Saving Seafood

New Jersey: Inside Lund’s value-added growth plans

December 8, 2017 — U.S. fresh and frozen seafood supplier Lund’s Fisheries is planning to significantly expand its value-added offerings to restaurants and retailers.

The Cape May, New Jersey-based company, which has primarily focused on processing squid and finfish caught off the East Coast of the U.S., will now offer more value-added calamari and sea scallop products.

The supplier’s products are currently sold to restaurant companies, as well as to Giant Eagle, ALDI, Price Chopper, and other U.S. grocery chains.

“We are looking to take the resources we are producing with our independently-owned and -operated boats and creating value-added products,” Wayne Reichle, who was recently promoted from vice president to president of Lund’s, told SeafoodSource.

New product lines that will be available in the next few months include individually quick-frozen (IQF) calamari and sauce packages, as well as IQF scallops and sauce packages. The “Seafood Market” scallops line – expected to be available by March 2018 – includes: Sea Scallops with Bacon Cream Sauce, Sea Scallops with Spicy Asian Sauce, Sea Scallops with White Wine Cream Sauce, and Sea Scallops with Butter Garlic Sauce.

“These are heat-and-serve products. Customers can go to a grocery store and then, in 15 to 20 minutes, they will have a wholesome seafood dinner they can serve a family,” Reichle said.

For the past five years, Lund’s has been producing calamari from squid caught off the coast of New Jersey and California.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

 

New Jersey: Lund’s Fisheries Promotes, Hires as Part of Domestic Expansion

December 4, 2017 — CAPE MAY, N.J. — The following was released by Lund’s Fisheries:

Lund’s Fisheries is pleased to announce a series of promotions and new hires as part of its expansion into innovative product lines and markets. Our reorganized team will focus on adding additional value-added products such as seafood mixes, sauces and gourmet meals to the company’s overall product mix, while further developing Lund’s long-standing product lines such as fresh and frozen seafood and bait products.

As part of this new focus, Wayne Reichle will be promoted from Vice President to President of Lund’s Fisheries. Wayne has worked with the company for 23 years, and has experience in all aspects of the industry, from commercial fishing to sales. As part of our expansion into value-added products, Wayne will manage all factory and fleet operations and Lund’s Fisheries’ domestic and foreign seafood trade.

David Gray will become Vice President of our Value-Added Division. In this role, David will use his expertise in product development to create products that appeal to new markets – both domestic and international. Having worked for many years in the scallop business prior to coming to Lund’s, David developed innovative techniques to ensure a quality product to meet the toughest retailer requirements. He will play an integral part in creating Lund’s Fisheries’ new value-added line of products.

A recent hire, and the new Director of Sales, Randy Spencer will focus on developing a more robust sales team, and will manage that team along with overseeing Lund’s Fisheries’ domestic sales. Randy comes with a wealth of experience within the industry, having spent the last 20 years working with many species of fish and shellfish. A chef by trade, Randy also brings a strong culinary and product development background to Lund’s. Randy’s new role will focus on positioning Lund’s products and directing the firm’s efforts into an effective, domestic growth strategy.

Jeff Reichle, who is yielding the presidency to Wayne, will remain at Lund’s as Chairman of the Board.  Jeff will pursue long-term growth opportunities for the business. Jeff has been yielding responsibility to Wayne over the course of the past 10 years in order to prepare for this transition in roles. Starting at Lund’s in 1974, Jeff was hired to oversee sales and manage dock operations. In 1987, the opportunity arose to buy the business from the Lund family. He finalized the purchase in 1997 and served as President of Lund’s Fisheries until Wayne’s promotion.

About Lund’s Fisheries

Since 1954, the Lund’s Fisheries’ brand and products have inspired trust and confidence worldwide. With locations on both the east and west coasts of the United States, we are able to offer our customers a wide range of high-quality fresh and frozen seafood products produced by our company-owned fishing vessels and the many independent vessels we deal with. Lund’s is a leader in cooperative fisheries research and management to ensure we have a long-term sustainable supply of products for our customers. We believe that fisheries must be managed based on sound science and work hard to be sure our resources are available for generations to come. Never satisfied or complacent about setting a standard, our team works continuously to improve and raise the quality of our products for the benefit of our customers.