Seaweed farm in Clew Bay, Ireland
Powered by a recent investment round from the Colruyt Group, The Seaweed Company, a Dutch impact organization, is expanding their seaweed farms and bringing more products to the European market. The investment is the third and largest investment to date for Dutch start-up company.
Founded in 2018, the company produces seaweed in its own sea farms in Ireland, Morocco, India and the Netherlands. They market high-quality seaweed applications such as animal feed supplements, food products and biostimulants — natural products that positively influence the growth, quality, and resistance of crops.
Seaweed products for Europe
The Seaweed Company’s goal is to be a leading player in the sector to get seaweed as an ingredient on the menu of farmers, consumers, and companies in Europe. The company’s products have been marketed under the Blue Farming and Blue Health concepts, all of which contribute to the health and well-being of people and support the transition to a sustainable diet. This includes seaweed-based TopHealth animal feed supplements for chickens, pigs, cows, pets and horses, as well as a unique organic seaweed biostimulant, TopHealth Plants, that strengthens the soils and crops.
Colruyt Group, a Belgian family business that attaches great importance to sustainable entrepreneurship, has been a shareholder of The Seaweed Company since 2019. They are active in the distribution of food and non-food in Belgium, France, and Luxembourg, with more than 600 owned stores and approximately 580 affiliated stores. “We are extremely proud that Colruyt Group is further expanding its minority interest to 21% and that we can continue to work on expanding our platform together with this commercial partner’s thorough market knowledge,” said SeaEO Joost Wouters. “Connecting our seaweed knowledge and expertise with the strengths of others, such as those of Colruyt Group, enables us to take major steps in the field of sustainable agriculture and food applications.”
“We see a lot of potential in seaweed,” said Stefan Goethaert, who is responsible for Colruyt Group’s agricultural policy. “It is extremely versatile and can be used in food, animal feed, fertilizers and even as an alternative to plastic in packaging. As a group, we want to take responsibility to produce meat in a more environmentally friendly way. Making animal feed more sustainable plays an important role in this. At the same time, we are constantly looking for ways to make our packaging more sustainable.”
Sustainable, reliable, traceable
The Seaweed Company is active in various aspects of the seaweed value chain. Collaboration in the field of making agricultural chains more sustainable (agriculture, livestock farming, aquaculture), contributing to the sustainability of the food supply, and Colruyt Group’s offshore activities that can be combined with the cultivation of seaweed are directions for the future of both companies. In the coming years, the focus will be on sustainable seaweed cultivation via owned farms or partners, and the accelerated roll-out and marketing of the Blue Farming and Blue Health products.
Ultimately, The Seaweed Company’s goal is to achieve sustainable impact, something seaweed is ideally suited for. They hope to reach half a million Blue Farmers in Europe, create 1 million hectares of regenerated farmland, and contribute to climate goals by preventing and reducing CO₂, restoring oceans through increased marine biodiversity, and providing work opportunities to coastal families.
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