Company that fried Red Lobster put shrimp on the blockchain
The seafood company that drove restaurant chain Red Lobster to bankruptcy with a misguided ‘Endless Shrimp’ promotion was previously praised for using blockchain technology to promote sustainable seafood production. Bangkok-based Thai Union became Red Lobster’s biggest investor in 2020 and subsequently took the decision to make the company’s popular ‘$20 Ultimate Endless Shrimp’ offer a permanent part of its menu. The promotion, which had been running on a limited-time basis for 20 years, was seen as the ideal way to shift the huge amounts of shrimp that Thai Union was catching. However, a 40% increase in c US tomer traffic saw the chain , which was already struggling due to increased labor costs, falling sales, and the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, giving away mountains of free shrimp it could ill afford . As reported by CNN, under the stewardship of a CEO appointed by Thai Union, Red Lobster cut ties with two of its breaded shrimp suppliers, leaving the Bangkok-based seafoo...