“The investors ran into our space and they ran out. Kelp never took off like we thought it would.” — Courtney Boyd Myers, Akua
Dear seaweed and microalgae investors, buyers, operators, and technologists, welcome to another edition of the Paxtier Report!
Food for thought this week…
Despite raising $5.4 million, expanding its line of products and generating significant buzz, kelp burger startup Akua has shut its doors.
According to a recent company statement, Akua was severely impacted by packaging and shipping issues, high production costs, and a downturn in the plant-based meat market. As Courtney Boyd Myers candidly shared, “We faced many challenges over the years – healthy food is expensive to make and our margins were slim. We had packaging, manufacturing, warehouse, and shipping catastrophes. We got copied by our supply chain partner. The investors ran into our space and they ran out. Kelp never took off like we thought it would.”
It’s certainly a setback for the seaweed-as-novel-food category and highlights some of the bottlenecks in North America’s emerging cultivated seaweed supply chain. But given the hurdles algae startups face in the Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG) sector, is it really all that surprising?
Succeeding in the CPG space is exceptionally challenging, particularly in saturated markets with underdeveloped supply chains. Few brands have the audience to sustain DTC sales alone, and those venturing into retail often caution that it’s a tough landscape – achieving success requires not only strong commercial connections but also the resilience to withstand intense pressure on margins. Perhaps the biggest challenge, however, lies in admitting what retail truly values. While many climate-driven brands continue to sell sustainability first, followed by resilience, performance, and price, industry’s priorities are reversed: price comes first, followed by performance, resilience, and, lastly, sustainability.
Just something to think about.
Have a great day, everyone!
— Peter
In today’s report…
Markets: 📈 CH4 Global and CirPro team up to drive low-methane beef exports with seaweed innovation.
Deals: 🤝 PETRONAS, Enilive, and Euglena make final investment decision on Malaysian biorefinery project.
Movers and Shakers: 🌊 Greenwave Aotearoa completes New Zealand’s first commercial outplanting of Gigartina atropurpurea.
Around the web: 💡In partnership with EcoEngineers, Brilliant Planet has created a rigorous crediting methodology to quantify and verify carbon dioxide removals through algal biomass burial.
Markets and Investing
✂️Market Snippets
Some big moves in recent weeks…
Seaweed
📈 Niti Aayog outlines plan to boost seaweed cultivation in India (Read more HERE)
🌿 More than 12 tonnes of invasive Asian seaweed washed up on Benalmádena’s beaches in a single night (Read more HERE)
🌿 Seaweed-fed milk hits shelves, cow methane emissions reduction noted so far at 25% (Read more HERE)
📈 Major expansion for Wick company SHORE – 2m bags of seaweed snacks sold to date (Read more HERE)
📈 Seaweed and shellfish ocean farming community firm Câr-y-Môr expands with food venture acquisition (Read more HERE)
📉 Ocean Harvest shares drop on revenue slump forecast (Read more HERE)
🤝 Scoular brings seaweed to the pet food market through a new partnership (Read more HERE)
🌿 Chinese processor Gaodi Holdings pivots to bar trade for alternative income amid losses (Read more HERE)
🌿 Battles unveils seaweed-powered poultry care solutions (Read more HERE)
🌿 Kittery startup boosts R&D on kelp extract for skin care innovations (Read more HERE)
🤝 CH4 Global and CirPro team up to drive low-methane beef exports with seaweed innovation (Read more HERE)
🌿 Seaweed Enterprises reveals new brand identity (Read more HERE)
🌿 North Island College launches seaweed industry pilot project (Read more HERE)
🌿 Growing worries over new seaweed farm by Port Isaac (Read more HERE)
🌿 New Zealand commits $10 million to tackle invasive Caulerpa spread (Read more HERE)
📈 Indian government supports seaweed-based organic products and biostimulants (Read more HERE)
🌿 Australian Seaweed Alliance reveals latest seaweed investment opportunities (Read more HERE)
🌿 Greenwave Aotearoa completes New Zealand’s first commercial outplanting of Gigartina atropurpurea (Read more HERE)
🌊 North Sea Farm#1 completes first installation phase at Hollandse Kust Zuid (Read more HERE)
Microalgae
🌊 £450,000 project launched to combat algae crisis in Lough Neagh (Read more HERE)
🤝 PETRONAS, Enilive, and Euglena make final investment decision on Malaysian biorefinery project (Read more HERE)
🤝 Nufarm and KD Nutra join forces to boost plant-based omega-3 options (Read more HERE)
🟢 Microalgae-based whey protein gears up for market debut (Read more HERE)
🤝 SourceOne and Qualitas Health partner to bring algae-based omega-3 solutions to the global market (Read more HERE)
💸 Cyanotech’s Q1 fiscal 2025 results highlight improved financial performance and growth (Read more HERE)
💸 Cyanophy Laboratoire SAS opens subscription for its 2024-27 convertible bond, inviting new investments (Read more HERE)
🐦Tweets of the week
🔥 What else was hot in seaweed and microalgae this week?
Seaweed
🌿 Seaweed shows promise in preventing Parkinson’s, new study suggests (Read more HERE)
🌿 Dairy farmers open to using seaweed to reduce methane (Read more HERE)
🌊 Survey reveals Caribbean views on sargassum seaweed (Read more HERE)
🌿 Seaweed and mushroom waste in feed could enhance African food security (Read more HERE)
🧪 Horizontal gene transfer and symbiotic microorganisms regulate the adaptive evolution of intertidal algae, Porphyra sense lato (Read more HERE)
Microalgae
🟢 UH professor explores rotating algal biofilm for CO2 reduction (Read more HERE)
🧪 Heidelberg researchers develop biocompatible inks from algae (Read more HERE)
🧪 Researchers uncover record-breaking protein in harmful algae (Read more HERE)
🌿 Bioluminescent algae bring a glowing touch to luxury jewelry and fashion at CellSense (Read more HERE)
🟢 In partnership with EcoEngineers, Brilliant Planet has created a rigorous crediting methodology to quantify and verify carbon dioxide removals through algal biomass burial (Read more HERE)
🧪 A satellite-derived baseline of photosynthetic life across Antarctica (Read more HERE)
🧪 Epiphytic microbiome associated with intertidal seaweeds in the Mediterranean Sea: comparative analysis of bacterial communities across seaweed phyla (Read more HERE)
That’s all folks!
Thanks again for joining us this week. If you think we’ve missed something worth highlighting – drop us a line below or via LinkedIn. Hope you have a great day and stay tuned for more seaweed and microalgae updates soon!
Best,
Peter
