Seaweed: A natural, sustainable, and consumer-friendly ingredient [Interview]

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With 70% of the earth’s surface covered by ocean – compared with only 11.4 % suitable for crops or grazing – seaweed holds huge potential as a sustainable crop of the future. Farmed seaweed, in particular, presents a regenerative alternative to many high-carbon footprint terrestrial ingredients, delivering new flavours, textures, and functional health benefits.

In addition, farmed seaweed can help manufacturers to meet consumer demands for health and sustainability, while making headway toward net-zero climate commitments. 

GreenWave was established as a non-profit in 2014 to help the industry capitalise on this potential. The organisation provides a new generation of ocean farmers with the information, tools, infrastructure, training, and support they need to launch and scale viable farm businesses. Simultaneously, GreenWave fosters relationships among farmers and buyers to open up market opportunities for seaweed. 

“Between 2017 and 2021, more than 8,000 prospective farmers from every coastal state in the United States and 100 countries around the globe requested support from us,” notes GreenWave director of market development Sam Garwin. “Since 2020, we have scaled to meet that need and developed new programming to spur collaboration and innovation across the seaweed value chain with seed producers, farmers, processors, and buyers.”

Environmental, nutritional, and cost benefits of seaweed

At this year’s Fi Europe, Garwin will be outlining the numerous benefits of harnessing seaweed as a next-generation ingredient.

“Seaweed requires no feed, freshwater, or fertiliser to grow, making it one of the most sustainable ingredients on the planet,” she explains. “It can achieve nutritional and net-zero targets, improve binding and flavour profiles, and support health and social responsibility claims.” 

On the nutritional front, seaweed is an excellent source of protein. According to the World Bank, one acre of seaweed can yield as much protein as five acres of soybeans. Seaweed is also rich in minerals, including potassium, chlorine, sulphur, phosphorus, calcium, and magnesium, and contains many critical micronutrients. 

“Seaweed can be used as a salt replacement, providing flavour and minerals while lowering sodium,” says Garwin. “It can be used as a stabilising, thickening, emulsifying, and gelling agent, and can also be used to enhance the nutritional value and textural qualities of food products.”

Seaweed farming also represents an economic opportunity for coastal and rural communities disproportionately impacted by climate change, and can complement many fishing and shellfish businesses. “Diversifying reliance on a single species can increase the resilience of small businesses,” says Garwin. “Seaweed can provide additional income for coastal residents and those making their living primarily on the water.”

Meanwhile, the environmental benefits of seaweed farms include dampening wave energy to protect coastlines against erosion and coastal storms. Seaweed can also improve water quality by producing oxygen and drawing down levels of dissolved carbon dioxide along with nitrogen and phosphorus from their environment.

Steps to establishing a viable seaweed industry

At Fi Europe, Garwin will also discuss the challenges in establishing a viable seaweed industry. These include having reliable, values-aligned buyers ready to build a long-term seaweed sourcing strategy, and the need to put in place processing infrastructure to deliver bespoke ingredients. 

“These two challenges are chicken-and-egg,” says Garwin. “Farmers and processors can’t invest in processing infrastructure until they know what format they need to achieve, and brands are hesitant to make purchasing commitments without knowing exactly how seaweed fits into their product portfolio. The good news is that both of these challenges can be addressed by taking a collaborative, iterative, problem-solving approach to building a supply chain.”

Indeed, Garwin points out that seaweed has been on consumers’ radars as a culinary trend for years; it is up to tastemakers and market leaders to figure out how to incorporate it into products people love. “With farmed seaweed, the health and sustainability targets take care of themselves,” she adds. 

In her session at Fi Europe, Garwin will share actionable steps that companies can take to establish a viable seaweed industry.

“It can be challenging to get started with a new ingredient,” she says. “But this is what forward-thinking brands must do to capture the strategic advantage seaweed represents. At Fi Europe, I’ll be sharing how brands can be active participants in co-designing seaweed value chains that help them achieve their revenue, health, social, and sustainability goals.” 

Farmed seaweed sourcing, development, and marketing strategies 

There are already several actions that businesses can take ahead of Fi Europe. Garwin suggests that seaweed-curious companies register for Seaweed Source, a free app that streamlines connections between businesses in the seaweed. Qualified companies share their supply or purchasing needs, learn about the market ecosystem, and tap into opportunities for growth and collaboration. GreenWave verifies every application. 

“Earlier this year, GreenWave also launched a Buyer’s Guide for companies looking to source farmed seaweed through short or direct supply chains,” says Garwin. “The guide draws on more than 82 subject matter experts and written resources, as well as insights from 25 active seaweed buyers and farmers, and has step-by-step instructions for initiating a seaweed sourcing strategy.” 

Moving forward, GreenWave plans to launch a new programme to provide supply chain development and product development support for packaged food brands and ingredient companies committed to making seaweed a part of their sourcing and sustainability strategy. The organisation is looking for companies large and small to participate in the pilot year – anyone interested is invited to email [email protected] for more information. 

“The time has come for food ingredients and packaged goods companies to develop farmed seaweed sourcing, product development, and marketing strategies,” says Garwin. “GreenWave is there to provide support and guidance.”