Marketing of cultured shellfish was the topic of the day at a workshop held in Portland, Maine, on April 8th. Producers, two industry associations, specialists in cooperatives and marketing , seafood dealers, scientists, a top-shelf chef, gear suppliers and members of the media were all on hand for a wide-ranging conversation that touched on everything from market-based production on the farm, to the benefits of strong relationships with restaurateurs and chefs.
The workshop was one of a series sponsored by the Northeast Regional Aquaculture Center, through the Regional Extension Project, and was coordinated by Maine Sea Grant / Univ. of Maine Cooperative Extension. Partners in organizing, planning and funding the event include the Maine Aquaculture Innovation Center, Maine Aquaculture Association, East Coast Shellfish Growers Association, Univ. of Connecticut and Salem State College.
The keynote speaker was Skip Bennett, founder and owner of Island Creek Oysters in Duxbury, MA. Island Creek has become a well-recognized producer of quality oysters throughout the country and internationally, and Skip made it clear that quality product and good connections with everybody in the distribution chain – right down to the customer – play a big role in their success. "When I started delivering oysters to the chefs right in the kitchen" he said, "that's when I realized that they really like knowing all about the food they serve, and what I do as a farmer." That experience stuck with him, and he uses it to guide his business, so that his wholesalers, truckers and employees can be responsive to the needs of the market.
Keeping in touch with your markets, and having a marketing plan to drive your production was one of the points followed up by Sebastian Belle of the Maine Aquaculture Association. "Deliver what you market, and market what you deliver" he said, and noted that detailed data on your marketing activities and costs should always be kept, so that your planned work can be judged against reality, allowing the grower to adjust effectively.
He also covered the traditional 4 points of marketing: Product, Price, Packaging and Place, with examples of each, to get producers thinking about how their business are positioned, and how they could look for improvement.
Cooperatives for production, purchasing and marketing were covered by Bill Brockhouse, an agriculture specialist with the USDA in Washington, DC. Bill went step-by-step through the process of cooperative development, and provided a number of materials that growers can use to figure out if a cooperative is right for them. Given that many shellfish producers are smaller operations, one of the advantages of the co-op approach was that a co-op manager can play the role of marketer for the whole group, whereas producers may have a hard time allocating time and financial resources to the important job of marketing.
The topics of branding and certifications were covered by Bob Rheault of the East Coast Shellfish Grower's Association, and it all starts with quality, quality, and quality. Development of your brand in the mind of the customer is a product of hard work and attention to detail, and is a fragile thing. When talking with people in your distribution chain, listen more than you talk, and be open to changing your practices if warranted.
He emphasized the mindset of 'never stop marketing;' use your box, your shirt, your hat, everything to convey a consistent message. On certifications, he things the jury is still out on the market advantage of eco-certifications, but the issue bears watching. For now, the process is driven by larger wholesalers rather than consumers.
The afternoon was devoted to two panel presentations. In the first panel, Tollef Olson (mussel and seaweed grower, Casco Bay, ME), Terry Callery (marketing consultant, Waldoboro, ME) and Jeff Payson (Northeast Transport, Waldoboro, ME) were focused on reaching customers, literally and figuratively, and showed that there's more than one way to skin the cat – or shellfish.
Tollef began by recognizing that farming shellfish is like farming and fishing everywhere: it's not just a job, it's a way of life. He also emphasized the value of getting in front of customers, through personal contact at events, persistence with distributors and the use of social media, while Terry's message was that growers should focus on growing the best product possible rather than spending their time marketing. He added that, by working with marketing specialists, larger dealers and distributors, and by using some available information on distribution routes, that the jobs of marketing and sales could be taken care of, without taking the farmer off the farm.
Jeff reinforced the value of working with closely with a transport company, noting the several cities his company can access with good regularity, and with full loads, delivery can cost as little as $0.10 per pound. This led to the possibilities of growers working together, and marketing to buyers at a distance, to reduce local competition.
Jeff (and other speakers) also talked about the value of good packaging, so that your product looks good, and arrives with the best quality possible – sagging, drab, leaky boxes on a pallet are two strikes right off the bat.
The last two speakers – Peter Ramsden (CEO, Foley Fish, Boston, MA) and Jeremy Sewall (Owner and Executive Chef, Lineage and Eastern Standard restaurants, MA), closed the travel of the product through a wholesaler, and finally to the chef's plate. Once again, good lines of communication and strong relationships were watchwords, as was quality. As Peter noted, speaking about relationships and family-run operations like Foley Fish: "We're going to be in the business, and we hope you'll be in the business. We want our grandkids to be buying shellfish from your grandkids."
From the standpoint of a distributor, Peter looks for a few key things in his shellfish vendors: a passion for what they do, willingness to be a good communicator, ability to run their operations as real businesses, and a desire to always improve the product.
And to close things up, Jeremy returned the group back to where we began, which was that he loves to hear about the food: how it's grown, where it came from, who grew it, and all those details that help to create a good story behind the food.
A full transcript is in progress for the event, and a companion CD is being developed for distribution through NRAC, extension agents, ECSGA, MAA and others. The CD will contain the transcript, presentations, and a list of printed and on-line resources for producers to help them become effective marketers.
For more information about the workshop, contact Dana Morse, Maine Sea Grant / Univ. of Maine Cooperative Extension, at 207.563.3146 x 205, or by email: dana.morse@maine.edu.
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