This week we chat to Michael McTeigue, founder – alongside wife Kim – of SavourLife, a dog food business that donates 50 per cent of its profits to local shelters. Since staring the enterprise in 2014 Michael and Kim have donated over $1million to help save abandoned dogs across the country, and have launched a new initiative to save many more.
MM: The inspiration was the first dog my wife and I had together, our Buddy. He gave us the knowledge to start SavourLife and brought an in incredible amount of happiness to us! We thought if everyone could experience that happiness, that would be an amazing thing.
ISB: Please tell us about the recent Adopt A Dog initiative and how that works in practice.
MM: Our Adopt-A-Dog portal was the first major step in our mission of making sure that no adoptable dog is euthanised in Australia by 2022. The platform makes it easier for everyone to adopt a dog by having a virtual shelter, where little rescue groups from all over the country can post their available dogs. From a potential adopters’ point of view, they now have one website where they can search through thousands of available dogs and find the right one to match them and their family’s needs. We’ll be rolling out more programs and initiatives like this over the next few years. All the while we won’t lose focus on what got us here, making the best Aussie-made food and treats for your best friend!
ISB: What was the biggest challenge you faced in getting the enterprise off the ground, and how did you overcome it?
MM: SavourLife is a very small company – there’s only seven of us! We make natural food and treats for dogs and donate 50 per cent of our profits to those small, volunteer-run rescue groups. We run Adopt-A-Dog internally with those same team. We have to be super-smart with our budgets to maximise our reach. Social media and word of mouth have been a massive part of our success though, so if you are reading this, the next time someone mentions in conversation that they are looking for a dog, please tell them about rescue dogs and send them in our direction! I have two rescue dogs of my own and beyond the massive joy a dog brings to your family, it’s incredibly rewarding to know that you have literally saved a life.
ISB: How do you strike a balance between profitability of the business and ensuring greater support for homeless dogs?
MM: SavourLife is a social enterprise – a business that exists to help a social cause. It is a very hard model to make work, but we have succeeded through a mixture of hard work, a simple yet powerful idea and the support of our customers and retail partners. It started with the concept of helping rescue dogs before we built our products, so our purpose has always, and will always, be at the core of what we do.
ISB: Where do you see the business developing in the next couple of years, both in terms of products and the advocacy side of things?
MM: From a product perspective we’ll focus on making more Australian made treats and dog food and perhaps branch out in a few different categories. Our rule and is that everything must be done here in Australia. Our aim – that by the end of 2022, no adoptable dog will be euthanised in Australia – seems a bit crazy, but if you had asked me when I started SavourLife six years ago that would we have donated over one million dollars and helped more than 8500 dogs, I’d have thought that was crazy, too. But here we are, we’ve done that, it’s good to dream big.
ISB: And, finally, what is the number one lesson you’ve learnt on your journey you’d share with others looking to start their own business?
MM: There are two things that I’ve learned that have been critical. Ask yourself what makes my product or service different from everybody else and make sure you communicate that clearly to your potential customers. They need a reason to change their purchasing behaviour and you need to provide that to them.
Lesson two is perseverance. There will be a time (or times!) when you have a major setback and you’ll think it’s all over and it’s all too hard. Persevere, battle it out, you’ll get through it. Focus on why you started your business and what makes you the best, and you’ll come out the other side.
