Four Winds Seafood

In the face of adversity, Kay saw an opportunity. Kay and her husband Ray decided to work smarter and develop a wholesale business selling their premium product - fresh and flash-frozenon- the-boat wild Louisiana shrimp and seafood. By their own tenacity, they learned how to build new avenues for their business product distribution. They connected with the Louisiana Small Business Development Center – Greater New Orleans Region and the White Boot Brigade at Loyola University, an organization focusing on the promotion of Louisiana Fisherman. Kay and her business were featured in “Louisiana Cookin’” magazine and on the NBC Today Show with Al Roker in June 2006.

Together, Kay, her husband Ray, and her counselor at the LSBDC-GNOR, Christian Galvin, outlined a year-long marketing and branding strategy to fully develop their new goals. The first step was the introduction of a new branding campaign developed by SBDC consultant Galvin, changing the company name from Rebel Seafood to Four Winds Seafood, which is the name of their shrimp boat and a name selected to embody the spirits of their four children. Over the next 12 months, this new branding campaign would be fully developed.

In the first ten days, a new logo and introductory website was launched to establish a firm branding foundation. Over the next several months, the company image was finalized, a sales strategy was fleshed out, and a marketing brochure and presentation was designed. Kay began making trips to cities across the country promoting the new name, always continuing her regular communication with her SBDC Counselor to address business strategies and new opportunities for growth.

The strategy recently culminated with the launch of their newly developed website, www.fourwindsseafood.com, created with the help of her LSBDC counselor. Within the first week of the website launch, Kay began receiving orders. She is now able to develop a national market and service those customers more efficiently and offer a wider range of products, as well as introduce to others a unique food that only Louisiana can supply.

Kay no longer relies on the street traffic of Chalmette to sell her product; she now fuels her business through e-commerce catering to clients across the country—The Chelsea Market, The Daniel in New York City, and private clients in Martha’s Vineyard. But, she never forgets her roots in New Orleans by selling to the locals at the Farmer’s Market every Tuesday.

Kay’s story is of a woman-owned business that turned lemons into lemonade. She saw an opportunity and found available resources to identify a new reality. Through a partnership with the LSBDC-GNOR, each day is discovering new avenues of success. Congratulations, Kay.