We spoke to Michael to hear how his self-started dog treat company is saving lives, and why SavourLife will bring a special extra something to Cloud St, Parramatta.
Welcome to Cloud St. Tell us how SavourLife began
I worked in the corporate world for a long time. One day, I was with a bunch of colleagues and they asked me, “Would you still do your job if you won the lottery?” When I said no, they said, “Well, what would you do?”. It was a real lightbulb moment.
I didn’t win the lottery but that conversation sparked an idea. I’d help rescue dogs.
It took me another six months to work out what that would look like – my skillset is in marketing and business strategy, and I’d be no good at running a shelter. Then it all fell together at the park one day, I could use my business skills to help the good people already running small shelters and foster groups.
We’d make high quality Australian-made treats, and use half of the profits to help other dogs. I figured, wouldn’t Australian pet owners prefer to buy from a local company that supports rescue dogs, rather than see their money go to a massive conglomerate?
Luckily, one of my past jobs was figuring out markets and building business cases. I did the maths: the dog food market in Australia was worth $300 million a year, and pet food was worth $1.3 billion. They are huge markets, dominated mostly by multi-nationals.
I knew if I could only get a sliver, that’s all I’d need to be self-sustaining. I could fund rescue groups, and save thousands of lives a year and make a real difference in the community.
What inspired you to apply for Cloud Street?
I use Xero every single day to work out our forecastings, cash flow and donations. It’s been a godsend; it’s saved us an enormous amount of time and money, that we can now channel to helping rescue dogs. That’s how we heard about Cloud St.
We’ve never had our own physical presence, not even a market stall – all our physical sales are done through our retail partners. We knew it was a great opportunity for us to meet new customers, tell our story, and introduce everyone to our ‘ambassadog’, Missy.
What’s Missy’s story?
Missy is both unique, but also sadly a story that plays out a thousand times a month across Australia. She had a deformed leg and was a few of hours away from being euthanised, after being abandoned. A quick-thinking veterinary nurse called a rescue organisation who volunteered to pay thousands for her operation. That’s what these little volunteer-run groups do; that’s why they need our support.
We worked closely with the group, trying to help fund them where we could, so we were lucky enough to meet Missy. My wife and I thought, ‘She should come and live with us’. Now she lives with a family who runs a dog treat company. She really landed on her three legs!
Finally, what are three reasons we should buy your product?
Half of our profits go to rescue groups. The money stays in this country and helps does good in the community. We even have a code to our packaging so customers can see the difference their money is making. It links you to your own rescue dog and we send you updates on their progress until they get adopted.
We use great quality, natural Australian ingredients.
It’s a family-run business – run by myself and my wife, my brother and my sister in law – built from scratch using our own money. We are a small Australian social enterprise trying to make a difference, and we’re really proud of what we’ve done. I want people to buy our products knowing that they get something great for their dog, but that they are also helping rescue dogs at the same time. But deeper than that I also want people to hear our story and think, ‘Hey I could do something like that too’. Whatever your cause is, there are so many ways you could help it, and our model is just one.