Fortune Acquires Boston Sword & Tuna

Fortune International is acquiring Boston Sword & Tuna, one of the largest fresh seafood distributors in the United States

“We’re excited at the prospect of our agreement to acquire Boston Sword & Tuna, one of the most respected seafood distributors on the East Coast with a superior management team and hugely loyal customer base,” said Sean O’Scannlain, president and CEO of Fortune International

Bake Fest

Continued from PAGE 1 a social media influencer (with nearly a million Instagram followers) She appears in national media, held baking classes prepandemic, speaks at conferences, cofounded a food influencer conference (Food Media Forum) and co-founded Build Digital Marketing, a consulting company focused on Instagram account management for small- to mid-sized businesses

“I don’t bake much anymore, ” Pollack said, laughing “I’m more on the entrepreneur side than the baking side of things now ”

Pollack is finalizing details for her third Bake Fest, a yearly virtual event that builds a community of bakers to connect throughout the year for networking and help each other There’s now also a holiday-themed edition in the fall

“It started because during the pandemic, people really didn’t have options to connect with one another,” Pollack said

Pollack decided to take what she had been doing at conferences and baking classes and go online to address “ ever y-

“We’ve long admired Fortune and have deep respect for Sean and his team, who we ’ ve known for over 20 years, ” said Michael Scola, CEO of Boston Sword & Tuna “We’re excited at the prospect of joining Fortune to broaden and strengthen our national platform ”

Fortune International, LLC, is the parent operating company of Fortune Fish & Gourmet, a full-service processor and distributor thing baking related ”

“I didn’t know at first who the audience was going to be,” she said

Or how many would show up: a thousand baking enthusiasts, ranging from those aspiring to start a baking business, to those wanting to make money baking on the side, to those who just love to bake

For two days in May 2021, Pollack and her panel of baking experts presented classes on topics from making cakes, cookies, pies and breads to social media and branding

“There’s so much to do when you ’ re starting your own business,” Pollack said “It can be overwhelming

“Pricing is always a big one, dealing with rising costs of ingredients,” she said

“I’m so proud of our speaker list and instructors,” Pollack said “They really are the best out there It’s a great opportunity for them and it’s easy on them – they don’t have to travel anywhere ”

Her fellow presenters include Amanda Schonberg, Liz Marek, Julia M Usher, Kristin “Baker Bettie” Hoffman, Erin McDowell, Porsha Kimble, Sally McKenney, Courtney Rich, Liz Joy Murray, Jessica Leigh Clark-Bojin, Janelle Copeland, Jenny Keller, Fred Csibi-Levin, Larent Anderson providing white-tablecloth restaurants, private clubs, elegant hotels and gourmet retail stores with the finest quality fresh, live, and frozen seafood and gourmet foods The company handles more than 20,000 seafood and gourmet products daily, selected to exceed the high standards embraced by its quality focused customer base Fortune currently services more than 15,000 customers throughout the United States with a fleet of

and Robert Lucas

The Bake Fest 2023 is sponsored by LorAnn, Amoretti and Stover, among others

“We know that people are really using this as a kickstart to a career, ” Pollack said “We’ve had such amazing feedback People write and say they didn’t necessarily feel supported before, but now they know what to do to keep moving forward and that they belong to a community of people where they can ask questions ” refrigerated vehicles, and nationally through FedEx and common carriers

Founded in 2003 in Boston, Boston Sword & Tuna is one of the largest and most reliable seafood distributors in the United States BST services more than 650 customers across retail, wholesale and distributor end markets with a focus on high customer service, quality, premium product and custom specifications GN

The Bake Fest 2023 is offering a sp ecial discount to readers of Gourmet News - simply enter co de GOURMET15 when you register at theb akefest.com for 15 p ercent off tickets

The Bake Fest will b e held vir tually May 20-21

To that end, Pollack launched a virtual subscription service, Baker Bosses, on Feb 1, a community for home business bakers that features monthly events with experts such as Katelyn Brewer, best known for her wedding cakes and kitchen dancing, discussing how to use social media to attract business

Baker Bosses also has breakout rooms to address monthly topics and for bakers to make connections Plus, Pollack invites representatives from such organizations as the Retail Bakers of America and American Pie Council to talk to members But that’s not all “As if all that wasn’t enough,” Pollack said with a laugh, “starting in June, we will be offering certification through the RBA ” Pollock will offer classes along the lines of those SAT prep classes, to prepare bakers for the RBA certification Pollock is excited to get this newest venture off the ground

“It’s going to be really neat for home business bakers who would like to be certified,” she said “Being certified makes a business sound more legit and it makes the businesses themselves feel more legit ” GN