SeafoodSource regularly compiles updates on the seaweed industry and tracks seaweed innovation closely.
– Seafood Educator and Content Creator James Sibley Have Release Phytabar is a nutritional bar made primarily from wakame seaweed.
Harvested throughout the Pacific Ocean, wakame is rich in EPA/DHA omega-3 and marine micronutrients. This seaweed chocolate bar combines the salty, earthy flavor of wakame with dark cocoa chocolate.
“Wakame farming is a niche area of regenerative aquaculture, along with kelp farming and rope-grown shellfish,” Sibley told Seafood Source. “Wakame farming rebuilds marine ecosystems while providing valuable jobs to Pacific coastal communities. By sourcing farmed wakame, we hope to promote the role of regenerative aquaculture in the seafood industry.”
Sibley has a background in aquaculture and microbiology and first started working on the product three years ago with co-inventor Sebastian Sanchez, a former classmate from Northeastern University in Boston, Massachusetts, US, who brings business and marketing expertise to the venture.
“I’ve been working on Phytabar since my college days – nights, weekends, pitching competitions,” says Sibley. “It’s been an amazing experience, and now all that hard work has finally culminated in a tangible, delicious product. I’m excited to deliver this bar to all the people who’ve supported us over the past few years, as well as to the early adopters who are counting on us to start selling.”
Phytabar is an independent startup product funded by a grant from Northeastern University and grassroots fundraising. Sibley has worked with Mowi before but is not affiliated with any company.
“In essence, Phytabar presents an alternative use case for farmed seaweed. How successful it will be remains to be seen, but we hope the industry will look at Phytabar as an alternative application case to expand the use of the ingredient. One of the biggest hurdles for niche aquaculture is adoption in large markets like the US. We believe that novel products like Phytabar can expose consumers to the diversity the aquaculture industry has to offer,” he said.
– Scottish Sea Farms has announced a partnership with a seaweed farm in Loch Sperve, Scotland, on a year-long project aimed at harvesting both salmon and kelp together. World Seafood Alliance.
The project aims to improve the marine environment while reducing the impacts of aquaculture activities through integrated multi-trophic level aquaculture practices.
“Seaweed is beneficial to the marine environment in so many ways,” said Anne Anderson, Scottish Sea Farm’s sustainability and development manager. “As a plant, seaweed releases oxygen while absorbing carbon dioxide – a bit like planting trees to offset carbon emissions. Also, some of the organic nutrients we get from salmon farming – nitrogen and phosphorus – are absorbed by the kelp. It will be interesting to see if the seaweed grows more once we release the salmon.”
Scottish Sea Farms says the seaweed farming line is showing promising growth and that it has permission from Crown Estate Scotland to stock four 90-metre pens with salmon in June, and is in discussions to amend the farm’s lease to allow for long-term seaweed farming.
– Seagreen Insight, a US non-profit organisation that aims to collect research data and educate the public about seaweed, New reports About the evolution of the seaweed industry.
“Lessons Learned in Selling Seaweed Products in the U.S. Market” highlights advances in seaweed market research, presenting effective strategies used by seaweed producers and how organizations can support them in increasing sales and growth in the United States.
The report examines the brand strategies, product developments and sales channels that have driven consumer sales. Findings include that tailored partnerships with restaurants and chefs have led to success for seaweed farmers, while retail has been an especially difficult market for farmers to break into.
“The report comes at a critical time for the U.S. seaweed industry as it looks to grow through increased cultivation and product innovation,” Seagreen said in a statement. “Entrepreneurs, investors and existing companies will benefit from the report’s rich content, provided by more than 25 experts in the U.S. seaweed industry, including farmers, producers and industry advocacy groups. We expect the report to serve as a tool to help seaweed producers speed up their marketing efforts and avoid the missteps experienced by others.”
