8 Seaweed Startups Riding the $18.4B Green Wave

Welcome to Tendencies, a weekly e-newsletter with the zestiest enterprise tendencies and actionable insights for entrepreneurs.

Again in 2020, the Tendencies group found a sort of seaweed that was trending like loopy — Irish Moss.

“This superfood pattern has gathered steam alongside the COVID-19 pandemic and can doubtless stay standard transferring ahead, as an age-old treatment for a lot of illnesses.”

Boy, have been we proper on the cash. Curiosity in Irish Moss (aka “sea moss”) has remained excessive since then, with 448k world searches/month, per Ahrefs.

Known as it. Supply: Google Tendencies, six-month rolling common

However there’s so way more to seaweed, the versatile marine plant that has taken the enterprise (and tech) world by storm in recent times.

• Startups that work with seaweed bought beneficiant funding
• The US Division of Vitality is granting ~$19m to algae-related tasks
• The worldwide industrial seaweed market reached $18.4B in 2024

So why the obsession? Let’s get into it.

First, The Fundamentals

Seaweed. Algae. Kelp. Sea moss… I don’t find out about you, however I used to be thrown for a loop by these names.

So with some primary analysis and a bit of assist from AI, I whipped up a extremely simplified explainer of the connection amongst these organisms:

I’m solely together with the frequent names right here. In actuality, algae is a broad time period that comprises hundreds of organisms, together with seaweed, our protagonist right now.

Seaweed refers back to the sorts of algae (roughly 12k of them) that reside within the ocean, and are giant sufficient to be seen with the bare eye, aka “macroscopic.”

…and that’s all of the science speak for right now! ????‍????

So why do companies discover algae, or seaweed, so beneficial?

• Versatile: They can be utilized in quite a lot of industries, like meals, biofuels, bioplastics, cosmetics, and even style.  
• Straightforward: They develop quick, and require minimal sources to domesticate in comparison with land crops
• New: They’re not broadly adopted within the US but, so there’s a ton of untapped potential for innovation

Now let’s take a look at some cool companies which might be making thousands and thousands by working seaweed’s magic.

Eight Firms Making Waves In The Seaweed Enterprise

1. Meals

Seaweed is a well-liked ingredient in Asian meals tradition, however its potential software in meals goes past crunchy snacks (like nori) and fibrous dietary supplements (like Irish moss) — it’s really a rising star within the different protein area.

Umaro Meals

I’ve by no means tried seaweed bacon, however I think about it’ll be additional crispy. That’s what Umaro Meals is engaged on — they raised $3.8m in March to show seaweed into imitation bacon that preserves the fatty taste and texture.

They beforehand went on Shark Tank and received a $1m deal for 7% fairness from Mark Cuban.

Poseidona

Poseidona is a Barcelona-based startup that turns invasive algae into protein. It raised €1.1m (~$1.2m) of pre-seed funding in March. Their answer guarantees to guard the ocean from dangerous invasive seaweeds, and supply a sustainable supply of alt protein for shoppers.

2. Packaging

The packaging sector generates 36% of all single-use plastics (SUP) on the planet, and virtually all SUP merchandise are constructed from fossil gasoline, which emits tons of greenhouse gasoline.

Enter seaweed, a biodegradable materials with the potential to switch plastic packaging. Fairly just a few startups are engaged on this:

Sway

California-based Sway raised a $5m seed spherical in February. Its proprietary expertise, referred to as “TPSea™️, is a resin constructed from seaweed. It may be utilized in packaging for meals, house items, and clothes. Firms like J.Crew are already testing it out.

Notpla

Sway’s competitor, Notpla, put its personal spin on seaweed packaging and developed an attention grabbing water bubble referred to as “Ooho,” amongst different issues. They raised $14.4m in funding, and obtained a $1.1m grant final October.

However what actually caught my eye was their group bio. I imply… cute.

The seaweed love is robust with this one. Supply: Notpla 

Different startups on this area embody Uluu and Kelpy (to not be confused with Kelpi, which raised $5.5m this month to do the identical factor, principally).

3. Carbon sink

International carbon emissions have elevated steadily every decade for the reason that Sixties, and hit 36.8B metric tons in 2023.

Guess what – that’s an issue seaweed can assist with, too.

Carbonwave

Carbonwave collects sargassum – a sort of brown seaweed that washes up on seashores with a foul odor – and refine it into helpful supplies like fertilizers, beauty emulsifiers, and bioplastics.

The Puerto Rico-based startup was one in all Quick Firm’s “most progressive firms of 2024,” with a complete of $17.3m raised.

Seaweed Technology

One other firm that tackles the problematic sargassum…however with robots.

Utilizing AlgaRay and AlgaVator, two Transformers-sounding robots, Seaweed Technology sinks invasive sargassum into the deep ocean (together with the carbon dioxide it absorbs), and will increase automation to decrease the price of rising seaweed.

Supply: Seaweed Technology

4. Biofeed

Do you know cow burps are dangerous for the atmosphere? 

Seems, ruminants (mammals together with cows, sheep, and their family) account for 27% of annual methane emissions within the US. And 32% of world human-induced methane emissions additionally come from livestock.

Firms are mixing up the weight-reduction plan for these creatures so that they don’t burp out a lot methane, which accelerates world warming.

As soon as once more, seaweed to the rescue.

Sea Forest

This Tasmania-based startup developed a feed complement that reduces livestock’s methane manufacturing by as much as 90%, utilizing a sort of pink seaweed referred to as asparagopsis. (It additionally made Quick Firm’s most progressive checklist this yr.)

Alga Biosciences

This YC-backed startup has the same mission to Sea Forest – serving to scale back methane emissions from cow burps. Their answer guarantees a better ROI for farmers in addition to good for the atmosphere.

Different Areas of Alternatives

Seaweeds are so rattling cool — these firms are solely a small slice of the huge alternatives they current.

We will hold going, however we all know you need in on the motion. So listed here are some concepts you would look into:

Supply: World Financial institution

???? Pet meals: Overlook gassy cows – your individual pet may use some seaweed feed. Research present that seaweed-derived meals and dietary supplements can enhance the digestive or pores and skin well being of 88% of canines. The seaweed-based pet meals trade is price $1B+, per a World Financial institution report.

???? Dye: You could possibly extract shade pigments from seaweed and switch it right into a pure dye. Accomplice with eco-conscious style manufacturers (SeaDyes, an up-and-coming Scottish startup, does this), or create your individual seaweed dyed clothes line and market on social media with eye-catching content material.

???? Group: 40% of seaweed startups are led by girls, a a lot increased price than different classes. You’ll be able to construct a group for feminine founders within the seaweed sector (or the blue financial system usually), and provide them sources, training, and networking alternatives.

Lastly, don’t overlook the extra conventional, low-tech methods to generate profits from seaweed, equivalent to promoting white-labeled dietary supplements, smoothie mixes, curated snack/culinary kits, and even monetize data merchandise (like a seaweed analysis database or weblog) by promoting stories, adverts, or affiliate earnings.