Why it matters:
- An unwavering commitment to exceptional customer service with an indulgent, and sometimes intimidating, upscale product helped triple Get Maine Lobster’s sales to $9 million in five years.
- Diversification into other seafood without overextending beyond its core business is helping broaden a reputation for quality.
- The company is readying to test a hybrid model that includes in-store kiosks in addition to its booming e-commerce business.
Mark Murrell is obsessed with customer service—which he says you need to be when your primary product is high-end fresh lobster shipped dock to doorstep from the waters of Maine.
That’s been Murrell’s unwavering belief since he started Get Maine Lobster in late 2009. At the time, the Founder and CEO was working as a marketing consultant in Chicago when a friend, a Maine fishmonger, called him with an idea to ship lobster direct to consumers.
Murrell was intrigued by the idea of people nationwide experiencing the taste of Maine lobster at home. Having grown up in Maine but transplanted to the Midwest, he admits he didn't always trust the lobster he saw in the grocery store. (“I’d think, ‘We’re not near an ocean? How long has that been in the tank?’”) His research revealed two things: 1. A lot of people were looking for direct-to-consumer (DTC) service, and 2. not a lot of places were providing it. But he stressed that success hinged on providing exceptional service. “Lobster can be intimidating. You have to be available for [consumers’] questions.”
His fishmonger friend wasn’t up for the service challenge, so he instead fulfilled seafood orders to Murrell, who launched the business, handling packing, shipping, marketing, and, especially, customer service. Get Maine Lobster’s motto continues to be, “We’re here first click to last dish,” he said.
The startup’s launch was bootstrapped with the first box shipped in 2010. “[Marketplace deal sites] Groupon and Living Social were big then so I used them to launch and learn for the first two to three years while I tested the idea,” said Murrell. Within the first eight months, he needed to find a bigger supplier.
Get Maine Lobster has served upwards of 500,000 customers across the country since its launch. It was a $3 million company before the pandemic hit, and it saw astounding 600% growth when stay-at-home mandates had customers eager to make daily meals extra special. Those numbers have since pulled back , but sales are still “triple the size of what they were before,” Murrell said. And now, new growth is on the horizon.
[Read more: Cooking Convenience Trends Are Driving Sales for Food and Beverage Companies]
Making lobster accessible from fresh tails to easy kits and boils in a bag
The company’s big distinction, Murrell says, was not going after the gift market and instead focusing on personal consumption. Marketing centered around the message of do something special for yourself, he told CO—.
A target audience, in that case, had to have high disposable income and an interest in cooking. Get Maine Lobster’s core customer group tends to skew older—55-plus as well as 35 to 54-year-olds. “We target cooks, those with a strong food interest, and affluence,” Murrell said. “We also look for those who have traveled and experienced New England as well as people who are family-oriented.”
Holiday season, with all its indulging and hosting, accounts for 25% of its annual business. The 16-person staff swells to 30 in December to keep up with orders.
Lobster tails are the bestseller, and the company also sells live lobster. But products are continually evolving with an eye on how to make lobster more approachable. Lobster boils in a bag, sous vide products, lobster mac and cheese, and a lobster roll kit have all joined the roster. And each box includes a booklet for recipes.
Offerings extend beyond lobster too. In fact, a combo of live lobsters, crab cakes, and mussels is a signature box. “We realized someone who wants to buy lobster from us may also want blue fin tuna, for example,” said Murrell. “We put a lot of effort into how to service people who come to us for quality seafood without overextending ourselves.”
Diversification is somewhat of a marketing challenge since lobster is right in the company name, but Get Maine Lobster continues to build a reputation through quality fishmongers. Big Green Egg, for example, the manufacturer of kamado-style ceramic charcoal barbecue cookers, features Maine Lobster salmon in its online recipes.
[Read more: Mushrooms Emerge as Growth Opportunity Across the Grocery Landscape]
The company’s big distinction, Murrell says, was not going after the gift market and instead focusing on personal consumption. Marketing centered around the message of do something special for yourself, [Murrell] told CO—. 'We target cooks, those with a strong food interest, and affluence.'Mark Murrell, CEO and Founder of Get Maine Lobster
Creating unforgettable memories is Get Maine Lobster’s primary aim
Maine lobster fishery is widely recognized as one of the most sustainable with generations-owned businesses practicing self-imposed practices to protect resources since the 1800s. For his part, Murrell is investigating more sustainable packaging. “How can we take the plastics and cardboards and turn them into something else?” he said.
Still, sustainability is not the focal point. “We want to deliver something unforgettable [to customers]…we are about the unforgettable memories,” Murrell said.
“People don’t have to think about [the sustainability],” he adds. “It’s already there so they can feel good about it.”
Future expansion: Kiosks, line extensions, food service events
Murrell is looking to scale Get Maine Lobster again and this time, revisiting the gifting market may be first on the list. With personal consumption and indulgence a focus, the gift segment seems like low-hanging fruit. “Our bread and butter is the first place we’re looking,” he contends.
Plans are still unfolding but physical locations are a likely next step. Fifteen years of geographical data from its DTC business shows that high-conversion-rate areas like Albuquerque, New Mexico, and Arizona’s Scottsdale/Phoenix region are ripe for testing. “There are sushi kiosks in stores so why not a lobster roll kiosk?” said Murrell, who noted that physical locations tend to boost e-commerce sales in the surrounding area as well.
Get Maine Lobster plans to test the idea in boutique stores or potentially wineries and small regional chains before a larger rollout. However, bringing in an individual who is knowledgeable about brick-and-mortar locations is a must, Murrell added.
Also on deck in grocery: a packaged product. Get Maine Lobster has developed a seasoning, a value-add product that makes it easier to prepare lobster, and is currently in discussion with retail outlets, said Murrell. He is also working with a Costco buyer on another new product—lobster pieces sold loose in a bag that allows consumers to grab a few individually for recipes, leaving the rest frozen. “We’ve been working with [Costco] on how to get the cost down to where it makes sense,” he said. “Last year we couldn’t but now it looks good.”
Murrell also expects the brand’s expansion in food service events. Currently, food service accounts for about 5% of Get Maine Lobster’s total sales, mostly through shipping to food trucks and supplying events like the Iowa State Fair, where they sell “pallets of product,” said Murrell, who is looking to extend to other fairs.
Customer service: ‘You need to be there’
Murrell’s advice to anyone contemplating a direct-to-consumer business is threefold. First, have a deep desire to do something amazing. “That will give you your competitive advantage. Desire to increase consumers’ pleasure or reduce their pain [with the product you’re offering.]”
Next: “Be thoughtful about the entire [purchasing] journey and give the customer everything they need to make a decision,” he cautioned. “It can be hard if you are a higher-cost item, but you have to show your value.”
And lastly, it all comes down to exceptional service. “I as a customer have been disappointed,” noted Murrell. “You need to be there.”
CO— aims to bring you inspiration from leading respected experts. However, before making any business decision, you should consult a professional who can advise you based on your individual situation.
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