History of Blount Seafood

Family-owned Blount Seafood Corporation has been a recognized leader in shellfish processing and marketing for more than 50 years. Known for its commitment to superior quality in the production of value-added fresh and frozen shellfish products, Blount has been a supplier of choice for some of America's best-known foodservice distributors, soup manufacturers and restaurateurs.

A History of Quality Seafood Products

The Blount family's involvement in the shellfish industry began in the 1880's, with Eddie B. Blount's entry into the oyster business in one of the many oyster houses in West Barrington which handled the cleaning and shucking of clams and oysters from Rhode Island's famous Narragansett Bay. In 1938, the Blounts' then-thriving oyster business was among the casualties of the massive hurricane that devastated the entire oyster industry in the Narragansett Bay area.

As an emerging member of a resourceful family, F. Nelson Blount, Eddie Blount's grandson, lead in focusing the family's entrepreneurial energies to pioneering the use of the bay quahog as a valuable seafood-based resource of protein during World War II, in addition to developing a large market for the bay quahog. After the war, the company relocated near its current site on the eastern shore of the Warren River after consolidating a number of smaller shellfish operations, and in 1946, incorporated under the name Blount Seafood Corporation with F. Nelson Blount firmly at the helm.

Blount Seafood - a major supplier of chopped clam meat to soup manufacturers throughout the U.S.

Nelson's tremendous sales ability developed Blount into a major supplier of chopped clam meat to soup manufacturers throughout the United States, landing an exclusive contract with the Campbell Soup Company, among others, providing clams for its famous clam chowder.

After a tragic private plane crash in 1967 took Nelson's life, the company was well served by his long time friend and Blount Seafood colleague, Fred Richardson. Fred paved the way for Nelson's son,Ted, to join the company in 1970 following his education.

In 1988, Blount also added a line of fresh and IQF mussel products. Originally marketed under the New England Mussel Products brand name, the mussel line now carries the Blount label. Today, Blount is considered the leading frozen mussel supplier in North America, providing the foodservice industry with year-round availability of IQF fresh-frozen mussels.

Under the leadership of Ted Blount, the company expanded its production capabilities to include a wide variety of value-added shellfish products, including IQF (Individually Quick Frozen) chopped clam meat, concentrated clam broth, stuffed gourmet clams, conch, and both condensed and ready-to-serve chowders.

Blount expands production to include a wide variety of value-added shellfish products

In 1994, Blount further expanded its capability by entering the fresh, hand-shucked clam meat market by acquiring New Bedford, Massachusetts-based Eastern Clam Corporation, a processor of hand-shucked chopped clam meat and specialty clam items such as clam strips, Clam Tenders®, Clam SuperStrips® and Clam Steaks™, all marketed under the "Sam's Clams" brand. Over the years, Blount has consistently demonstrated its on-going commitment to shellfish quality and safety -- becoming one of the first domestic shellfish packers to implement a HACCP seafood safety program.

Blount Seafood in the New Millennium – A Name in the Foodservice Industry
With an established reputation for product quality and customer service, along with an aggressive new product program, Blount is expanding its business beyond its traditional stronghold in the seafood industry into new lines to serve the broader foodservice industry. This decision is reflected in Blount’s recent acquisition of Great Soups, Inc., a fresh soup manufacturer of Bristol, Rhode Island, which included the company’s USDA-inspected plant. The purchase has enabled Blount to expand the scope of its product portfolio and capabilities to include an extensive line of fresh soups marketed under the "Cooks & Butler" brand, incorporating both meat and poultry-based products.

In October 2000, F. Nelson (Todd) Blount became the company’s new president. The third generation of the Blount family to lead the company, he has already articulated a clear vision that sees Blount Seafood not only maintaining its leadership in the seafood industry, but also increasing its penetration into the foodservice marketplace. With its strong management team, solid industry alliances and a commitment to ongoing product innovation and quality, Blount Seafood is ideally poised for continued growth.