It began in Opelousas, Louisiana, with a country store and a hog farm. In 1955, Eula Savoie had a problem: what to do with all the hogs she was raising but couldn’t sell.
Ever entrepreneurial, she had started the 187-acre farming operation a few years earlier to supplement income from the small grocery store she owned with her husband. Ms. Eula decided to butcher the hogs and turn them into Cajun dishes to sell in the shop. Those dishes, based on her mother’s recipes, became the centerpiece of what was to become the Group of Savoie’s Companies, a multimillion-dollar Cajun food empire currently celebrating six decades in business.
In recent years, ready-prepared frozen meals, including single- and multi-serve dishes, were added to the company’s ever-expanding range of Cajun food, along with frozen appetizers and seafood pies. The frozen fare runs the gamut from heat-and-eat Shrimp Gumbo and Crawfish Etouffee to Chicken & Sausage Jambalaya, Louisiana Pork Stew, Shrimp & Angel Hair Pasta and plenty more.
“Our products make it easy for families to enjoy delicious, home-cooked Cajun cuisine without spending all day in the kitchen,” said Freddie Lafleur, president and chief operating officer of Savoie’s Sausage and Food Products, Inc.
At the heart of the company’s long and colorful history is Ms. Eula, who passed away in 2010. Under her leadership, Savoie’s Sausage and Food Products grew steadily and added new product lines, including Cajun pantry staples like jarred roux and rice dressing mix.
“She was a real pioneer, investing in new technologies and facilities, while always making time to treat her employees like family,” said Lafleur. “That balance – between innovation and preserving heritage – has been key to the success of Savoie’s Foods.”
The Savoie family is seen in the early days of starting an iconic Cajun foods business in Louisiana that is marking its 60th anniversary this year.
He continued, “No matter how large we might grow, we’ll always be a family company. We now have 110 employees, and are owned and operated right here in Louisiana, with locations in Opelousas, Church Point and New Iberia.”
In 1990, when the state of Louisiana authorized the term “Certified Cajun,” the company was one of the first businesses to apply for and receive the “Certified Cajun” designation. Today it is also USDA inspected and GFSI/SQF certified.
Savoie’s creates authentic Cajun products using family recipes handed down for generations. From the popular roux used in gumbos and gravies to smoked sausage, boudin and tasso, its products are available in grocery stores across the Gulf South region of the United States and at restaurants throughout the country. The company is working to expand distribution to retail outlets in additional southeastern states, including Florida and Georgia.
More information about Savoie’s is available online at www.savoiesfoods.com.
