Brendan Ready is the co-owner of Portland, Maine, U.S.A.-based Ready Seafood Co. and Maine Seafood Ventures, along with his brother John Ready. The lobster dealer announced on 13 March it will build a new processing facility in southern Maine by 2019. The new building will also include tanks to keep live lobsters for shipping. In an interview with SeafoodSource, Brendan Ready said the facility’s lobster processing and holding capabilities will rival the largest existing facilities in the state, which currently sends much of its lobster catch to Canada for processing.
SeafoodSource: Why is Ready Seafood building a new processing facility in Maine?
Ready: We already have two buildings – a live lobster facility in Portland and a processing facility in Scarborough, held under a separate business entity, Maine Seafood Ventures. For us, the goal has always been to get lobster whether it’s shipped live or processed, to taste identical as if it had been caught that day. That has always been our push and that is our focus in developing our new facility in Saco; we think we can get as close as we can to that desired flavor and texture profile with the new plant. And then we just try to consistently deliver that to consumers around the U.S. and the world with a consistent, guaranteed supply.
SeafoodSource: Why is it so important to you to control the entire lobster supply chain?
Ready: We always thought if you could control the supply chain, you could ensure the quality of the product from the time it was purchased from the harvester to the time it gets to the consumer. Getting that contact with the end customers was important, because it allowed us to learn from them what they’re looking for. As we’ve learned more about our consumers and trends affecting them, we’ve developed our focus on their needs. Rather than do it the way has always been done, we tell people to look at all the amazing work done at the harvester level to make this industry so sustainable and so special. And we try to continue that hard work and diligence as we do marketing and throughout the supply chain.
SeafoodSource: Why does Canada do so much processing of lobster caught in Maine?
Ready: I think we send so much lobster for processing in Canada because that’s what we have always done traditionally. And it’s capital intensive to build and establish a processing facility. To be honest, it’s hard to do. Canada has always has been a great trade partner and the lobster industry has a great relationship across the border between Maine and Canada. But for the long-term health of the industry, we want to maximize the value of the lobster caught in Maine and we think building this processing facility in Saco is another great step towards that direction.
SeafoodSource: What is your existing processing capacity and what will it be once your new facility comes online?
Ready: Currently, our existing processing plant does six million pounds per year, and that facility is going to continue to run as usual in Scarborough. The new facility will have the ability process around 15 million pounds of lobster per year, to give us a combined processing power of 21 million pounds.
SeafoodSource: What are you doing differently with your new plant?
Ready: Our existing facility is doing a lot of traditional processing, while our new facility will be geared more toward value-added and production of easy-consumption products, both for foodservice and the retail sector. Most of what we’ll be doing will be continuing along the line of what’s out there, but we have a couple of new ideas that hopefully will be ready for the summer season of 2019.
SeafoodSource: Lobster exports are booming right now. Is that a market you see promise in?
Ready: Between our two companies, we export about 40 percent of our products currently. We believe in a diversified portfolio of customers. A lot of it is just learning the needs and wants of customers worldwide, and filling those needs, whether it’s export or domestic. We are continually learning and producing for their needs, instead of just producing products and getting a sales staff to sell them. One thing we’ve learned is that nothing should be set in concrete if you want to succeed in the business. More and more, we’re getting interested in working with retailers and the foodservice sector to get their firsthand knowledge of what they’re looking for, and then moving into more customer-oriented processing. That’s been our strength in the industry.
Both on the foodservice and retail sides, and both in the export and domestic markets, people want to have a traceable model for their catch. Consumers are looking for wild-caught protein sources in a proven, sustainable fishery. Maine fits that better than anywhere. We’re always marketing that brand; educating customers where Maine is and the value proposition for the lobster product that comes from Maine.
SeafoodSource: Since there seems to be a shortage of lobster processing capacity in Maine, would you consider working with other Maine-based companies to assist in processing their lobster?
Ready: Primarily our processing facilities are intended for our own use, but we’re always interested in talking with others who want to grow their business or get integrated. We are all about collaborations, and we’re interested in working with any company treats this amazing product with respect and does justice to the harvesters for all their hard work.
SeafoodSource: Your support for Maine’s lobster industry extends into funding research. Why do you think that’s a worthwhile investment?
Ready: There’s a number of cool projects we’re working on. Besides our project with the University of Maine, we’re working with our own marine biologist [Curt Brown] and other scientists to develop an innovative holding system that increases the dissolved oxygen in bloodstream of lobsters. That may allow us to ship our live lobsters further. Our new facility will include a marine research lab as well, and that’s going to be highly involved in the growth of our business.
SeafoodSource: Speaking of science, are you concerned about reports that juvenile counts of lobsters in the Gulf of Maine are showing decreases?
Ready: The lobster resource is amazingly strong. I think something like 111 million pounds were caught this year, making it one of the best years ever. Lobsters are being caught at different depth levels. We’re not concerned about that, because at the end of the day, our goal is to produce the most value possible for the consumer and the harvester.
SeafoodSource: What is your background that led you to found Ready Seafood and set such ambitious goals for the company?
Ready: I started as a lobsterman; my brother did as well. We knew all the hard work that I took to bring all that amazing wild-caught protein to consumers’ plates, but we always wanted to know where our lobsters went after we caught them. Once we learned more, we wanted to make sure customers were getting the best product possible, and that led us down the path of starting Ready Seafood and setting the goal of eventually controlling our entire supply chain. We started selling our own catch, then developed our processing plant, and now we’re building our second plant. But even though we’re doing all these things now, we still have our lobster licenses, and we still fish a few traps when we can to remind us of where the business started.
SeafoodSource: You and your brother are relatively young to be business owners. Is that an advantage or a disadvantage?
Ready: I’m 35 and he’s 36. Our team is really young – we’re all between 25 and 40, and I think our relative youth gives us a great energy and excitement in our approach to the business. We all want it to grow, and we’re all willing to work hard as a team to see that happen. We’re hungry to go, and eager to get our product to as many consumers around the world as we can.
