Ben Lloyd is the owner and president of Pangea Shellfish Co. and Standish Shore Oyster Farm. The company, which carries more than 70 oyster varieties, operates from an 8,000-square-foot facility in Boston and employs more than a dozen full- and part-time employees between the two businesses.
SeafoodSource: How did you come to be in the oyster business?
Lloyd: I always knew I wanted to open my own business and be my own boss. I was a marine affairs major in college at the University of Rhode Island and that covered topics like shipping, ports, fishing and aquaculture. I then worked at a Rhode Island oyster farm for four years. My plan was to open an oyster farm, but the industry had a few bad years there, so I got into the wholesale side of it instead in 2001. Then in 2010, I bought an oyster farm in Duxbury Bay.
SeafoodSource: What are some of the trends within the oyster sector and how does your business reflect those trends?
Lloyd: Certainly branding is becoming very popular; everyone is branding a unique name. But I think it’s getting a little saturated at this point. People are branding oysters under so many different names that the real information about the oyster is getting lost. We get requests every week for oysters by name.
Although a small market for us until this year, petit oysters have taken off and we’ve begun shipping more of them to New York City. Another area of opportunity is occurring with new suppliers. Some towns in Massachusetts have had a moratorium on harvesting but a lot is opening up on the coast of Maine and elsewhere.
SeafoodSource: What has been your biggest business challenge thus far and what did you learn from that experience?
Lloyd: Product sourcing is always the biggest challenge. Oysters go through cycles. Starting in September availability is good, and continues through January. In fact, it’s almost too much in November and December. Then in February we start losing varieties as some areas start to ice up, so product starts to tighten up.
From February through July just finding product can be a challenge. We’ve adjusted by taking on new growers and diversifying geographically. But December into January can be challenging, trying to keep all the growers happy.
SeafoodSource: If there were one thing you could change about the seafood industry as a whole, especially as it pertains to oysters, what would it be?
Lloyd: You can’t change Mother Nature. I think branding is getting out of control. We like to have a name that reflects where the oysters come from.
SeafoodSource: Among your peers in the industry, who do you turn to for advice, to share ideas, to joke around, or to just talk to about issues you have in common?
Lloyd: Bob Rheault, executive director of the East Coast Shellfish Growers Association. He’s a good resource and has excellent insight into regulations and understanding the issues that we are facing, such as trying to mitigate or reduce illnesses related to shellfish.
SeafoodSource: Given the opportunity to address a room filled with seafood industry leaders such as yourself, what is the one nugget of wisdom you would offer them as your closing remark?
Lloyd: Be straightforward with your customer. There are a lot of games played in the industry.
