Coming from a finance and banking background, Dr. Valerie Daniels-Carter watched the hospitality industry from the sidelines, observing as the food business consistently delivered strong returns. Intrigued by the prospect of working with a structured franchisor that had a unique product and funding capacity, she decided to step into the industry.
With her brother as her only investor, Daniels-Carter founded V&J Foods in 1982. Seeing a gap in the Wisconsin market, she opened her first Burger King location. Over the next 16 years, her restaurant empire expanded to 132 locations across eight states, employing over 4,500 people. She later transitioned to a growing Pizza Hut portfolio and teamed up with NBA superstar Shaquille O’Neal to expand Auntie Anne’s into nontraditional locations. Inspired by these successes, she expanded her reach further with GoTo Foods, adding Cinnabon and Jamba to her portfolio.
“I had to question myself when I decided to transition to another industry because I had a great career in banking,” Daniels-Carter says. “After leaping in, I didn’t find it challenging. It’s a service industry, just like anything else … but you must be willing to understand and capture the unique dynamics of a restaurant environment. For me, that meant finding employees who enjoy serving others—not just hiring anybody.”
From the start of her career in the restaurant industry, Daniels-Carter knew she could use her success as a vehicle for philanthropy and inspiration. She deliberately wove a spirit of giving back into her business model, ensuring the people she brought into her organization were committed to serving others.
For the past 35 years, the V&J Foods team has traveled to Africa to build hospitals and orphanages, placed over 2,700 women in business roles, and set up medical camps to treat the ill. Daniels-Carter says this dedication to service does more than empower her employees; it also resonates with her customers.
“Customers want to share in on your success. They want to do more than grab a meal. … It’s special when their meal can sow into the lives and development of others. When a story is told inside a restaurant, customers and employees alike feel good about who and what they are supporting,” Daniels-Carter says.
Despite her extensive portfolio and humanitarian achievements, she acknowledges the unique challenges of being a strong woman in franchising. Throughout her four-decade career, Daniels-Carter has learned the importance of resilience.
“Don’t ever measure your success by the lack of someone else’s ability to understand who you are. You will have those who say it can’t be done. Instead of calling them challenges, I call them opportunities … because every opportunity to excel is predicated on your ability to remain focused,” she says. “You must stand on the principles you value, even in the face of adversity. My mother and father instilled in me that there is no room for saying ‘I can’t,’ because everything has a purpose tied to it, and it will always reveal itself if you hang in there.”
Looking back, Daniels-Carter reflects on an obstacle that felt almost insurmountable: the unexpected passing of her husband while she was raising her young son and expanding her business. She felt there were only two options—succumb to grief or push forward.
“Losing my husband was one of the most devastating periods of my life. I can’t give enough credit to my team at V&J Foods because they were my support system. … My team and God carried me through when I couldn’t carry myself,” she says. “Resilience only shows up as a flicker when you’re at the weakest point in your life. You have to dig deep for it and tell yourself your focus should be on where you’re going, not where you’ve been or what has happened to you.”
Today, Daniels-Carter concentrates on her GoTo Foods portfolio, which includes her Auntie Anne’s, Cinnabon, and Jamba restaurants. Through the years, her commitment to teamwork and collaboration in franchising has remained constant. From her very first Burger King location to her expansive portfolio today, she believes that true growth happens by fostering a mission-based team with a shared vision for success.
“Having mission-based employees changes the trajectory of your company because they buy into your passion and transcend the day-to-day operations. We are a family. … I can’t fix all of their problems, but I can make sure my employees know that I love and care about them,” Daniels-Carter says. “You need individuals who understand where they best fit within a company culture … I’ve seen so many great brands over the years falter because their visions just don’t coincide with their teams.”
As she looks to the future, Daniels-Carter is focused on maintaining her position in the industry and managing her current strategies with intention and integrity. She has no plans to slow down her philanthropic work, which she describes as a “faith-driven direction” that keeps her grounded as she operates her restaurants and builds an intergenerational legacy.
Her advice for women in the restaurant and franchising industries? Keep going. Leading a multi-national restaurant business has taught her the value of having a clear roadmap and of operating based on her life’s calling: to serve others.
“Women in franchising are critical to the survival of the industry. As women, we must position ourselves in such a way that when opportunity knocks on the door, we are properly aligned to receive it,” Daniels-Carter says. “I was the first African American woman to chair the [Triple A] organization, with 66 million members, but I had to position myself years ago to be in a mental place where I could step through that door when it opened for me.”