Written by Becca Wolfe, Image courtesy of Savannah Sauce Company
Savannah Sauce Company started when CEO, Mike Roberson, and his partner took a vacation to Jekyll Island. There, his partner showed a large interest in shrimp and grits. This led to the two attending a shrimp and grits festival where Roberson found some Caribbean inspired sauces that sparked his interest. That interest led to him buying a distribution as a hobby for his partner to do on the weekends. Shortly after, Roberson was unfortunately downsized.
This ushered Roberson to follow career paths elsewhere in cities such as Seattle. However, Roberson said, “I just had the ominous feeling that the same thing would happen and I’d get downsized again and be further away from home.” Roberson then came home to Savannah, GA. Where he set out to create sauces. Roberson recounts his experience as being scary due to his unemployment. However, he did not shy away from reaching out to different retailers such as Publix and Whole Foods Markets.
Roberson was told “no” multiple times in the beginning of his sauce journey by these companies. Until one retailer gave Roberson the opportunity to sell one of his products under one condition. This condition, that Roberson had to write an essay on why his products should be sold in stores. Having done the essay, Roberson had now created the opportunity to get one of his sauces in a Whole Foods Market.
From here on, Roberson went to Whole Foods everyday as if he was an employee himself in order to try and sell his product. After a number of samples had been handed out, Roberson was able to get his first buyer. This gave Roberson the encouragement he needed to move further with other sauces.
One tribulation the company foresaw as soon as sales began to rise, the original source of product had flaws with their products. This led to Savannah Sauce Company having to take all of their products off of the shelves. Roberson was forced to come up with a plan quickly, which led him to create his own signature sauce within two weeks. 52 stores later, and almost 19 products later, Roberson had created his very own company.
Since then, Roberson is still looking to expand into other markets and has found ways to give back to his community. He has shown his gratitude throughout projects such as The Tiny Homes for Big Heros Project. This project allowed for Roberson to create a cookbook in which he challenged chefs locally and globally to create dishes exclusively using his sauce. When the book was completed, Roberson went on to share the proceeds with the Chatham Savannah Charity for the Homeless. Through this company, the funds went towards a project that was creating tiny homes for homeless veterans. This contribution was always something that Roberson wanted to contribute to however he wasn’t always able to due to funds.
Recently, Roberson took part in a project with Savannah State University to allow students to engage within the campus and provide them with opportunities. Roberson created a sauce for the students, for which he held a competition for the label design and name design. The name for the sauce is now known as Tiger Awesome Sauce. The revenue generated from these sales revert back to the school and the proceeds are used to fund micro loads for students in the school of business.
The company itself is built on the idea of perseverance, as shown within Roberson’s life throughout his trials and tribulations. Savannah Sauce Company sells products such as hot sauces, ketchups, BBQ sauce, marinades and other assorted sauces. One of their most popular products is their jam called FROG Jam. FROG Jam is a spread made out of fig, raspberry, orange and ginger. The product has been a prominent part of Robersons life and tends to be very versatile.
Robersons final words towards aspiring students and their business endeavors are, “Don’t give up.” Savannah Sauce Company products can be found in select markets and also purchased on their website at https://savannahsaucecompany.bigcartel.com
