From Sea to Soup: The Evolution of Blount Fine Foods

An illustrated corporate history that uses captioned photographs, advertisements, sidebars and graphs to tell the powerful story of a company that evolved from a small family firm to a nationwide fine food producer. Services included:

• Research in corporate minutes and collections
• Extensive photographic research
• Oral history project
• Close coordination with company management through three editions spanning nearly a decade

Requirements

In 2012, Blount Fine Foods faced a branding challenge. Throughout New England, the Blount name was synonymous with seafood. But even then, the family firm was transitioning its product line to high quality soups and other offerings more suited to modern consumer tastes. President Todd Blount was convinced that, despite the company’s new look, its past could serve as a foundation upon which to build. Blount engaged Ken to research, write, and oversee production of a brief history that would make the company legacy accessible to new generations of family members, customers, and consumers alike.

Solution

Ken had to tell the story of a distinctive place and its traditional economy; trace a family and its generations of adventurers, entrepreneurs, experimenters, and enterprisers; and explain the transformation of the consumer packaged foods industry as clean culinary tastes took root among a nation weary of processed foods. He dug deep into corporate collections, conducted oral history interviews with company veterans, and did research in local, regional, and national archives.

First published it 2012, From Sea to Soup, knit all the thematic threads and various sources into a coherent and colorful volume. The task seemed daunting at the outset, Todd Blount acknowledged. “Ken made the process fun and painless,” Blount observed. “He highlighted points of pride and made the most of our milestones.” Updates in 2015 and 2021 kept the story fresh and relevant. “As we made new history over the years,” Blount concluded, “Ken helped us update the book through an efficient process.”