Ep. 76: Luke Holden, CEO & Founder of Luke’s Lobster ||
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On episode 76 of Sourcing Matters we welcome CEO & founder of Luke’s Lobster – Luke Holden. Luke’s Lobster first opened its doors in the East Village of New York City in 2009. The company brings traceable, sustainable seafood to guests across the country. They work directly with fishermen to hand pick the best seafood, and serve that straight from the source, prepared pure and simple, without the filler. They’ve systematically chosen partners who uphold our commitment to sourcing superior, sustainable ingredients and strive to support other small businesses, many of which are based in Maine or local to the cities where they maintain their Lobsters shacks.
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BIO: Luke Holden grew up in Cape Elizabeth, Maine – a third-generation lobsterman who started learning the trade at age 13. After attending Georgetown University and beginning an investment banking career on Wall Street, Luke was remiss to find that every lobster roll available in New York was overpriced, drowning in mayo, and diluted with celery. He craved a real Maine-style roll and simply couldn’t find one.
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In the 10 years since launching, Holden and his partners have worked to vertically integrate the business to insure the highest quality products with guaranteed integrity and provenance. Growing up in the industry has afforded Holden a high level of clout with with the lobsterman, harvesters and fishermen in Tenants Harbor Maine who source his product. We learn that the experience and support that Luke’s father offered from running Maine’s largest lobster processing facility gave their team at Luke’s Lobsters the insight and knowhow to launch a processing facility in Saco. This infrastructure has since expedited growth to now service 30 domestic, and 11 international Shacks, as well as their wholesale account Whole Foods.
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In our 40 minute discussion we learn more about what this thought-leader is doing to protect his fishery in the warming waters of the Gulf of Maine. We chat about full carcass utilization of the lobster, and about the economic viability of the fishery and its future crop. We discuss product differentiation, and diversifying the offerings of both their producers/ harvesters, and of his growing $30mm business.
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TuneIn to hear about the future of the iconic Maine lobster.
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BIO: Before joining the foundation, Teresa Ish was the seafood project manager for the Corporate Partnerships Program at Environmental Defense Fund, where she worked with leading seafood buyers to develop and implement sustainable seafood purchasing policies. During her tenure at EDF, she played an instrumental role in merging the organization’s seafood buyer work and its extensive experience in the fishery policy arena. Prior to joining EDF, she co- founded FishWise and served as its director of science.
With three consecutive James Beard nods, Kris Komori is the rock star of Idaho’s chef world. A graduate of the College of Idaho, he sharpened his kitchen skills in Portland before moving to the Gem State. Komori’s creative, constantly changing menus drew fast admiration when State & Lemp opened in 2013. Most recently, he and his team have been developing a new concept and restaurant that will launch in downtown Boise soon.
Kesselman’s programs encourage schools to teach and model education for sustainable living – beginning with a good diet. The students that Adam and Vince work with have an opportunity to experience and understand how nature sustains life and how to live accordingly. One such program – California Thursdays – now servers over 334 million school meals a year, which accounts for 33% of the school meals in California. Every meal serves California-grown, for California kids – and of which has focus on food quality and integrity from the source. Economists estimate that every dollar spent on local food can generate up to an additional $1.40 in spending, supporting local economies. So, built upon that – what’s it worth to any of us to provide our kids and our neighbor’s kids preventative healthcare and good consumption habits – things that tend to carry-on for a lifetime.
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AeroFarms is a leading clean-technology champion, building and operating state-of-the art indoor vertical farms in major cities around the world. Helping set new culinary standards for freshness and flavor, AeroFarms has been recognized as a Global Cleantech 100, Inc.com’s Top 25 Disruptive Companies, Winner of the World Technology Award for Most Impactful Environmental Company, and Finalist for The Circular Awards of The World Economic Forum.
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Governor Whitman is American Republican politician and author who served as the 50th Governor of New Jersey, from 1994 to 2001, and was the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in the administration of President George W. Bush from 2001 to 2003. Whitman was New Jersey’s first and, to date, only female governor, and also the first Republican woman to be reelected governor. Governor Christine Whitman is currently President of The Whitman Strategy Group (WSG), a consulting firm that specializes in energy and environmental issues.
Additionally, Sec. Glickman is the 6th member of the PEW commission on industrial farm animal production that we’ve profiled on Sourcing Matters. The 2007 PEW commission report was a study of the Impact of Industrial (US) Farm Animal Production on issues of public health, environment, animal welfare and social justice. It was a monumental series of reports that has established a new way forward for consumers and the industry to re-introduce values and ethics back into many of the proteins we eat.