Blount Fine Foods Announces Executive-Level Promotions

FALL RIVER, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Blount Fine Foods, a leading manufacturer of hand-crafted artisan soups and seafood products, today announced the promotions of Robert Sewall to executive vice president of sales and marketing, and William Bigelow to vice president of business development. Sewall had previously been VP, sales & marketing, and Bigelow was director of research and development. The promotions come as the company moves ahead with aggressive growth plans that include a near-doubling of production capacity in its Fall River headquarters and expansion into new markets, product lines and distribution channels.

“Bob Sewall is a go-to guy with unsurpassed respect across our industry who has been integral to Blount’s success and growth over the last 15 years, a period that is unmatched in our 130 year history as a company”

“Bob Sewall is a go-to guy with unsurpassed respect across our industry who has been integral to Blount’s success and growth over the last 15 years, a period that is unmatched in our 130 year history as a company,” said Todd Blount, president of Blount Fine Foods. “Bob has led the growth of Blount’s gourmet refrigerated and frozen soup markets with an average compound annual growth rate of 20 percent, which has brought us to a position of market leadership today. In his new, expanded role, for which he is perfectly suited, I look for Bob to help take this company even higher.”

Regarded as the “consummate partner” to his customers, Sewall’s most recent success came in leading the development and launch of the company’s new gourmet dip and spread line under the Blount, Panera Bread and Legal Sea Foods brands. In his new position, Sewall will expand and accelerate the launching of new product lines and will be working to bring Blount into additional product categories that further serve the retail, wholesale club and food service channels. He will also be charged with exploring and managing acquisition opportunities for the company.

As vice president of business development, Bigelow, who has been the key driver in building Blount’s best-in-class product development engine over the last 8 years, will now lead and manage the growing needs of product and program management within the retail sector and collaborate with Blount’s operations team to elevate forecasting and product development.

“I am challenging William to further sharpen Blount’s already effective business development team to advance us at retail,” commented Blount. “His first order of business will be to identify and recruit a new director of R&D from outside Blount who can bring diverse new perspective and capabilities to our team.”

“These promotions position Blount for our next stage of growth, and signals an increased attitude of winning by growing the sales and profitability of our customers during these challenging economic times,” concluded Blount.

Sewall, 54, lives in Portsmouth, RI with his wife Cynthia. They have 4 children.

Bigelow, 34, a native of Tiverton, RI, is a second-generation Blount executive. His father, Bill, is the company’s safety officer.

About Blount Fine Foods

Blount Fine Foods is a family owned company that has been processing food since 1946. It is the largest manufacturer of lobster bisque in America and produces more than 350 proprietary soup recipes, including 75 varieties of clam chowder alone. Its product lines include fresh and frozen gourmet soups for food-service and retail as well as custom clam meat products and breaded seafood. Blount’s gourmet soups and specialty foods are made with the finest and freshest ingredients, handcrafted by a dedicated team through unparalleled customer collaboration.

Blount operates production facilities at its Fall River, Massachusetts headquarters and in Warren, Rhode Island. Customers include national restaurant chains that have their custom soups made for them in accordance with their secret recipes. Similarly, the deli departments of many large and small supermarket chains offer Blount-created hot-to-go soup selections as well as fresh store-brand pre-packed soup cups.

Blount also carries a full line of fresh and frozen soups sold to Restaurants, Club Stores and Retailers nationwide under the Legal Sea Foods and Panera Bread brands. Blount specialty clam products are used by other famous soup makers, restaurants and retailers alike.

Blount generates over 60 million servings of hand-crafted gourmet soups each year.

EDITORS NOTE: Headshots of Mr. Sewall and Mr. Bigelow are available upon request.