How a Fife seaweed firm is sinking its teeth into a £13 billion market

A Fife firm has taken a big step towards establishing the largest seaweed processing hub in the UK as it looks to tap into a fast-growing, multi-billion-pound global market.

Seaweed Enterprises has also unveiled new branding, as House of Seaweed, and continued fundraising, part of which will be used for a factory fit out. The Glenrothes-based business said it had a clear vision to become a major trade processing hub in “Scotland, the UK and beyond”.

Seaweed is projected to grow in global market value from some $17 billion (£13bn) currently to $30bn by 2029. Despite recent interest and changes, the Scottish seaweed industry is seen as being untapped and highly fragmented.

The firm said it was looking forward to working with its seaweed harvesters from Alba Mari in Fife, as well as the growing number of farmers on Scotland’s west coast and beyond.

Pete Higgins, co-founder and chief executive of House of Seaweed, said: “We are thrilled to unveil House of Seaweed, a name that embodies our commitment to excellence, sustainability and innovation. Our new identity reflects and celebrates the brilliance of the raw material we work with and tells the story of who we are, what we do, and the future impact we hope to have on this blue planet.

“We are driven by the environmental and societal impact we can make through our hero ingredient, together as a team alongside our partners, suppliers and customers. The whole team at House of Seaweed would like to thank our current investors for their belief in our mission and for joining us on what will be a very exciting journey.”

Having already raised some £600,000, more than a third of its £1.6 million investment target, the rebranding move coincides with continued fundraising, part of which will be used for the factory upgrade, to establish the business as the largest multi-species seaweed processing hub in the UK. The firm’s strategic goal is to diversify its revenue base, offering bespoke contract manufacturing services to the wider seaweed industry and selling to multiple growing industries such as nutraceuticals, bioplastics and biorefineries, as well as the potentially lucrative food sector.

Co-founder and brand marketing director Clare Dean added: “We’ve worked hard to launch House of Seaweed around the incredible resource we are building our business upon. We have further exciting brands and product launches in the pipeline and are looking forward to working with our seaweed harvesters from Alba Mari in Fife, as well as the growing number of fantastic farmers on Scotland’s west coast and beyond, to bring best in class, sustainable and innovative products to several markets keen to exploit local European supply.”