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Our Story

Hi, we're Dan and Liza. Welcome to Sogo Snacks— we're glad you're here!

Sogo Snacks is a small family owned and operated business in beautiful Decorah, Iowa. Surrounded by bluffs and farmland, we’re in a hotspot of organic food production and simple living.

Most meat snack companies are run by large corporations. Not us! When you buy from us, you’ll quickly discover the difference. We manage everything from production to fulfillment to customer service. If you call us, you’ll talk to a real person—Dan!

Our mission is to create and promote fantastic-tasting, convenient, healthy meat snacks. We strive to be a humble and courageous company that follows the Golden Rule in all aspects of operations and use our support and success to benefit society, both at home and abroad.

Join us in our motto and Snack Well, Do Good.

Timeline

From Iowa to Mali and back again. This is the story of where we come from and how Sogo Snacks was born.

2001

Discovering Decorah

Dan and Liza attend Luther College in Decorah, IA. Both spend their summers working at local businesses and falling in love with the community, the natural surroundings, and each other.  Their education at Luther inspires them to travel and serve others, but they always picture themselves returning to the Decorah community.

2002

Doing Good

Never having had the opportunity to travel abroad, Dan joins the Peace Corps and spends two plus years in Mali, West Africa as a Small Enterprise Development Volunteer. This experience is transformational and Dan decides that he wants to live his life devoted to simple living and doing good. In the meantime, Liza joins AmeriCorps, maintaining trails for the Montana Conservation Corps—then spends several months visiting Dan in Mali.

After returning to the United States, Dan and Liza join the AmeriCorps (second time for Liza) and move to Albuquerque, New Mexico to volunteer with nonprofits working with underserved populations through AmeriCorps: Liza teaching GED classes and Dan working in microfinance.

2005

Sustainability Career

Dan begins a career centered around sustainability and digital communications, including serving as a communications specialist with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources.

2007

Making Decorah Home

A desire to be closer to family and making a life in a small, vibrant community, Dan and Liza move back to Decorah for good. After struggling to find meaningful work for several months, Dan lands a job coordinating the Campus Sustainability Office at Luther College. Liza goes back to school to get her nursing degree. They buy their first house, are blessed with three wonderful girls, and stay active in the community. The local food movement is strong, and Dan and Liza start learning about the benefits of healthier eating.

2016

Sogo Snacks is Born

Dan’s desire to create a business with lasting value guides him to take a leap of faith to start Sogo Snacks with his wife, Liza, and daughters: Lulu, Poppy, and Solveig. The Sogo Snacks logo features a baobab tree, the leaves of which provide Malians relief from the hot sun and sustenance for the sauce in their staple meal, To.