January is all about clean living and what is cleaner than seaweed? This is a corner of the Scottish food and drink industry weI've been eager to explore on Scran for a while so it seemed like a good time to do so.
First up Rosalind speaks to Lawrie Stove of Scottish Seaweed Farming. Lawrie tells her all about how his career on the sea has brought him to this point. He explains how they seed and grow the seaweed and the process behind turning them into a sellable product. He also enlightens Rosalind as to the huge variety of dishes that seaweed can feature in.
Rosalind also speaks to Keith Paterson of Shore Seaweed who produce some very tasty snacks. Keith tells Rosalind about the process they go through to harvest the seaweed as well as what's entailed in deciding on new flavours. Their snacks have been going from strength to strength but Keith says there's no space for complacency and the industry needs to keep innovating.
First up Rosalind speaks to Lawrie Stove of Scottish Seaweed Farming. Lawrie tells her all about how his career on the sea has brought him to this point. He explains how they seed and grow the seaweed and the process behind turning them into a sellable product. He also enlightens Rosalind as to the huge variety of dishes that seaweed can feature in.
Rosalind also speaks to Keith Paterson of Shore Seaweed who produce some very tasty snacks. Keith tells Rosalind about the process they go through to harvest the seaweed as well as what's entailed in deciding on new flavours. Their snacks have been going from strength to strength but Keith says there's no space for complacency and the industry needs to keep innovating.
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LifestyleTranscript
00:00Welcome to Scran. It being the new year, health conscious choices are in all of our minds.
00:08So today we're looking at a booming industry, seaweed. I'm joined by Laurie Stove of Seaweed
00:13Farming Scotland to learn more. Hi Laurie, how are you?
00:17I'm very good, thank you Roslyn. Happy New Year.
00:19Happy New Year. Yeah, good thanks. It's freezing. Anyone watching this on video can tell how
00:24cold you are.
00:27It's Baltic, but it's lovely blue skies. So I've had blue skies and sunshine, which is
00:30always a nice thing to have in January.
00:33So for anyone that doesn't know, we're talking about seaweed, we're talking about health,
00:38the healthiness of seaweed in January with everyone getting back to work and it being
00:42Christmas. Could you tell me a little bit about your business?
00:47We started farming seaweed back in 2018. We've got a marine engineering part of our business
00:53and we design and install seaweed farms for people. And we did a number of those in Scotland
00:59in 2017, 2018 and actually contract farm for the clients that we installed the structures
01:06for and started our own farming business in 2019. And we're based in Argyll and we've
01:14got marine licences for seaweed farms, which are floating rope structures out in the open
01:21sea in Argyll and we grow rope grown Scottish kelp. So we just grow the native species of
01:28kelp, the main ones being what's called Atlantic wakame and sugar kelp and another one called
01:37kombu. So they're all grown, they're all found locally in the native environment on the west
01:42coast of Scotland. And we've surveyed quite a few sites and picked the really good ones
01:47to apply for a farm licence, which we've now got. And we seed the farm every year with
01:55seeds from the local seaweed. We collect it from the biomass that's around about the site.
02:01We extract the seed from it. Then we kind of glue it onto ropes using something that
02:07looks like wallpaper paste. It's actually a binder made from alginate, which is an industrial
02:12compound that's derived from seaweeds, funnily enough. But we basically glue the seeds to
02:17the ropes, put them in the water, and then they germinate and grow. And we go back, we
02:24seed twice a year, we seed a winter crop in October, November time, and we seed again
02:29in January, maybe early February, but trying to do it late January. And the crop that we
02:35sow in October, we'll harvest both of them in April and May. So it's either seven or
02:41eight months old, if it was if it was sown as a winter crop, or it's three to four months
02:46old, if we sow it as a spring crop. And the main reason we do that is that the quality
02:52of the kelp, the seaweed that we get, the quality of the leaf is outstanding, because
02:59it's only grown for a very short period of time. It's an annual, single annual crop.
