Luke’s Lobster: Growing a Sustainable Lobster Business
Luke’s Lobster started as a single lobster shack, and it has grown into a sustainable lobster empire, with restaurants in ten U.S. states, Japan, and Singapore.
Luke Holden knows a thing or two about lobster. So does his dad. And his dad’s dad. In fact, the Holden family has built their lives around the sea, bringing its treasures to landlubbers across the globe in the form of a lobster roll.
What started as a single lobster shack in 2012 has grown into a sustainable lobster empire, with restaurants in ten U.S. states, Japan, and Singapore. In 2018, Luke’s began offering flash-frozen lobster meat, tails, and seafood meals in grocery stores across America. And when the pandemic temporarily shuttered their restaurants, Luke’s launched an online market to bring seafood direct from Maine to your doorstep. From dock to plate they handle every piece of the process to ensure their impact is a positive one – starting with the fishermen who bring it all home.
Situated in one of the most historically sustainable fisheries in the world, the Gulf of Maine is warming and acidifying faster than anywhere else in America. For Luke’s, the climate challenge on Maine’s coast is more than a company problem, it’s an industry problem. As a family-owned business generations deep in lobstering, they take that responsibility to heart. Co-founder and CIO Ben Conniff said, “Island communities will be in jeopardy if we don’t engage in solutions as an industry.”
That’s why they became a certified B-corps in 2018. Since day one, they’ve been stewards of a sustainable fishery; and today their company runs on 100% renewable energy, and they are working towards true carbon neutrality not just for their restaurants but for the entire lobster industry. Luke’s Lobster partners with fisherman and community members to strengthen their coastal economy and shore up the industry sustainably to weather the changes for generations to come.
Farms Across America: The Best Lobster Roll Is A Sustainable One
Featuring:
Luke Holden – Co-Founder & CEO, Luke’s Lobster
Ben Conniff – Co-Founder & CIO, Luke’s Lobster
Josh Miller – Captain of F/V Dorcas Anne, Tenants Harbor Fisherman’s Co-Op
Sam Belknap – Senior Community Development Officer, Island Institute
Gary Hall – Lobsterman
Dan Miller – Lobsterman
Filmed at Luke’s Lobster in Portland, Maine and at Tenants Harbor Fisherman’s Co-Op, Tenants Harbor, Maine
Directed by Eric Feigenbaum
Created by Conor Gaughan and Kate Tucker
Written and hosted by Kate Tucker
Produced by Consensus Digital Media in partnership with Remedial Media
Executive Producer – Kate Tucker
Executive Producer – Jessie English
Executive Producer – Eric Feigenbaum
Executive Producer – Conor Gaughan
Editor – Nicholas Nazmi
Assistant Editor – David Connelly
Director of Photography – Jared Watson
Camera Operator – Gabriel Judet-Weinschel
Sound Engineer – Tom Eichler
Audio Mixer / Sound Design – Dillon Terry
Color Grading – Bilal Saif
Graphic Design – Stephen Lepsch
Made In America
Hidden away in small towns, on family farms, down winding roads, are uplifting American stories of innovation and strength – stories of what this country makes, and what makes this country great. We survive the toughest of times and we celebrate our victories. That’s the essence of being Made in America.
Farms Across America
Farmers. They put the heart and soul in the heartland. They build our economy from the ground up, rooted in honest hard work and hope for the future. In the words of Paul Harvey… “On the 8th day, God looked down on his planned paradise and said, ‘I need a caretaker.’ So God made a farmer.”