Expanding the market of a small seaweed company

This fisheries LAG project has allowed a small company to scale up its production of algae and develop supply chains across the country.

The ‘Ocean Leaves’ project harnesses the natural benefits of algae to produce a range of products for domestic gardening and agricultural. Their products act as “bio-stimulants” that can help to regulate and enhance the physiological processes of plants, thereby increasing plant health and growth, while also improving soil conditions. They use two local varieties of algae in their fertilisers: Fucus vesiculosis (bladderwrack) and Ascophyllum nodosum (knotted wrack).

The Southeast LAG grant allowed the company to buy a much-needed specific piece of equipment to improve its production capacity and enable the scaling up of the business in tandem with rising growth in sales. Prior to the project, this part of the production process was done by hand. The new machinery facilitated a move to semi-automation, thereby also improving the working conditions of those doing the processing.