Understanding how to configure logistics to deliver value in a rapidly evolving market is not complicated; it’s simply hard. Manolo and Son is a family owned and operated seafood company in Alexandria, VA. Founded in 2006, the Ribadulla family sold area restaurants high quality seafood with unmatched customer service.

Then COVID hit. A once thriving wholesale business, serving local restaurant with deliveries of fresh seafood daily, went silent. The pandemic shut down area restaurants. The closures brought the Ribadulla family operation to its knees.

The family went to work. They understood that people still wanted great fresh fish. The demand hadn’t gone away. The distribution channel had.

Beginning with a brute force promotional campaign over Facebook, Twitter, and Next Door, along with a direct email effort, the family began selling directly to consumers. They continued serving traditional restaurant customers as they struggled to life. Starting out with email orders, paid for via credit card and fulfilled through curbside pickup in coolers outside of their wholesale location, the Ribudullas survived.

Manalo and Son now runs a website, a storefront fish market, and the legacy wholesale business. A processing facility behind the new retail location supports all three. The location is just a few blocks from their original wholesale location. They’ve totally rearranged and rebuilt their distribution structure and channel strategy on the fly over the course of six months.

The Rubadullas still sell great fish. They may have missed their true calling as logistics strategists. Go see ‘em. Tell them Steve sent you.

https://www.masseafood.com/