It all started with a country store and hogs.
In 1955, Ms. Eula Savoie of Opelousas found herself with a problem: what to do with all the hogs she was raising but couldn’t sell.
“We were poor, but we always had good food to eat. We raised chickens, hogs -- we lived off the land,” Ms. Eula said. “About the only things we ever needed to buy were rice, flour and such.”
She had added the 187-acre farming operation a few years back to supplement the income from the small grocery store she owned with her husband. Thanks to a suggestion from her mother, Ms. Eula decided to butcher the hogs and turn them into Cajun dishes to sell in the store. Those dishes, based on her mother’s recipes, became the centerpiece of a multimillion-dollar Cajun food empire currently celebrating 60 years in business.
“No matter how large we might grow, we’ll always be a family company,”said Freddie Lafleur, Executive Vice President of Savoie's Foods
At the heart of the company’s unique story 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 pioneer in the food industry, investing in new technologies and facilities, while still making time to treat her employees like family. That balance between innovation and preserving heritage has been key to the success of Savoie’s® Foods.
“We have 110 employees, and we’re owned and operated right here in Louisiana, with locations in Opelousas and New Iberia.”
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, Savoie’s® products are currently available in grocery stores across the Gulf South and restaurants across the country. The company is working to expand distribution to grocery stored in additional southeast states.