160 years of frozen filets and brand recognition at Gorton’s.
By Dinah Cardin
The stubbly-faced iconic fisherman in the yellow slicker conjures the same thought the world over: Gorton’s of Gloucester, as in Gorton’s fish sticks. The built-in marketing through this single image is as effective as the Jolly Green Giant and the Pillsbury Dough Boy, who were among the cartoon foodies recently featured dining together in a MasterCard ad, along with the famous fisherman. A few years ago, the Gorton’s marketing department even spliced together a tape of pop culture references to their brand icon which was featured in television shows such as The West Wing and Late Night With David Letterman, as well as the Bewitched movie. To top it all off, sitting in the main office on Gloucester’s working waterfront is a sculpture of the famous Gorton’s fisherman made out of more Legos than one would care to count, left over from an in-store display. This brand recognition? Simply priceless.
To say that the folks at Gorton’s get a kick out of the attention is an understatement.
“The number one thing that happens to me is people sing the jingle,” says CEO and President of Gorton’s Inc, Judson Reis. “That’s the first thing that happens when I tell them I work at the company. It’s a wonderful reinforcement that people know the brand and that those fond memories of Gorton’s still live in them.”
One of the biggest misconceptions of this well-known company is that fishing vessels pull up outside Gorton’s and of-float their catch on the pier, to be taken into the plant and processed, then sent out to consumers. This isn’t exactly how it happens anymore.
The seafood is now caught in waters around the world, with the majority from Alaska and the Bering Sea. Turnof- the-century promotions of Gorton’s involved stories of adventures at sea and shared recipes. Not much has changed when it comes to selling the product through the romance of the sea. The company website features photos of a scruffy, handsome fisherman and a handwritten fisherman’s log with entries that give coordinates of the fishing vessel Abigail Kay in Nova Scotia. The entries are stories passed down through generations of Gorton’s fishermen.
“The fisherman is sort of an amalgamation of those who work around the world,” says Reis. “It’s a romanticized version of the fisherman’s life, based in fact.”
It’s these fishermen who have historically supplied the company with abundant amounts of fish. In fact, if you were to line up end to end the products produced over the course of one year (including the famous fish sticks) at the Gorton’s plant in Gloucester, you would circle the earth four times.
However, Gorton’s—one of America’s oldest continually operating companies, turning 160 years this August—is about much more than frozen fish sticks. First of all, it’s internationally owned. Gorton’s is a subsidiary of Japanbased Nippon Suisan Kaisha Ltd., known as Nissui.
“The one thing that a lot of people are surprised to learn is that sitting up here in Gloucester is the nation’s leading brand of seafood that competes with major consumer package goods in the US and Canada.” says Paul Coz, Vice President of Human Resources, “It has methodologies and talented people that rival any major food company in the US, but also has a very small, entrepreneurial culture. People may think of us as fairly traditional and then they’re quite surprised at our business practices.”
Those business practices include a new sustainable fishing policy, introduced this past spring, through a partnership with the New England Aquarium. The study looked into fishery management practices and ways for Gorton’s to improve.
“Most of the fish come from very well managed sustainable fisheries,” says Reis. “We’re too big to take chances with those that are not sustainable . . . There’s a self-serving nature here. It’s not like we’re going to switch to chicken or beef.”
So, why should you “trust the Gorton’s fisherman”? The company claims stricter quality standards than the government’s voluntary Seafood Inspection Program and that includes 40 more checkpoints than what is federally mandated. Gorton’s also follows closely the constantlychanging issues surrounding illegal antibiotics and chemicals added to food.
Last year, the New England Aquarium was studying the sustainability of the species used in Gorton’s products, including pollock, salmon, tilapia, shrimp, haddock, sole, and cod from both wild-caught and farm-raised sources. The economic benefit and increased consciousness on the part of both consumers and corporations is resulting in better environmental practices on the water, says Heather Tausig, Director of Conservation at the New England Aquarium. Large companies like Gorton’s can use their buying power, she says, to impact the future of the fisheries.
“Our mission is ocean conservation and we have been discovering strategies for major companies to find economic benefits,” says Tausig. “We’ve definitely tried to identify those companies that have the leverage to really affect change.”
One issue is traceability—being able to track where the product comes from, engage suppliers, ask more questions, and demand improvements, she says. According to Tausig, Gorton’s may be able to implement something that’s being done in another part of the world and it will affect change all the way down the supply chain. As a result of the study, Gorton’s has publicized a policy of their commitment to the environment. A list of pledges begins:
“As a global leader in frozen seafood, Gorton’s is committed to protect and enhance the sustainability of seafood resources and is acting responsibly to address this by pur-chasing from environmentally responsible fisheries, farms, and suppliers, and eliminating unsustainable products.”
