July 8, 2024 • 6 mins
Todd Blount
Todd serves as President and CEO of Blount Fine Foods, a 5th generation company headquartered in Fall River, MA, with other facilities in Rhode Island and Texas. The company produces premium refrigerated soups & sides for restaurants and retailers nation-wide. Todd began working for Blount Fine Foods after graduating with a MBA from Boston University, in 1994. Todd won the Providence Business New’s Strategic Leadership award in 2015 and was an Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the year regional winner in 2011, and Providence Business New’s 40 under 40 in 2007. Todd contributes his time coaching and advising food startups – and leads an angel fund to invest in their success. Todd serves on the boards of several organizations locally as well as co-creating a Christian leadership program called Rhode Trip which takes boys on a variety of outdoor adventure trips.
Todd serves as President and CEO of Blount Fine Foods, a 5th generation company headquartered in Fall River, MA, with other facilities in Rhode Island and Texas. The company produces premium refrigerated soups & sides for restaurants and retailers nation-wide. Todd began working for Blount Fine Foods after graduating with a MBA from Boston University, in 1994. Todd won the Providence Business New’s Strategic Leadership award in 2015 and was an Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the year regional winner in 2011, and Providence Business New’s 40 under 40 in 2007. Todd contributes his time coaching and advising food startups – and leads an angel fund to invest in their success. Todd serves on the boards of several organizations locally as well as co-creating a Christian leadership program called Rhode Trip which takes boys on a variety of outdoor adventure trips.
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Episode Transcript
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(00:00):
iHeartRadio Providence CEOs. You should know. We are here with Todd Blount from
Blount Fine Foods. Todd, howare you. I'm doing great today.
Well, thank you for coming on. We appreciate it. We know that
you guys are a growing company andobviously a great employer here in southern New
England. Tell us a little bitabout the mission of Blount Fine Foods and
how you see your role in thecompany, particularly here in Rhode Island and
(00:20):
Southeastern mass. You know, beingin the food business is one of the
easiest and most fun things to do. When you're feeding people, it's like
Kevin friends over for dinner every day. We are coming out of the soup
season because you know, it iswarming up. But the overall we're excited
that we can provide soup and preparedfoods and macaroni and cheese and all kinds
(00:42):
of great products to really the wholecountry. But at the same time,
we're focused here in Rhode Island Southeasternmass where our employees live and work.
Absolutely so you know your company hasnot only been Blount find Foods, but
there was a predecessor that actually beganin eighteen eighty. Tell me a little
bit about the progression from all theway back then to what you guys do
(01:03):
now. It's great to be partof such a long legacy. I mean,
all of our legacy is right fromnarragance at Bay Rhode Island. We
were really part of the oyster traditionthat kind of started even before our time,
and as we worked our way throughthe bay selling oysters and processing them,
eventually we transition that in the fortiesto clams, and hey, when
(01:26):
you have a lot of clams,the next thing to do is clam chowder.
So from clam chowder you get intobroccoli, cheddar and beef chili and
the rest is history. So we'vehad these five generations of both seafood and
then prepare foods and now being thelargest fresh soup manufacturing provider in the United
States. And that's a great thingbecause I feel like everybody kind of universally
(01:48):
loves all that. So you guyshave a great lane that you kind of
carved out. For sure. Oneof the great things about grocery shopping is
that the perimeter of the isle isthe most fun. And we're fortunate enough
that we have soup there, prepackagedmacaroni and cheese, and it's an area
that's growing pretty rapidly, and peoplewhether it was you know, young and
old, they're all looking for somethingquick, convenient and that just tastes great
(02:13):
restaurant quality. But really fortunate toplay and work in that area absolutely.
So what challenges have you guys facedsince the COVID nineteen pandemic began. Obviously
we're a few years kind of outof it now in the aftermath, but
how was that kind of shifted whatyou've done from a business standpoint. Well,
I'm fine. Foods was considered,you know, key infrastructure right from
the beginning, So while everybody wasgoing home, we were actually going to
(02:36):
work more and our team was amazing. Everybody wanted more items to go in
the grocery store shelf and we providedthat. So it got super busy for
us. While restaurants dropped off acore element of our business, we had
to really pivot towards retail items andmake new items that could be sold on
the shelf that were prepackaged, andit really shaped we are today and it
(02:58):
really gave us the chance to getour and out there because honestly, grocery
stores nationwide just were ready for anythingthat would fit in that the customers were
looking for. If remember, wehad a lot of empty shelves, it
was kind of a scary time.And to have a team that it really
focuses on our mission and vision toprovide prepared foods for all of America,
(03:19):
and it really gave us an incentiveto do that and felt like we were
doing it for the right reasons.And that's great because now you know the
Blunt Find Foods name is getting outthere, and you know you're in grocery
stores and you know people are familiarwith the products that you guys are producing.
