East Coast Seafood is considering a strategy of acquisitions, two years after it embarked on a reorganization centered around its opening of a new 66,000-square-foot lobster and scallop processing facility in New Bedford, Massachusetts.
The Topsfield, Massachusetts-based company acquired its New Bedford facility in 2012 as part of its takeover of Seatrade. Earlier this year, it shuttered its Garbo Lobster facility in Groton, Connecticut. It launched its Salt & Sky brand in 2018, and the company has since been diversifying and expanding its foodservice and retail product portfolio, senior vice president of sales and marketing Steve Musser said.
Now, the company is looking at several acquisition opportunities as part of its strategic growth plan, according to CEO Brad Hudson.
“I believe we are seeing an end to operational redundancy and the onset of strategic acquisitions aimed at strong and visionary plans to meet changing market demands,” East Coast CEO Brad Hudson said. “East Coast/Seatrade International has always been an industry leader and often that requires bold moves to for the next growth phase in companies’ life cycle.”
As one of the final steps of its reorganization, East Coast recently sold its Clark’s Harbour, Nova Scotia, Canada lobster pound, with Mazzetta Co. tapped as the buyer, it said in a press release.
“Over the past 10 years, the company has inherited several live lobster holding facilities through mergers and has seen a redundancy; the recent sale of Clark’s Harbour and other live holding facilities are simply the result of streamlining capabilities,” it said.
In response to a SeafoodSource inquiry, Mazzetta Co. CEO Tom Mazzetta confirmed the purchase.
“Mazzetta Company has been involved in the Canadian lobster industry for more than 10 years now, and we are looking forward to continuing and growing in the future,” he said in an email to SeafoodSource. “Although the world is confronting a major challenge right now, I am confident it will be resolved in the near-term, and we will be in a good position with a fully integrated North American lobster supply chain.”
Reaction from American consumers to the COVID-19 outbreak has resulted in a sharp increase of sales of frozen and pre-packaged fresh seafood in club and retail outlets, East Coast said in a statement, likely due to “a desire for less hand-to-hand contact during this unprecedented time.”
“As pre-packed seafood is an alternative to the fresh fish counter, East Coast Seafood/Seatrade International is providing large scale pre-packed fresh seafood programs for select retailers and club customers,” it said. “These pre-packaged seafood species are placed in a new technology tray that extends shelf-life, a critical benefit as consumers continue to stock their food supplies at home.”
To expand its production of pre-packed fresh products, the company is opening a previously “shuttered-for-the-season” facility in Maine within the next few weeks, East Coast said.
“We foresee this as a new opportunity for various sales channels, including retail and eventually foodservice,” East Coast Senior Vice President for Operations Bob Blais said. “A silver lining in the current market situation is the fact that the pre-packaged fresh seafood program can be implemented almost immediately for select retailers and club channels looking to meet new consumer demands.”
Blais said the company’s shift in its operational footprint, executed over the past two years, has helped East Coast better position itself to respond to the rapidly-changing market brought about by the coronavirus crisis.
“In hindsight, this prior shift in the companies’ operation footprint has helped to strengthen the organization, in this new corona[virus] environment,” he said. “As part of a preparedness plan as the situation unfolds, the company offers geographically diverse operations, including four fresh and frozen facilities along the North Atlantic coast.”
When the COVID-19 virus hit the U.S. last month, the company had a three-month supply of frozen commodity items including scallops, lobster, and fish stockpiled. That supply is now being tapped to help it meet rising demand, and in addition, East Coast is “proactively and strategically” considering increasing its production capabilities and technologies, East Coast Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing Steve Musser added.
“Consumers are driving the importance of having healthful foods on hand at home; food that has staying power and offers strong nutrition including high protein per serving. Frozen seafood feeds this need perfectly,” Musser said. “As many shelves across the U.S.A. are being restocked daily due to dramatic demand, our collective seafood industry has excellent inventories of seafood ready for distribution. As a company, we’re driving every single opportunity available to our respective foodservice, club, and retail customers. This means taking the innovations we’ve been bringing to market over the last year and exponentially supplying quality seafood where it is needed the most. Today that means retail and club channels.”
East Coast has found recent success in its product launches through its Salt & Sky brand, including its Shrimp and Mussel Paella, Shrimp and Rice Noodles, Scallop Gnocchi, and Lobster Mac and Cheese Bites. The company has achieved distribution in Costco Wholesale Clubs, the fourth-largest retailer in the world, and has achieved placement of its Salt & Sky Shrimp and Rice Noodles Steam Bags at 250 U.S. Costco outlets, it said.
“This is a great example of a frozen seafood product that is meeting consumer needs during this challenging time,” Musser said.
Photo courtesy of East Coast Seafood
