Page 14 - Deli Business June/July 2020

COVER STORY
Q. How has your career evolved over the years?
A. When I was just out of college in 1995, I began an apprenticeship at Westfield Farm, a goat farm and dairy in central Massachusetts. After a year on the farm, I spent some time in retail, where I learned about different types of cheeses and specialty foods and the basic principles of cheese retailing.
In my time here, I have endeavored to learn as many aspects of perishables distribu- tion as I can.
Several years ago, I was offered partial ownership in the business. As an owner, I have been able to learn about strategic planning, human resources, insurance and finance. I feel extremely fortunate to have had the opportunity to learn so many aspects of a business in which I have invested so much of my time and passion.
Q. What positions have you held in industry associations?
A. Guilde du Fromage, American Cheese Society Certified Cheese Professional, member of the Cheese Importers Association of America, The Massachusetts Cheese Guild and Oldways Coalition.
Q. How do you bal- ance your work and personal life?
A. I worked long hours for many years before we decided to have a family. When we did, I made a commitment to myself to reduce my work time to be able to spend time with my family. I’ve been mod- estly successful at honoring that commitment.
Q: What deli retail trends have impacted the industry most over the last year?
A. There are substan- tial shifts taking place in our
niche of the deli industry right now, more so than in any other time in my career. While specialty cheese has finally arrived, maturing to a point that many people are aware of the category, it has also lost some ground at the very high end and in the local category. Plant-based proteins, func- tional foods and foods that satisfy the requirements of specific diets have taken some of the wind out of the sales of those specialty cheeses and meats that found favor in their tradition, joy of discovery and incredible flavors.
Q: What technology or technical tools are indispensable to you in the workplace and why?
A. As a supplier of spe- cialty products, we rely heavily on product knowledge and customer interaction. This precludes the use of a lot of automation. I do rely heavily on analytics to make purchas- ing decisions and have been very impressed with the rich-
ness of the data that can be produced now versus 10 years ago. I am able to com- pare many metrics in a short amount of time, giving me at least the sense that I can make informed decisions. Recently, in order to reduce the amount of emails my teams are pro- ducing internally, we moved to using Microsoft Teams for as much internal communication as we can. This transition hap- pened as we were getting staff to work from home during the coronavirus. I have found it to be invaluable for communicat- ing with my team.
Q: What have been the biggest changes in the deli industry over the course of your career?
A. First, let me define our niche of the deli indus- try. Seacrest primarily works with specialty producers with cheese, charcuterie and antipasti being our largest categories. We also have a focus on specialty dry goods and accoutrements. The big-
gest changes have been those associated with the growth and maturation of our niche. What started with small pro- ducers and importers working hard to educate consumers has become a well-developed industry. Along with the mainstream acceptance of specialty products into the conventional market has come a tightening of food safety reg- ulations. In the past decade, we have seen food safety regulations become increas- ingly demanding in terms of time and resources. This has greatly increased the cost of starting and running a dairy or charcuterie operation. As a result of these forces, the overall quality of products has increased, along with the barrier to entry for smaller operations. We are seeing fewer small producers opt into distribution, but rather try to make a living with farmer’s markets and direct sales.
As specialty foods have become more well-known and smaller producers have found it difficult to compete, we have seen the larger produc- ers create products to satisfy the demand. This has allowed supermarkets to increase their offerings considerably, bringing specialty foods to a larger audi- ence. At the same time, this has hurt many of the smaller, specialty stores.
Q: What hobbies do you enjoy outside of work?
A. Who has time for hob- bies? When I have time, I love to cook, garden and spend time with family and friends.
Q: Are you married? If so, how long? How many children?
A. Yes, I am married to my wonderful wife, Miranda. We have been married for 12 years, but together for almost twice that. We have two chil- dren, Andrew, who is eight, and Niveen, who is five.
Shawn Hockert
Co-owner
Seacrest Foods, Lynn, MA
14 DELI BUSINESS JUN/JUL 2020