Innovation

Sea to Table is an innovative company in the seafood delivery sector, created by the Dimin family in 2008. The innovative feature of the organization is that they deliver directly to customers fresh and delicious national seafood that otherwise, they would not be able to find. The father of the current owner, Sean Dimin, started the company with his son ten years ago. What started out as a small family company, became a nationwide organization that operates all around the US.

The first difficulties arose with the logistics, they had to create contact and collaborate with lots of different stakeholders and organizations to create a communication network. They decided to take fish from different places, i.e. Alaska, Maine, and the Mexican Gulf in order to deliver 0 Km product directly to the American people and to chefs at restaurants.

It is really important to understand the significant difference of consuming local products versus nationwide ones, climate change is getting worse and one of the main problems of pollution is consumption of unseasonal products and long distance transportation necessary to consume them. Sea to Table is doing a great job, providing local products at a fair price and promoting the conservation of life below water. The Dimin family created all this with a great passion and dedication, involving people and chefs from all around the United States.

Inspiration

The company initially started as a business to give fresh seafood to restaurants' chefs. Sean saw the opportunity to expand and deliver directly to American homes. They understood that many problems were taking place when Chefs and individuals were looking for fresh sea products, so they decided to seize this opportunity. The most difficult aspect was building a logistics and networking system, but once this was solved, the situation improved considerably. Sean is a very polite and modest person and considers his project to not be a unique and outstanding idea. However, the company has had great success and has also made a great sustainability impact.

Moreover, the main objective of the company has a very unique value. They want not only to deliver the product, but also to educate their customers, letting them realize what they are buying. They understood that there were three best ways to have fresh fish: fishing themselves, going to a fisherman, or buying it in a supermarket. However, not everyone is able or wants to do the first or the second, so they became the most valuable choice of the three possible sources for fresh seafood. Their success took place by following three steps: 1. Let people know about the company and what they do 2. Educate the clients on what they are buying and what they are doing for sustainability 3. Make it real, create a big network and a solid company, which people can trust.

Going back ten years to 2008, they did a great job at educating people, creating a sustainable network where not only they benefit, but also all fisherman directly involved.

Overall impact

The business, born only as a small family organization, became bigger gradually, creating year after year a larger network. The first source of the seafood was Alaska, they then expanded to the Mexican Gulf, Louisiana, Maine, and North Carolina. The creation of a vast connection with suppliers was the hardest task to achieve, but once created the overall impact of the business was great, benefiting all stakeholders.

The first clients of the company were only the restaurants' chefs, then private citizens became involved in the project. However, this first step of dealing with restaurants was crucial for creating a greater awareness of the company. Individuals, knowing that Chefs were using the same platform, started to trust the company more and wanted to have the same opportunity to buy their products.

Business benefit

The competitive advantage of the company is the creation of a system in which costumers can have, in a short period of time, fresh seafood products. Before, people had to go to a fisherman and this required more time. People today have the advantage of having everything in a short amount of time, in this way they are accustomed to not having time during the day to buy products for preparing their meals. This is certainly where Sea to Table is most successful, they deliver to people’s homes, so that customers have only to cook it.

Furthermore, the company is promoting a sustainable way to buy and sell seafood products. Ninety percent of the American seafood consumed comes from outside the United States, for this reason, Sea to Table is giving their clients a chance to reduce the imported products and protect the marine environment.

Social and environmental benefit

Brooklyn’s Navy Yard is one of the most unappealing environments for any kind of aquatic life and is not the only place where people in the United States are concerned about underwater life. Pollution of marine water, especially in a metropolis like New York, is a very important and vital subject. Moreover, food in the United States is always a big concern. The US is one of the only countries in the world that spends more than double on health care solutions instead of on the quality of food. This is also the main reason why the country has so many diseases related to the food they consume and has a shorter life expectancy compared to other first world counties. Moreover, the over consumption of seafood in certain places is very dangerous, like in the case of oysters in New York City. This over-consuming is creating a considerable impact on what was a perfect natural environment for the oysters.

Sea to Table from this perspective, is giving people the possibility to have and eat products that are healthy and fished in a sustainable way, without the addition of any hormones or processing of any kind.

Interview

Sean Dimin, Owner