'We grew about 600% in 2020': Get Maine Lobster CEO & Founder Mark Murrell

CEO & Founder Get Maine Lobster Mark Murrell joined Yahoo Finance Live to break down Get Maine Lobster's growth in 2020 and what the company can expect in 2021.

Video Transcript

SEANA SMITH: The lobster business is one industry that has really seen a jump in sales during the pandemic. Initially, it took a hit right after the COVID outbreak happened here in the US, but here to talk a little bit more about this, we want to bring in Mark Murrell. He's the CEO and founder of Get Maine Lobster. And Mark, it's great to speak with you here on Yahoo Finance. I know you run a direct-to-consumer business, so sales really took off during COVID. How big of a jump are we talking? And what do you attribute the massive jump in sales to?

MARK MURRELL: First, thanks for having me, and I love to chat lobster. We grew about 600% in 2020. I would attribute that to people trying to find normalcy. Their favorite restaurant is closed. They aren't going out. They aren't traveling. They want to do something fun. And there's nothing like being adventurous in the kitchen. So why not fly in some live lobster?

ADAM SHAPIRO: But how important was it for you? You acquired a competitor several years ago. 75% of their business was wholesale, and just 25% was retail. Has that dynamic shifted because of the pandemic? Because I would imagine you are poised for incredible growth emerging from the pandemic.

MARK MURRELL: Yeah, it was-- the timing of the acquisition was, you know, perfect. However, in March, a year ago literally around now, I did not know what was going to happen. There was no wholesale. That was gone. And then it didn't really come back until summertime when things got opened up a little bit. But even sourcing became an issue.

So, that business-- my business was always direct-to-consumer. And then the business we acquired was 75% wholesale. And then now we're 95% online retail. So it's totally changed. Our plans changed tremendously, so.

SEANA SMITH: Yeah, Mark, when you're faced-- when you're in a situation like we have been in the past year, I don't think anyone can prepare any business owner for the type of decisions that have been needed to be made. But how have you adjusted your business? How have you altered some of your strategy here in order to meet the skyrocketing demand?

MARK MURRELL: Yeah. Well, one is, you know, we're no longer buying by the case. We buy by the pallet. I had to get a couple of forklifts. We grew out of our location, so we had to get another location. We had to add another freezer. And people, obviously. But it was weird because in March and April, we couldn't bring any more people. But that's when, you know, overnight, it really started to explode. So it was difficult. You know, now, because we have two locations, we can distribute and have enough people to supply the demand. But then--

ADAM SHAPIRO: Mark, can I interrupt?

MARK MURRELL: --you gotta think about-- yeah.

ADAM SHAPIRO: Can I interrupt? Because I want to get to the selfish question here. How much a pound are we going to be paying this summer? Because prices collapsed before. Before the pandemic, it was with China. They're back online. And the demand for Maine lobster in China is going to be huge. But those of us who go to Maine in the summer who love having a lobster and some steamers, what are we going to be paying for this year? I imagine it's going to be pricier.

MARK MURRELL: It is. Right now, the price is about as high as I've seen it. That has a lot of variables. One, the weather's not been really good, and people aren't fishing. So, typical March through May prices. It goes up pretty substantially. I think summertime, it'll get back to normal. You know, people will be going out and fishing. If you were to go to a restaurant in Maine, then, you know, you're going to pay, you know, $18 for a lobster. If you go to the dock and buy direct from the lobstermen, you're going to pay much less. You know, if I was to guess, $6 to $7 in summertime for a lobster, so.

ADAM SHAPIRO: That's not so bad.

MARK MURRELL: Yeah, it's hard to tell. It's not bad.

SEANA SMITH: It's not so bad. Mark, I have to tell you, lobster is my absolute favorite meal. So I like the idea that prices might be coming back down soon. Mark Murrell, always great to have you, CEO and founder of Get Maine Lobster.