Peter Handy is president and CEO of Bristol Seafood, which was founded in 1992 in Portland, Maine, and offers sustainably harvested cod, haddock, mussels, and scallops.
SeafoodSource: What are the core principles of your business and how did you arrive at them?
Handy: In our business, we operate on the beliefs that if we are relentless about telling the truth, make the highest-quality product and tell the story behind it, we can change the way people eat seafood.
Among our core principles are to be honest; to have team members who are curious and adaptive and come with an owner mentality; to make fact-based decisions; to get things done right, which means not focusing on everything, but on those things we can do right; and to have a sense of humility. There’s a lot we don’t know and we’re still learning every day. That helps us get better for our customers.
SeafoodSource: Your company was recently named business of the year in Portland. What does that mean to you personally and how does such an accolade translate to business opportunities?
Handy: It’s an accomplishment we’re extremely proud of. The city is on fire, with great businesses coming in and tourism and the restaurant scene growing. We’ve done a huge amount of work and what this does for us is signal that the hard work we are doing is paying off. It’s validating. In a tight labor market, it’s helpful for folks to know what we’re doing to help us retain and attract talent. It’s like playing a sport; it’s a pat on the back.
SeafoodSource: In August, you expanded your retail presence via a deal with Tops; what is the retail growth strategy at Bristol and how do retailers fit into your plans versus your foodservice customers?
Handy: One of the things we’re focused on is the quality of our product, but we’re also focused on the stories in seafood, such as protecting human rights. Tops took on our Fair Trade scallops, which is the first Fair Trade-certified seafood in the U.S. It’s meaningful personally and the story of it resonates with consumers. [The domestic Fair Trade seafood certification requires fishermen to source and trade according to rigorous, independently audited standards.]
As to our strategy, what we’ve found is the biggest decider is what our consumers value. As we see consumers getting more involved with local, sustainable and Fair Trade products we’ve seen growth in retail sales. But we also see growth in foodservice. We’re about 50/50 now. We like our business to be diversified and we want growth in both retail and foodservice.
SeafoodSource: What has been the reaction to your Fair Trade scallops and why is this important for the seafood industry?
Handy: It’s along that vein of giving the consumer what they are asking for: local, American, natural, wild, sustainable, and socially responsible. We wrapped it all into one product. This is an opportunity for the industry to look at how we give value, since Fair Trade is something consumer’s value. Social responsibility matters and it’s neat to work in an industry where social responsibility makes business sense.
SeafoodSource: One year in, what impact has the presidency of Donald Trump had on the seafood industry?
Handy: The primary area for political management for seafood is with supply. One of the issues is importation. At Bristol, we want to source the most sustainable, high-quality seafood in the world and we want to maintain access to that. I’m pleased to see we haven’t had any material restrictions on access to product.
SeafoodSource: When you get together with others in the seafood industry, what’s the first topic that comes up?
Handy: I recently spent three weeks going all over the United States visiting customers and processors and one of the things that’s continually discussed is what can be put out at retail that resonates with consumers. It’s incumbent upon us to figure out why seafood is underrepresented with consumers. What little things can be done, like sharing stories or improving packaging? So many companies are focused on that goal, the result of which is more people having fish for dinner.
