My Food Job Rocks! Ep. 176 – Innovating the Frozen Seafood Category with Scott and Jon Demers, Founders of Scott and Jon’s (formally the Cheating Gourmet)
This episode is with Scott and Jon Demers, two brothers who founded a frozen meal company that specializes in healthy seafood. They’ve recently rebranded, so you might know their previous brand, Cheating Gourmet but now they’ve gotten a bit more personal and call it simply, Scott and Jon’s.
Maybe you’ve seen that small little refrigerator right next to the fresh fillet of salmon. If you’ve ever peeked inside of it, you might have found something from Scott and Jon’s. From their deep fried seafood appetizers to their new shrimp noodle dishes, these brothers are innovating the frozen seafood section.
Learn about the humble origins of how the brothers thought of the idea to enter this category and what it felt like to experience the amazing growth they went through.
About Scott and JonsScott and Jon Demers are co-founders of Cheating Gourmet premium frozen seafood. The brother’s passion for providing consumers with healthy, convenient food is at the core of their business and shines through in their mission to deliver the best seafood products to families nationwide. For them, building a brand is about quality and integrity.
A study conducted in recent years by the USDA found that 80-90% of Americans are not consuming the recommended amount of seafood in their diet. As a great source of protein and a variety of vitamins and minerals, making seafood more accessible was important to Scott and Jon. That, combined with the increasing demand for on-the-go lunches made with premium seafood, inspired the launch of their Shrimp Rice Bowls. The brothers wanted to create an easy, everyday rice bowl with high quality shrimp and fresh ingredients.
SponsorThis episode is sponsored by Salt of the Earth. During IFT, I went to their booth. They were serving vegetarian meatballs and mac and cheese using Mediterranean umami. I would say, it was probably the best meatball made of pea protein I’ve tasted. Mediterranean Umami brings a rich, savory component while being clean label and reduces sodium and made with simple ingredients such as tomatoes, sea salt, seaweed, and mushrooms.
Ask my friend David for a bottle of Mediterranean Umami any time by emailing info@salt.co.il
ShownotesWhy did you start a business?: We wanted to start our own business. We grew up with a family of entrepreneurs. Where did you find your first mentor?: The third broker we called decided to become our mentor Who was your first hire?: My mother Cheating Gourmet Scott and Jon's Why did you rebrand?: We wanted to feel more connected to the consumer, a family-to-family dynamic My Food Job Rocks: Seeing your baby grow is an amazing experience IQF/Flash Frozen What type of trends and technologies are exciting you right now?: Frozen foods What’s the biggest challenge the food industry needs to face?: Cleaner and cleaner labels What is something you’d like to know more about?: Forecasting trends. Where are we headed? Expo West Boston Seafood Show – We had the shrimp ramen there. We were chosen as a finalist Grapefruit Smoked Salmon Favorite Quote: Arnold Schwarzenegger – You can’t climb a mountain with your hands in your pockets Favorite Book: Let my people go surfing – written by the founder of Patagonia Quote from the book: A Perfect product is when you can’t take anything out of it Any advice for anyone who wants to start a food business?: Don’t quit, be innovative What made you not quit?: Have a good cofounder Whwere can we find you?: scott@demersfoods.com Scottandjons.com
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