Good Harbor Fillet Company Inc.
United States

Good Harbor Fillet Company is a family business based in Gloucester, Massachusetts. Its annual sales of about USD 25 million are based on 8,000 mt of fish raw material.

The company is specialized in further processing and sales of a variety of groundfish and flatfish products in the US.

To the outside analyst, several features of Good Harbor Fillet's operations are of interest:

1. It is a fairly small company specialized in providing frozen value-added fish products to the US foodservice sector.
    
2. Its products are increasingly based on portions that have been shaped using cold-press technology.
    
3. Raw material sourcing is clearly indicative of the international nature of the groundfish industry, with size-graded frozen fillet portions increasingly sourced from China.
    
4. The company employs a chef and an industrial technologist to direct its product development, which is carried out in close cooperation with customers.

As the seafood business in the US is undergoing great consolidation throughout the supply chain and in the market, it is interesting to study how a relatively small company such as Good Harbor Fillet continues to thrive among large-scale competitors.

Good Harbor Fillet chef presenting a large selection of the company's
value-added products.

The author spoke with William Stride, President of Good Harbor Fillet, in order to find some of the answers and learn about the company's development and sales of value-added fish products.

Companies must work with their customers
Stride has found that it is of paramount importance for a small company in a large market to understand the needs of its customers and work closely with key end users when developing new products or product variations. A partnership is created, based on customer requirements for products and service and the supplier's expertise in sourcing and product development.

Company expertise in sourcing is acquired through specialization, long experience and interest in fish, which is really what makes 'fish people' important to their customers. Recent and continuing consolidation in US food distribution makes it even more important to pay close attention to customer needs.

In a small company, product development must be based on a mixture of practical experience and creativity. In the case of Good Harbor Fillet, a qualified and experienced chef works closely with his foodservice customers since he understands their problems and interests, while a process technologist performs testing to determine how the chefs creations can be formulated and processed with optimal results on an industrial scale.

Future in added value for families
Stride was asked how he felt that lifestyle trends were likely to impact companies such as his own.

"I think that people will want to enhance their quality of life through a choice of food that is easily prepared at home and presents value for the family as a whole. This means that the retail business will have to offer new and improved value-added fish products that are suitable for use at home. These products must also represent healthy eating and be easily prepared. Good quality products offering the combination of healthy eating and family value will be the winners."

Website address: www.goodharborfillet.com.

References
Information supplied by personal communication with company staff.