Whiting, Maine, U.S.A.-based Looks Gourmet, which conducts business under the name Bar Harbor Foods, will close after more than a century of operations in Maine.
The business is the oldest, and last, seafood cannery in a state that once boasted more than 40 canneries along its coast.
Bar Harbor Foods is a subsidiary of clam producer Sea Watch International, which announced last week that it would be moving production of the Whiting cannery to its Milford, Delaware, facility. General Manager Mike Sansing told Fox 22 WFVX Bangor that the move was necessary to ensure the long-term success of the company.
Looks Gourmet was struggling to stay afloat in the early 2000s when it was purchased by Michael Cote, a former executive of health food company Odwalla.
Cote rebranded the company as Bar Harbor Foods, playing on the retro appeal of a traditional cannery.
“I reformulated all the Bar Harbor products myself and hit the road, marketing the nostalgic canning company from Maine," he said.
The revamp was a success, and Bar Harbor soon had a national presence in chain grocery stores, as well as specialty and natural retailers.
A decade after Cote’s purchase of the cannery, the company was employing nearly 30 people, a significant share of the population in the small town of Whiting.
In 2016, Sea Watch International, the country’s largest clam supplier, acquired Bar Harbor as a subsidiary, with Cote remaining in his role of president. At the time, in a joint interview with SeafoodSource, Sea Watch COO Jerry Gordon and Cote celebrated the partnership.
"The beauty of this new relationship is that it represents a perfect opportunity for us to help Cote grow; we can supply him with fully sustainable, wild-caught product, and he can continue to grow his high-quality retail brand," Gordon told SeafoodSource. “We can also provide additional expertise with product development and help him as he develops a frozen line and continues to expand his shelf-stable offerings. We’re firmly convinced the sector that he’s operating in – all-natural sustainable – is a growing sector. As consumers become more aware of the positive attributes associated with that, we believe it will grow dramatically.”
Cote said at the time that he had shared the announcement with the firm's 30 employees and that they were very supportive.
“They are dedicated to our collective success and delighted that Sea Watch has invested in and supports our mission," he said. "Sea Watch supports our continued operation in the state of Maine and our mission of maintaining local economic stability within the local and regional fishing communities.”
Cote left the company in 2019 and has since worked as a consultant for several foodservice companies. He is currently a board member of Bristol Seafood.
Around 20 people currently work at the cannery, which will cease operations in December.
