Norwegian seaweed farmer Seaweed Solutions wants to further develop its two existing seaweed farms and expand production with new sites, newly appointed CEO Ole Christian Norvik told IntraFish.
The company's pending new sites, which could be in operation within the next couple of years, will be situated nearby its current two sites in western Norway, Norvik said.
Seaweed Solutions's processing facility is a collaboration with Norwegian whitefish and crab supplier Hitramat, and its processing plant at the island of Hitra.
The company recently raised NOK 46 million (€4.4 million/$4.8 million) to invest in more efficient equipment and boats, Norvik said.
The company sees itself playing a big part in Norway's growing seaweed industry.
The Norwegian Seafood Association estimates around 300,000 metric tons of seaweed could be produced in Norway by 2030. Currently, there are around 20 kelp producers in Norway.
In 2022, Seaweed Solutions produced 200 metric tons of product; the company hopes to double production annually.
While the industry is new in Europe, Asia produces about 30 million metric tons annually.
The global seaweed market reached a value of $7.5 billion (€6.9 billion) last year, according to research firm IMARC Group. The firm expects the market to reach $14.3 billion (€13.1 billion) by 2028, corresponding to a growth rate of 11.6 percent between 2023-2028.
Seaweed Solutions’ core business is B2B. Among its customers are some sizeable groups, including Norwegian food conglomerate Orkla. In addition it sells to companies in Sweden, Germany and the Netherlands.
Some of the seaweed is also sold to the feed industry, but this is currently not a large part of its sales.
“The feed industry requires vast volumes and this may be more of an opportunity for the company in the coming years,” Norvik said.
Last week, the company announced the World Wildlife Fund and private investors had invested, and that Norvik had been appointed CEO. Other investors include Casulo and Banque Picquet.
Seaweed Solutions is chaired by ex-Akva Group CEO Hallvard Muri, a veteran of several companies within Kjell Inge Rokke's Aker group.
David Buckeridge and Kamel Gabriel El Khaloui joined the company's board last week. The executives have worked with private equity group Paine Schwartz and Paine Schwartz-owned Norwegian fish byproducts group Scanbio, respectively.
Other seaweed companies that have recently raised capital include Netherlands-based The Seaweed Company which announced a raise from existing shareholder Colruyt Group last year, and Aqua-Spark's $9 million (€7.6 million) investment into Sea6 Energy's Series B funding round, also last year.
