In the ongoing rivalry between Massachusetts and Rhode Island, the Ocean State can chalk up Blount Fine Foods Corporation as a win.
The Fall River manufacturer best known for its soup and seafood is relocating its corporate headquarters to Rhode Island, hooked by state incentives approved by the Rhode Island Commerce Corporation’s board of directors in a meeting Monday. The board’s unanimous vote authorizes up to $3.2 million through its Qualified Jobs Incentive Act program to Blount in exchange for bringing 120 C-Suite, sales and back office jobs to Rhode Island.
“This is a very happy day for Rhode Island,” Jeff Miller, Commerce’s executive vice president of investments, told board members. “We’re bringing a homegrown company back.”
The national retail and restaurant distributor began as an oyster harvesting and distribution company in Barrington in 1880, relocating its corporate headquarters to Fall River in 2004. The fifth-generation, family-owned company still maintains a manufacturing facility and retail store on Water Street in Warren, according to the company website. It also owns production facilities in McKinney, Texas, and was named to Providence Business News’ 2024 list of fastest-growing companies with $762.2 million in revenue in 2023.
The tax credits, up to $7,500 in tax credits per year for 10 years for each new job created in the Ocean State, would not be distributed until workers start paying state income taxes, per program requirements.
While state analysis shows that the incentive program has generated a positive return on investment, more than 25% of the 43 companies awarded credits since 2016 have not followed through on job creation plans, according to Commerce’s fiscal 2023 report. Commerce members cited the requirements for in-person work, along with labor market conditions making it harder to hire, as reasons why the incentive program has not been as popular or successful in recent years.
Legislation introduced last year in the Rhode Island House of Representatives that would have given more flexibility to companies unable to meet the credit requirements in the first year of their award did not advance out of committee.
The program is set to expire at the end of the year, though Gov. Dan McKee in his proposed fiscal 2026 budget called for extending the expiration date through 2026.
Details of the agreement, including how many jobs Blount plans to bring to Rhode Island and where it will house its new headquarters, were not immediately available.
Blount will retain a manufacturing and production plant in Massachusetts. The company is also considering expanding its footprint in Warren with a new facility, including a test kitchen, CEO Todd Blount said during the meeting.
“Do we say it’s time for clam chowder?” Karl Wadensten, a board member, joked after the board’s vote.
This article was originally published by the Rhode Island Current.
