Kristen Baumer’s post-Katrina take on selling shrimp at Paul Piazza and Son

Kristen Baumer is the president of Paul Piazza and Son Inc., a New Orleans, Louisiana-based processor of wild shrimp caught in the Gulf of Mexico. He is the fourth generation of his family to run the company.

SeafoodSource: What’s the history of Paul Piazza & Son?

Baumer: The company was started by my great-grandfather, Paul Piazza, who came from Italy, found his way to New Orleans and set up in the French Market. He would source and sell seafood and game. In the 1960s and ‘70s, my dad and uncle become partners in the business and ran it through the ‘70s, ‘80s and ‘90s. We now have a square block where we process Gulf shrimp. We used to just sell it locally, then regionally, now it’s national. Eventually my dad, brother and I bought out my uncle and we’re running the company now.

SeafoodSource: What has been your history with the company?

Baumer: I went to Louisiana State University and worked in the business all the way through college, processing shrimp. After [graduating], I took a semester off, then went to law school and practiced law for about nine years. I came back into the business full-time in 2006, post-Hurricane Katrina.

SeafoodSource: What was the impact of Hurricane Katrina on your business?

Baumer: Katrina almost wiped us out. To survive Katrina, we had to keep up supply. We bought out a plant in Delcambre, Louisiana, and continued to pack shrimp while the New Orleans plant was down. Since 2006, we’ve increased production of shrimp, processing more than 25 million pounds a year, and refurbished the New Orleans plant. We also now work with fishermen in Texas and elsewhere on the Gulf Coast and have put a retail line in place.

SeafoodSource: What are the core principles that have been the foundation of the business since it was started in 1892?

Baumer: We’ve always tried to focus on consistent, premium quality. A lot of people can pack product, but you have to be disciplined to produce a premium product everyday. We’ve always strived to make this a year-round business; to take the seasonality out of it. My grandfather said, “You can’t sell from an empty wagon.”

SeafoodSource: What has been your biggest business challenge?

Baumer: The biggest challenge for our company turned out to be a blessing. Katrina helped us focus. I came in fresh and helped the company focus on quality and growth. Katrina got us going again and brought some youth into the business.

On a daily basis, the challenge is to partner with the best suppliers. And we’re challenged to balance our inventory by selling through multiple channels – foodservice, retail and ingredients. We try to carry enough inventory to sell what’s coming out of the water.

SeafoodSource: What has been your greatest accomplishment thus far?

Baumer: We’ve worked for the past 10 years to build and maintain a customer base that is loyal to wild caught shrimp and to our product. Our strategy is to partner with suppliers for a premium product and to partner with customers to grow their business and, in turn, our customer base.

SeafoodSource: Are there any special challenges or opportunities with running a family-owned business?

Baumer: Very few family businesses make it beyond the fourth generation. The main challenge that we focus on is to make sure all the members of the family are on the same page regarding the business. To have success, we need to have happy employees, happy customers and happy suppliers.