Harbor Seafood, Inc., of New Hyde Park, N.Y., has certainly grown in recent years, expanding both its retail and foodservice sales nationwide. Most recently, the 40-year-old company launched a national foodservice division to help expand the company’s sales and marketing presence throughout the country.
SeafoodSource recently caught up with Christian Limberg, president of Harbor Seafood, to talk about the company’s growth, its new foodservice division, and future plans.
Blank: How have Harbor Seafood’s sales grown over the past year?
Limberg: Our sales are up over 20 percent for 2014, and that doesn’t fully represent what the foodservice division team is going to bring to sales, since it wasn’t fully staffed until well into September. We have increased internal staff as well. We have developed a complete customer service department, adding four people to that department alone.
Harbor Seafood already supplies product to foodservice distributors and wholesalers across the country.
Why did you see the need to form a dedicated foodservice division?
It is about taking our sales support to the next level. Our customers’ customers are the restaurants, and our goal is to help them sell more seafood. We have had a long history of working with foodservice. The longer you work in a particular segment, the more you learn more about your customers’ businesses.
They said more feet on the ground would be better. They are looking for people who can show the features and benefits of the products, so they can know why they are buying particular products. It can’t only be spoken about over the phone. The product needs to be touched and tasted.
Also, it is important to us that we are prepared to answer any question a customer has. We are going to make sure we come back to you with the truth about that product, including where it is caught and how it is harvested. Be honest about how the fish is going to eat. If it is going to be oily, say it is going to be oily. We want people to know the truth about the attributes.
Tell us about your foodservice division team.
The leadership of the foodservice team is Alex Cook, who has been in the seafood business for at least 10 years. I’m completely confident he will bring the division to the next level and beyond. The team was hand-picked by Alex, because of his experience on the street. [Harbor Seafood’s foodservice team consists of: Cook, senior director of foodservice; Amie Stone (Northeast), Jonathan Heinold (mid-Atlantic), Mario Silvestri (Southeast), Mark Heldman (Central) and Nick LeVasseur (West Coast), regional managers; Andrew DeBardelaben (Northeast), Josh deBin (Southeast), Mike Kienke (mid-Atlantic), account executives; Alyssa Connor, foodservice customer service manager; and John Zervas, foodservice support specialist.]
What else is new for the company in 2015?
We are looking forward to Seafood Expo North America. Some of our new product lines will be added there — both commodity and value-added products. We will be launching a new brand called Three Promises, a foodservice line that is a combination of value-added and commodity products. The three promises are quality, support and value.
Our new website will likely be launched 1 April. It is specifically designed to support the team. There will be more for the end user, including recipes, more information on the history of the products and the history of the companies that we are partners with.
For later 2015, you will see the trend continue. We are always in motion. We will look for strategic acquisitions and partnerships. We don’t stand still. If you do, you will miss the boat.
