New lawsuit claims Thai Union exploited Red Lobster endless shrimp promotion for financial gain

Red Lobster’s failed Ultimate Endless Shrimp promotion in 2023 is back in the spotlight in a new lawsuit launched against Thai Union by some of Red Lobster’s creditors.

Red Lobster made all-you-can-eat shrimp a permanent fixture on its menu in June 2023 and, by the end of that year, was reporting a significant financial hit as a result. The promotional event, which sold unlimited shrimp for USD 20 (EUR 17.49), was later cited in Red Lobster’s bankruptcy filing in early 2024 and resulted in a dispute between the company and Thai Union, which was a minority owner of the restaurant chain, that featured accusations of mismanagement.

In a new lawsuit, creditors of Red Lobster are again accusing Thai Union of mismanaging the company. Red Lobster GUC Trust, formed in September 2024, is bringing the lawsuit against Thai Union in a Florida court.

“Thai Union treated the Company as little more than a distribution arm for its own products, milking whatever value it could from Red Lobster, especially as the company became insolvent,” the lawsuit states.

Thai Union first bought a large stake in Red Lobster in 2016, shelling out USD 575 million (EUR 503 million) to get a 25 percent stake and preferred shares that could be converted into common shares within 10 years, giving it a further 24 percent. In 2020, Thai Union Group bet even bigger on Red Lobster and scooped up a controlling 49 percent share as the chain was reported as struggling.

The lawsuit claims that following the acquisition, Thai Union deployed its own employees into Red Lobster’s offices to lobby for its own interests – including in the selecting of seafood suppliers.

Not sure what the point of the strategy would be. Bleed you host dry and put them out of business. No longer have the outlet to sell your shrimp.

They also own Chicken of the Sea seafood company. Thai Union International Inc. is a $4 billion global conglomerate. Small on the global stage, but large for a Thai company.

In 1997, the company was purchased by the investment group Tri-Union Seafoods LLC, made up of three partners:

Thai Union International Inc., a Thai conglomerate based in Bangkok and the then-largest tuna packer in Asia and second largest in the world

Edmund A. Gann, American owner of Caribbean Marine Service, Co., Inc., a tuna-fishing fleet

Tri-Marine International, Inc., a global trading company formed in Singapore in 1972 dealing in tuna and tuna products headed by Renato Curto, president and majority shareholder.

The new owners changed the name of Van Camp Seafood Company to Chicken of the Sea International. In 2000, Tri-Marine International Inc and Edmund A. Gann sold their 50 percent interest in Chicken of the Sea to Thai Union International, Inc., leaving Thai Union the sole owner of the company. Chicken of the Sea International and Tri-Union International LLC merged into one company, still called Chicken of the Sea International.

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