Michael R. Cote, Look’s Gourmet Food Co. SBA’s Small Business Person of the Year “We were ready to go ahead and really sink our teeth into a challenge. And that’s exactly what we got ... Now we’ve developed a platform, we’ve developed a process, we’re improving upon the process all the time. I just think that there’s a tremendous opportunity.”
By David M. Fitzpatrick
to work learning how to apply her marketing skills to canned food. “We’re going to make sure that the conMike Cote is always on the go, traveling 200sumer knows that the food in the can is really plus days a year and appearing at over two good,” Fisher said. “We’ve… changed the perdozen distributor shows on behalf of the comception from food in a can being kind of that pany he bought nine years ago. The Whiting last-resort emergency food to it being an easy businessman was in Anaheim, heading to a go-to item.” board meeting, when he got the call that he’d Part of that has been getting the public to won the SBA’s Small Business Person of the Year use Look’s products not only as final food but award. as an ingredient in broader recipes. For that, “That was pretty exciting,” he said. “It was Fisher took to social networking sites such as really a nice platform to go into a board meet-Michael R. Cote Facebook to talk to the customers and offer ing on.” President & CEO new recipes. This includes using Look’s An Auburn native, Cote has been in the salmon chowder to make salmon pie, or food business all his life. He started with a using its clam juice with a bloody Mary to route truck for Pepperidge Farms in western make a bloody Caesar. The runaway hit has BANGOR DAILY NEWS PHOTO BY JOHN CLARKE RUSS been clam-chowder pizza, where clam chowMaine, handling a historically unsuccessful Michael R. Cote bought Look’s nine years ago, and has brought the Maine seafood cannery der takes the place of sauce. route — and turned that route around. This back from the brink to become highly profitable and very successful. caught Pepperidge Farms’ eye, which hired “It’s about using ingenuity and being him on to travel the country and revitalize extremely resourceful when you think about similar trouble spots for the company. Willard Look started Look’s Canning Company in 1917, back the products that you have,” Cote said. “And then thinking about “He became known as the guy that, if you’ve got a place that’s when seafood canneries were a staple on the Maine coast. But 84 different ways to market them that other people may enjoy using really down in the toilet, give it to Cote,” said Cynthia Fisher, the years later, it was one of the last, and struggling financially. But them then.” company’s marketing director and Cote’s significant other. “He with its well-known brands, Cote saw amazing potential in the Consumers have clearly taken notice. For the past five years, turned every single one of them around.” company, and bought it. the company has made Inc. Magazine’s list of 5,000 fastest“I am a bit of a mechanic; I really enjoy taking things that aren’t “We were ready to go ahead and really sink our teeth into a chal- growing companies. Meanwhile, Bar Harbor Clam Juice has working and fixing them in business,” Cote said. “And I’ve been lenge,” Cote said. “And that’s exactly what we got.” climbed to the number-two spot in American grocery stores. very successful all my life doing that.” It took lots of hard work to get it there. The old plant had a non- And while Cote began by focusing on the East and West Coasts, He left as a vice president after 18 years with the company, and moving line; workers moved cans by hand to be filled and into and expanding gradually inland, today Look’s products are in worked for Odwalla for a few years as senior VP of sales and oper- seaming machines. Cote and Fisher brought in some automation 30 percent of American supermarkets. ations, helping the company expand its juice business before sell- equipment and transformed the plant. There’s little wonder why Cote won the SBA award, but he’s ing to Coca-Cola. Then, while looking into buying a business, he Marketing came next. With Cote on the road, connecting with adamant that it was a team effort. heard about Look’s. his contacts in the food world and building relationships, Fisher set See COTE, Page 5
BANGOR DAILY NEWS
INSIDE THIS SUPPLEMENT: The 2012 Small Business Administration Maine Award Winners Page 1: Mike Cote, Look’s Gourmet Food, Small Business Person of the Year Page 2: Howell Laboratories, Small Business Exporter of the Year Page 3: Key4Women, Women in Business Champion Page 4: Kate & Steve Shaffer, Black Dinah Chocolatiers Home-Based Small Business Champions
Page 5: Harold Clossey, Sunrise County Economic Council, Financial Services Champion (Maine and New England) Page 6: Scott Robinett, Maine Small Business Development Corporation, Veteran Small Business Champion Page 7: Patricia Rice, Bangor SCORE, Minority Small Business Champion
ADVERTISING SUPPLEMENT TO: BANGOR DAILY NEWS • PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • SUN JOURNAL • MORNING SENTINEL • KENNEBEC JOURNAL
Monday, May 14, 2012