03:03But we get a really good unspoiled crop. We've got to get that harvested April, May time.
03:13And what was your background? Did you always, have you always worked with seaweed or with
03:17the sea?
03:18Not always. Seaweed, I've worked at sea. I've been at sea all my life since I was a teenager.
03:23I've spent five years sailing around the world. I've worked in the marine equipment industry
03:29in Scotland and globally. And I've worked in the aquaculture industry as well. I worked
03:35for in the salmon industry in Scotland for five years on export sales. So I'm familiar
03:42with that. And then with my engineering business, we've worked for people like Shetland Mussels,
03:48installing big mussel farms for them. We've worked doing seaweed farms in Europe. We designed
03:55and installed one in 2021 off the coast of Belgium. So we've got quite a good experience
04:01of designing and installing seaweed and shellfish farms. And we've done engineering work. And
04:09I've worked hands on in the salmon industry as well in Scotland. So I'm very familiar
04:13with the aquaculture industry. But I've been involved working at sea and on boats all my
04:18life. So it's quite a natural thing for me to combine my love of food, farming and working
04:24at sea.
04:27And what are the seaweeds that you grow and harvest? What are they mainly used in?
04:34We focused on food. We've deliberately chosen species and sites that are good for growing
04:44really, really good quality. The big USP with rope grown seaweed, which is what we produce
04:50is it's grown on ropes out in the open water. So it's nowhere near the shore. There's no
04:55issues of dogs running all over it or seals or seagulls or anything like that. It's out
05:01in the open water and it produces really, really good quality. And because of that,
05:06we're able to sell it as food. We're also similar to the aquaculture market because
05:13it is a seafood product. That's the way we look at it. We can control when we harvest
05:18it. So we deliberately harvest it for the peak nutrient profile. It's the best possible
05:24quality food when we choose to harvest it. It's not three or four year old, five year
05:29old stuff we find on the beach. This is a deliberately sown annual crop and we time
05:34it perfectly to get the best possible quality. So we're targeting the food market. We're
05:40not really interested in any other markets other than for compost. We're a zero waste
05:47business and that's, in all my years of working at sea, it's really, really important that
05:52there is absolutely minimal footprint and that you tread lightly. So we've operated
05:58a zero waste policy from day one. And at the end of the year, when we strip the lines
06:02and clean everything off prior to reseeding for the next year, all of that material that
06:07comes off will go to companies that make sort of soil conditioners or fertilizer type things.
06:17So we've got arrangements in place with companies that do that. But the majority of what we
06:24are able to harvest is premium quality, rope grown food grade. And we're lucky where we
06:31are in Argyle. We've had some, not directly us, but Scotland Food and Drink ran a brilliant
06:38visit in September this year. And there were some chefs that came up from a Michelin starred
06:42hotel in London. And we were lucky enough to meet them. And we've sold our seaweed to
06:48a three-star Michelin restaurant in London. Can you name drop?
06:53The Connell Hotel. Ah, lovely. That's nice.
07:00Chef Marco and his colleagues came up. A guy called Adam Wing from Scotland, Seafood Scotland,
07:10I think it was, did a brilliant job. They went around, they went to visit Kames, they visit
07:14Inverness and Mussels, Loch Nell, oysters, had a tour of all the sort of seafood producers in
07:21Argyle. Shellfish, I think Ewan Black, Longestines off of Lismore. And had a brilliant visit.
07:29And we got an introduction to that. And based on the quality of what we produce, that was
07:33really quite a proud moment to know that we've produced something that's that good quality
07:39because we'd always hoped to. But, you know, that's not our decision, what a chef chooses to
07:43buy. But we've also had really, really good feedback from Chef Michael Leithley at the
07:49Pear House Hotel. And we're working with him this year to quite an interesting program.
07:57But we're going to have fresh Scottish seaweed off our farm and in his kitchen in 20 minutes.
