for teaching Houston the difference between catfish and swai.

On Building My SOUTHERN Brand:

As an African American, I realized that we’re extremely influential. Whatever we touch turns into gold. In contrast, we don’t get the credit we deserve, especially within the food industry. The lack of culinary press and accolades within Houston’s Black food scene, intertwined with my love for our food and our culture, inspired me to birth My SOUTHERN Brand, which highlights Houston’s Black food establishments and gives a voice to the voiceless.

While Jordan aspires for more brand deals to further his initiatives, it’s the relationship between publications and television he hopes to build. “I want to be able to see myself and my brand in publications and TV. I just want to be able to showcase Blackness in a positive way,” he said. “A lot of people see us in in a negative light, and especially being a Black man doing this, I know it speaks volumes.”

He added, “I want to be able to show people that Black folks are not as bad as y’all think. We have morals, we have we will, and are law-abiding citizens. We can cook our tails off. We like to have fun. So, being able to show what we’re all about on a larger scale is what this is all about.”

Every week, I feed the homeless. After consulting residents and producing social media content, I have a lot of food left over, especially if I visit multiple restaurants a day. As a result, I stop by certain homeless camps in the city to drop off plates.

On my own, I highlight areas of Greater Houston to where black can move. This action is in response to messages my audience sends me, asking questions about Houston.

KeAndre’ Jordan Founder My SOUTHERN Brand Instagram: @mysouthernbrand