Career Change from Tech to Food, Fueled by Jerky
Meet Soul Reviver, startup home of Chicago Steak jerky
Erik Mead’s Beefy Entry Into the Food Business
Soul Reviver is a company started by first-time food entrepreneur Erik Mead. Erik produces three flavorful varieties of beef jerky, single origin coffees, and hot cocoa mixes out of Amped Kitchens, a shared commercial kitchen operation in the Belmont Central neighborhood on Chicago’s far west side. (That’s Erik in the above photo next to the dehydrator that is the heart of his business.)
Erik’s college degree is in electrical engineering, and his first career spanned tech roles from software engineer to consulting to management to sales. “I got to see a lot of businesses, different sizes, different operations, learned a lot about what I thought was good and bad about operating a business,” he said. “But essentially, none of those interactions were food.”
His transition to Soul Reviver will have a touch of familiarity to other early-stage food business owners, with a bit of serendipity.
Erik said he was scrolling through TikTok a while back and stumbled on a video showing how easy it was to make beef jerky at home. He was intrigued enough to start exploring whether this could be the ticket to a career that might provide more fulfillment than he found in tech.
He bought some cuts of beef and experimented with different recipes, but felt he really hit a sweet spot with a version flavored with Chicago Steak Seasoning, a mildly peppery blend with local flair. “That way,” he said, “I can get that flavor and experience without having to actually buy a steak in the process.”
Then came the part that will ring a bell with many food entrepreneurs: inviting friends and acquaintances to be taste-testers and share their opinions of the product. There were recipe tweaks recommended, but, “Their response was, ‘This is better than what I get from the store. I prefer to buy this then your standard store brand.’”
He continued, “That was that point when I thought, maybe this is the thing to let me actually pursue that entrepreneurial side that's been in the wings for years.”
While many of the big commercial jerky products are leathery and tough to chew, Soul Reviver — like some other new-age producers — makes jerky that is both savory and easy on your teeth. “The majority of the bulk processors slice the beef with the grain, Erik said. “It's faster, but the resulting texture of the jerky is extremely tough and leathery. So I chose to process it the other way.”
He currently produces three flavors of jerky: the Chicago Steak, Plain, and Teriyaki. “I continue to get feedback from folks, it actually tastes like beef. That's a surprise to people when eating beef jerky,” he said.
Erik sent me home with a sample of each of the flavors and I agree with that sentiment. I don’t eat jerky that often, but Soul Reviver’s version has one of the better mouthfeels I’ve experienced with these products, and the flavor is pronounced. I liked all three, but the Chicago Steak jerky really popped.
Along with the jerky, Erik produces a variety of single-origin coffees — he brewed some during our conversation and it was pleasantly smooth — and hot cocoa mixes, one with chocolate chips and the other with peppermint.
“I was uneasy about a sole product business,” he said. “I don't know if I want to commit to doing this with everything make-or-break on this one product.”
Erik launched Soul Reviver in late 2022 and said the first nine to 12 months mostly involved trying to figure out how to operate the business. He continued, “Now that things are more settled, I'm always trying new things, like changing the cost of beef, but at least I feel more of a capacity to do the networking, getting more of the brand in the world, versus hoping that I get lucky with people finding a website or things like that.”
He added, “It's going as well as I could hope being a solopreneur, bootstrapping, no real connections going into it, and continuing to get really positive feedback on the product. I just started some social media ads in the last month, and significant traffic is being driven as interactions just from that. So good things are happening.”
Click below to explore and order Soul Reviver products online. They are also available at Carnivore, a highly regarded butcher shop located in the Chicago suburb of Oak Park.
Bob’s World, and Welcome to It
The meteorologists say this is the warmest Chicago February in 150 years, and it has been very dry. I could sit inside and worry about the existential meaning of it all. But Tuesday afternoon was sunny and 56 degrees, and the pull to be outside was irresistible.
Happily, the rabbits who are well represented on Lakeview’s lovely Hawthorne Terrace felt the same. And these were no baby bunnies, but rather robust, full-grown rabbits (check out the chubby cheeks on the one in the photo above).
I was out and about on Wednesday, too, when the temperatures reached the 60s. No rabbit sightings this time, alas.
Maybe the groundhog was right about an early spring?