Where can people buy any of thegreat products that you guys make.
We're fortunate to be in most grocerystores like Stop and Shop and Shaws,
(03:40):
even Dave's Marketplace. These are justgreat retailers. We've always had either private
label, we have the Hot Soupto Go, some restaurant brand soup and
as well as you're starting to seethe Blount brand showing up both in soup,
mac and cheese and even our newpot pie is Blunt Find Foods.
Tidings, any local charities in localcommunit events, what do you guys do?
Yeah, that you know, welike to give back where our employees
(04:03):
live and work, and we usefood as our primary So anytime we can
give food to an organization, eitherto food feed those who need, who
are hungry, or to help peopleraise money to further their cause, We're
very focused on anything that's food related. But to be quite honest with you,
at the end of the day,we also you know, donate our
(04:26):
time and money because there's so manygreat organizations in this area, a lot
of small ones. We favor thesmall ones because they feel a little bit
entrepreneurial like ourselves, and anything wecan do to kind of help them be
successful and meet the needs of thecommunity. But you know, we have
a great opportunity for people to donatefood at pretty much all times to all
people, and it just kind offits and our employees are super proud of
(04:50):
that when they see it in thecommunity. Absolutely. What else should we
know about Blunt find Foods, Well, you know, we are really excited
to be pushing out on the Blountbrand all these years. We have our
seafood legacy in Warren, Rhode Island, a company store, and Fall River,
Massachusetts. Things that help us connectto the community and where we you
(05:10):
know, use our products in away to just help people feel good.
We tiere our mission not only tofeeding America, but having a food experience
that brings people together, and sowe love doing that by getting our products.
Sometimes we even do like tent sales, finding ways just to be as
creative as possible to connect to thecommunity with food. So it's been a
(05:30):
lot of fun, and you know, we also, hey, we've always
got a lot of jobs open,so it's always great. Check out Blunt
jobs dot com blount Findfoods dot comand you'll see a really wide variety top
to bottom on all kinds of greatcareer opportunities in both Warren, Rhode Island
and Fall River, Massachusetts. Absolutelywell, Todd, thank you for coming
on iHeartRadio Providence CEOs you should know. Thank you for all the great work
(05:54):
you do in the community, andbest of luck to you. I'm sure
that we'll be going and picking upthe Blunt Find Foods brand at Shaws and
stopping chat awesome. Thanks for havingme
iHeartRadio Providence CEOs. You should know. We are here with Todd Blount from
Blount Fine Foods. Todd, howare you. I'm doing great today.
Well, thank you for coming on. We appreciate it. We know that
you guys are a growing company andobviously a great employer here in southern New
England. Tell us a little bitabout the mission of Blount Fine Foods and
how you see your role in thecompany, particularly here in Rhode Island and
(00:20):
Southeastern mass. You know, beingin the food business is one of the
easiest and most fun things to do. When you're feeding people, it's like
Kevin friends over for dinner every day. We are coming out of the soup
season because you know, it iswarming up. But the overall we're excited
that we can provide soup and preparedfoods and macaroni and cheese and all kinds
(00:42):
of great products to really the wholecountry. But at the same time,
we're focused here in Rhode Island Southeasternmass where our employees live and work.
Absolutely so you know your company hasnot only been Blount find Foods, but
there was a predecessor that actually beganin eighteen eighty. Tell me a little
bit about the progression from all theway back then to what you guys do
(01:03):
now. It's great to be partof such a long legacy. I mean,
all of our legacy is right fromnarragance at Bay Rhode Island. We
were really part of the oyster traditionthat kind of started even before our time,
and as we worked our way throughthe bay selling oysters and processing them,
eventually we transition that in the fortiesto clams, and hey, when
(01:26):
you have a lot of clams,the next thing to do is clam chowder.