Another, perhaps more tangible form of conservation, is the way in which the company loads as many boxes as possible on their trucks by using new packing procedures—something many American manufacturers are now striving to do. As the company looks to reduce energy consumption in all operations, Gorton’s has reduced packaging and recently shifted from cartons to resealable pouches, which are more recyclable and save in shipping and transportation costs. While Gorton’s is a nationally and internationally recognized company, it is quick to participate locally. A quick snapshot of the company’s community involvement ranges from participation in a fundraiser for the International Dory Race Committee, to giving to the Gloucester Fishermen’s Wives Association, to the new $1.4 million Gorton’s Specialty Care and Cancer Center. In 2004, the company helped support the arts by selling, at a reduced price, an old storage building in Smith’s Cove to the Gloucester Stage Company.
Much of the science and market research that the compnay now utilizes was not necessary or even available, for that matter, when Gorton’s began in 1849. The Gorton’s lore, a compressed, if not exaggerated tale of 160 years of history, goes something like this: In 1849, John Pew and Son is founded and the US fishing industry is born in Gloucester. Later, a surprise fire burned down the Annisquam Cotton Mill, forcing 240 people—including Slade Gorton—out of work. Margaret Ann, Slade’s wife, ran the rooming houses for unmarried mill employees. Out of work, Slade helped his wife catch fish and packed items for Margaret Ann to salt, smoke, and serve to the workers. In 1868, his fishing business began in Rockport.
Slade’s sons Nat and Tommy soon came on board and urged the company to widely advertise boneless codfish, becoming the first to display it in one-pound black and white wooden boxes, which would become an American tradition.
In 1906, Slade Gorton & Co., John Pew & Son, David B. Smith & Co., and Reed & Gamage combined to form the Gorton-Pew Fisheries Co. Gloucester was already established as the largest fish producing port in the country and the second largest in the world. The combined company now had a fleet of 39 vessels, the largest fleet of fishing vessels operated by any company on the Atlantic Coast.
These days, Reis is the new captain of the ship, having taken over the helm in April, when former President and CEO Steve Warhover retired after 23 years.
When out and about in the community, Reis and others at Gorton’s are routinely asked whether the famous Gloucester statue, the fisherman at the wheel, seen when tourists drive into town, has anything to do the Gorton’s fisherman in the yellow slicker.
Reis explains that the Gorton’s fisherman is based on a painting by artist A.W. Bueller, acquired by Gorton’s in the early 1900s. The painting sits today in the president’s office. In the 1920s, when the Gloucester community wanted to build a memorial to the fishermen who died at sea, they selected the same imagery. Many mistake it for the Gorton’s fisherman, Reis says, “A lot of people have lost their lives fishing for Gloucester. There’s no disrespect intended. Both groups just have been using it for over a hundred years.”
Both Reis and Coz enjoy seeing Gloucester visitors taking pictures under the massive Gorton’s sign outside their headquarters—another measure of brand recognition. People even stop by the lobby on some kind of pilgrimage to the food company they’ve known their whole lives.
Gorton’s has considered opening a visitor’s center, but generating tourism is not their focus. There are plenty of places to go for that, says Coz, namely the Cape Ann Museum and the Gloucester Maritime Heritage Center. “Our history,” he says, “is very much linked to Gloucester’s history.”
Both Reis and Coz enjoy seeing Gloucester visitors taking pictures under the massive Gorton’s sign outside their headquarters—another measure of brand recognition. People even stop by the lobby on some kind of pilgrimage to the food company they’ve known their whole lives. Gorton’s has considered opening a visitor’s center, but generating tourism is not their focus. There are plenty of places to go for that, says Coz, namely the Cape Ann Museum and the Gloucester Maritime Heritage Center. “Our history,” he says, “is very much linked to Gloucester’s history.”
The Portfolio
Founded: 1849
Number of Employees: 425
Gorton’s fried and frozen codfish, the first modern, frozen food, is invented: 1952
Gorton’s fisherman appears on TV for the first time: 1975
Most Popular Products: Beer Batter Filets, Value Pack Fish Sticks, Grilled Tilapia Filets
Contact: 128 Rogers St., Gloucester, 978-283-3000, gortons.com
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