10


Fall 2020


BRANDS WE LOVE


Brands We Love: LOBSTER


The home page sliders at Lukeslobster.com say it simply: “Know your seafood.” “We know and trust our fishermen.” “We’re officially a certified B Corp.”


The home page sliders at I


f the home page experience doesn’t make it clear what the company is all about,


the “About Us” page of the website does, explaining how the first Luke’s Lobster opened its doors in a tiny, 225-square-foot location in New York City’s East Village in 2009 and now “delivers traceable, sustainable seafood to guests across the country.” Luke’s began like many great


entrepreneurial stories do—with people who felt unfulfilled in their current jobs and motivated to invest their time in a passion project. Those people, Maine native Luke Holden and his friend Ben Conniff, were just 25 and 24 years old, respectively, in 2009. Holden, who was making $150,000 per year as a financial analyst, and Conniff, a freelance food writer, gave themselves two months to open that first New York City lobster shack. The idea came to Holden when he went searching online for a slice of home (a Maine


lobster roll) in the summer of 2009 and found nothing of quality at an affordable price. He called his dad, a Maine lobsterman, and asked him to be an investor. Dad threw in a little cash and they were off and running with a grand total of about $45,000. The early days weren’t easy, but they were


rewarding. Most importantly, customers kept coming back to that first New York location. So many, in fact, that they opened a second New York City lobster shack in 2010 and grew from there. With demand on the rise at Luke’s lobster shacks, they founded Luke’s Lobster Seafood Company in 2012, allowing them to ship seafood straight to your door. Today, there are Luke’s Lobster shacks all over the northeastern United States, from Maine to Maryland, as well as in Miami, Chicago, Las Vegas, and San Francisco. They also have a licensing deal for seven locations in Japan and a traveling food truck, and they sell lobster tails to Whole Foods. The cofounders are still very much involved in the business. Holden is the CEO, while Conniff is the CMO.


The two entrepreneurs offer up plenty of


commentary to anyone willing to listen or read about the importance of seeking out and listening to advice from others. When it comes to brand storytelling, they have clearly done their homework as well. The Luke’s Lobster website is a living embodiment of their beliefs, products, and people. As a brand study, the “About” section of


the website is the highlight. The company purpose, their sustainability mission, recipes—it’s all right there. The photography captures the spectacular Maine coastal towns where you can imagine your lobster being brought to shore by a father and his son or daughter. On the “About Us” page is a video called “Know Your Seafood,” which explains everything you could ever want to know about Luke’s in 3 minutes and 47 seconds. It’s brilliantly done, with appearances by their fisherman, the founders, customers, shack managers, and employees. It’s also evident that the two young


entrepreneurs have managed to cultivate a


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