I’ve been really curious about seaweed. I hear a lot about seaweed-based businesses, and there’s a lot of hope and hype around the potential for seaweed as a climate solution. The seaweed market has grown to become a $15 billion industry and it's projected to grow to $25 billion by 2028.

To learn more, I caught up with two aspiring seaweed startup founders: Alexia Akbay and Julia Marsh. Their companies couldn’t be more different – one is using seaweed to eliminate plastic packaging and the other is feeding seaweed to cows so they burp less. This conversation helps highlight the range of possibilities for seaweed, what’s so special about seaweed to begin with, some of the challenges seaweed startups are facing, and a spicy question that helped me understand one of the more radical seaweed ideas floating about these days. OK, I promise no more puns, or maybe just a couple, but lots of insights to chew on. Enjoy!

In today’s episode, we cover:

[3:19] What is Sway & the problem they’re aiming to solve
[4:13] What is Symbrosia & the problem they’re aiming to solve
[6:02] What's so special about seaweed & why is it being looked at as a climate solution
[9:25] How Alexia & Julia got started
[10:26] Other exciting applications for seaweed & the potential ahead
[13:42] The technological breakthroughs that set Symbrosia & Sway apart & how far along they are in their journey
[20:15] What are the biggest barriers to scale & what needs to change
[23:58] The unit economics & value for partners
[27:51] Considerations for entrepreneurs & investors thinking about seaweed
[29:57] The growing market & what this means for seaweed companies
[33:13] Super spicy talk around seaweed right now
[35:14] What consumers should know about seaweed
[37:51] How Sway & Symbrosia can support a bigger ecosystem

Resources Mentioned

Connect with Alexia Akbay & Julia Marsh

Connect with Alexia on LinkedIn
Connect with Julia on LinkedIn

Connect With Jason Rissman

Subscribe to Invested In Climate

1088: Keeping Public Health Nurses: Strategies to Reduce Burnout and Strengthen Retention