Feeding a passion — and a desire to give back

When Caleb Hoag started a part-time business cooking out of his home in 2016, he had a simple goal: to find a way to share his personal weight loss journey and passion for food with others. He never could have anticipated the rapid success of his business, the pandemic that would help fuel it, or the impact his talent and passion would have on the community.

Caleb is the owner of Savage Chef, a Webster, New York-based, fully prepared meal delivery service and 2021 Citizens Small Business Community Champion Award winner that's serving food to nourish communities in need.

Throughout his youth in Brighton, New York, Caleb Hoag suffered from obesity. At the young age of 10, he weighed 200 pounds. In 2012, when he reached age 23 and 280 pounds, he decided that he had had enough.

"I made a commitment to getting healthy through fitness, and more importantly, nutrition," he shares.

He had something huge working in his favor — his love of food. "I've always loved food and cooking," he enthuses. "When I was a kid, I used to go to the library and check out cookbooks."

That passion would drive him to learn more about what actually makes up food and change the course of his life by losing 120 pounds. Caleb was so proud of his success and motivated to find a way to share it with others. So, on the weekends, in his home kitchen, he started making healthy meals for his friends while he worked weekdays as a restaurant server. "I had worked in various restaurants throughout my life, so I understood the business," he shares.

Two years into that part-time business venture, he faced a turning point. "My business really started to take off and I didn't have the time to run it and work as a server at the restaurant," he explains.

In 2018, Caleb took a leap of faith: he left his job at the restaurant and rented kitchen space where he worked full-time on his business. He got his big break when a friend who worked at a local TV station got it to do a story on Caleb's business.

From there, things took off.

"People just started ordering. It got me to the point where I could start hiring a few employees," he shares. "I also continued to learn new things and build a website."

Caleb believes that the company's unique business model played a big role in his success early on and today. "We don't require people to pay a subscription fee or to meet a minimum," he explains. "If they want one meal a week, that's fine with us. We'll deliver small orders, too."

The company offers some other key competitive advantages: the food is always fresh and never frozen. What's more, it also provides customized meals and options, including gluten-free, vegan, and keto selections to accommodate those with dietary restrictions.

The willingness to go beyond what was expected is why Caleb was compelled to call the business Savage Chef, and why the company experienced rapid growth. This included hiring 12 employees to assist with portioning and delivering.

The business would change rapidly when the pandemic struck in 2020, but in a positive way.

With Savage Chef doing its business locally, one of Caleb's most successful marketing strategies involved handing out food samples at local gyms. But in 2020, COVID-19 forced many gyms to temporarily close. It did, however, open the door for a big business opportunity.

With people unable to dine in, the demand for home delivery during the pandemic exploded. As a result, Savage Chef doubled its revenue and hired even more employees to bring the total to over 20.

Despite his company's success during the pandemic, Caleb understood and had empathy for others who weren't as fortunate. “I didn’t think we’d be considered essential but we were,” he admits. “The pandemic really increased our business and I felt a little guilty about that."

He found the perfect solution to assuage his conflicted feelings: to give back. He started connecting with Facebook pages that were supporting essential workers. As a result, the company donated and delivered some 300 meals a week to different community groups, including a hospital where one of his employee's family members worked. Caleb was energized by the opportunity to help others. “The giving was kind of addictive,” he admits.

So, Caleb expanded his meal donations to other community groups and made financial contributions to World Central Kitchen and Feeding America.

When Savage Chef was recognized for its efforts to give back with a 2021 Citizens Small Business Community Champion Award prize, Caleb was proud. The $10,000 prize money will help the company manage a growing problem — securing equipment to keep up with high demand. “We need to upgrade our stoves, ovens, and grills to make more meals,” he explains. “Sometimes we cook more than 300 pounds of chicken in a few days and that’s really hard to do with our current equipment.”

With the equipment to accommodate their rapid growth, a strong business model, and a passion for giving back, Caleb knows Savage Chef is just getting started. Thanks to the prize money, the company will soon start shipping orders statewide and eventually expand into other states, where it will continue an important company tradition.

Caleb said enthusiastically, "We'll bring the same level of giving to every state and community we serve."