So from clam chowder you get intobroccoli, cheddar and beef chili and
the rest is history. So we'vehad these five generations of both seafood and
then prepare foods and now being thelargest fresh soup manufacturing provider in the United
States. And that's a great thingbecause I feel like everybody kind of universally
(01:48):
loves all that. So you guyshave a great lane that you kind of
carved out. For sure. Oneof the great things about grocery shopping is
that the perimeter of the isle isthe most fun. And we're fortunate enough
that we have soup there, prepackagedmacaroni and cheese, and it's an area
that's growing pretty rapidly, and peoplewhether it was you know, young and
old, they're all looking for somethingquick, convenient and that just tastes great
(02:13):
restaurant quality. But really fortunate toplay and work in that area absolutely.
So what challenges have you guys facedsince the COVID nineteen pandemic began. Obviously
we're a few years kind of outof it now in the aftermath, but
how was that kind of shifted whatyou've done from a business standpoint. Well,
I'm fine. Foods was considered,you know, key infrastructure right from
the beginning, So while everybody wasgoing home, we were actually going to
(02:36):
work more and our team was amazing. Everybody wanted more items to go in
the grocery store shelf and we providedthat. So it got super busy for
us. While restaurants dropped off acore element of our business, we had
to really pivot towards retail items andmake new items that could be sold on
the shelf that were prepackaged, andit really shaped we are today and it
(02:58):
really gave us the chance to getour and out there because honestly, grocery
stores nationwide just were ready for anythingthat would fit in that the customers were
looking for. If remember, wehad a lot of empty shelves, it
was kind of a scary time.And to have a team that it really
focuses on our mission and vision toprovide prepared foods for all of America,
(03:19):
and it really gave us an incentiveto do that and felt like we were
doing it for the right reasons.And that's great because now you know the
Blunt Find Foods name is getting outthere, and you know you're in grocery
stores and you know people are familiarwith the products that you guys are producing.
Where can people buy any of thegreat products that you guys make.
We're fortunate to be in most grocerystores like Stop and Shop and Shaws,
(03:40):
even Dave's Marketplace. These are justgreat retailers. We've always had either private
label, we have the Hot Soupto Go, some restaurant brand soup and
as well as you're starting to seethe Blount brand showing up both in soup,
mac and cheese and even our newpot pie is Blunt Find Foods.
Tidings, any local charities in localcommunit events, what do you guys do?
Yeah, that you know, welike to give back where our employees
(04:03):
live and work, and we usefood as our primary So anytime we can
give food to an organization, eitherto food feed those who need, who
are hungry, or to help peopleraise money to further their cause, We're
very focused on anything that's food related. But to be quite honest with you,
at the end of the day,we also you know, donate our
(04:26):
time and money because there's so manygreat organizations in this area, a lot
of small ones. We favor thesmall ones because they feel a little bit
entrepreneurial like ourselves, and anything wecan do to kind of help them be
successful and meet the needs of thecommunity. But you know, we have
a great opportunity for people to donatefood at pretty much all times to all
people, and it just kind offits and our employees are super proud of
(04:50):
that when they see it in thecommunity. Absolutely. What else should we
know about Blunt find Foods, Well, you know, we are really excited
to be pushing out on the Blountbrand all these years. We have our
seafood legacy in Warren, Rhode Island, a company store, and Fall River,
Massachusetts. Things that help us connectto the community and where we you
(05:10):
know, use our products in away to just help people feel good.
We tiere our mission not only tofeeding America, but having a food experience
that brings people together, and sowe love doing that by getting our products.
Sometimes we even do like tent sales, finding ways just to be as
creative as possible to connect to thecommunity with food. So it's been a
(05:30):
lot of fun, and you know, we also, hey, we've always
got a lot of jobs open,so it's always great. Check out Blunt
jobs dot com blount Findfoods dot comand you'll see a really wide variety top
to bottom on all kinds of greatcareer opportunities in both Warren, Rhode Island
and Fall River, Massachusetts. Absolutelywell, Todd, thank you for coming
on iHeartRadio Providence CEOs you should know. Thank you for all the great work
(05:54):
you do in the community, andbest of luck to you. I'm sure
that we'll be going and picking upthe Blunt Find Foods brand at Shaws and
stopping chat awesome. Thanks for havingme
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