08:05Oh, wow. Because we can deliver by boat. We steam past him every day. So fresh seafood.
08:11And then there's that level of fresh seafood.
08:15And with something like that, when it's a really fresh piece of seaweed, what is it that they're
08:19likely to do with it? Because I know that people at home maybe don't really know how to cook with
08:22seaweed apart from if it's in sushi and you don't really cook sushi.
08:25So it's tricky. Well, there's different types of sushi. But what we produce in Scotland, the
08:30Elaria, which is the Latin name Elaria Esculenta and what's marketed as Scottish wakame, it goes
08:41an absolutely fantastic color when you blanch it in hot water at 70 degrees or more. It goes from
08:46a kind of olive drab brown colored to the most verdant bright green. It's incredible, the
08:54transformation. And it's instant in front of your eyes. And what happens is the heat dissolves out
08:59all the red and brown pigments out of the seaweed and it just leaves the green. And it's like really,
09:03really bright verdant green. And you can blanch that in hot water, shock it in cold water and
09:09then just shred it and serve it. That's your classic wakame salad. But we're working with
09:15local chefs up in Argyle who will provide them with plenty of that to play with and see what
09:21they can come up with with their dishes. That's really difficult to get to market as a fresh
09:25product because it's perishable. So what we've tended to do, we've spent four years perfecting
09:31our processing technique. So when we harvest the seaweed, we actually cut it into barrels and it's
09:37food grade stored whilst it's still out on the water on the boat. So it goes straight into a
09:43salt solution to store it. And then we've got all year to take it out of that and further process
09:48it. So what we've been doing, what's been most successful so far is actually freeze drying it.
09:54And we're working with a freeze drying company up in Perthshire that's BRCAA accredited supplying
10:00all the soft berries to the UK retail market. And they're doing the freeze drying for us. So
10:05we're able to then mill it and produce a sort of a condiment or a supplement type product. So
10:11there's a market there for a functional food, people taking it as a daily supplement.
10:16Because we harvest it quite young, it's kind of baby leaf seaweed that we're harvesting. It's got
10:23a very, very beneficial level of iodine in it, which is really, really important for your thyroid
10:29health and all the subsequent impacts and benefits that has. So there's two markets for it really,
10:38there's a retail market for it as a health supplement and as a functional health food,
10:42it's got so many vitamins and minerals, it's amazing. And then the other route is through
10:48chefs and catering, where it's used as an ingredient for a salad, which we can do when
10:53it's fresh, or can be used as a flavoring and seasoning to give dishes that umami flavor,
11:02where it's not going to taste of seaweed, but if you put it in any soup or smoothie,
11:08or stew or seafood broth or something like that, it's going to really raise and enhance the
11:14flavors that are already there. So it kind of has this magic ability to just really intensify
11:21flavors. So we're hoping again, we'll see what the chefs are able to do with that,
11:26but we're talking to quite a few chefs at the moment.
11:30Yes, it's really interesting. Because yeah, I've always known it as a sort of
11:34kind of flavoring, but is there any really, really unusual
11:39foods that seaweed goes into that people might not know about?
11:44For the seaweed, we're producing that sort of edible kelp. I mean, there's hundreds and hundreds
11:51of species of seaweed. We're sticking to the ones that grow naturally on the West Coast of Scotland,
11:56and we're growing them in their natural environment. And that's where they thrive
11:59and where they do best. So there's, I guess not really, we know people that will use it instead of
12:07salt, because it's still got a relatively high sodium content. And that's the salt from the
12:13seawater that's in the seaweed. But when we're freeze drying it, we're down to about 1% moisture.
12:18So the vast majority of the sea salt's gone from it. But it can be used as a savory sort of salt
12:24substitute. We make butter with it. We're talking to a couple of cheese makers. We're trying to get
12:30a crowdie made at the moment, which will be rolled in seaweed. And we're also looking at getting a
12:36cheddar made as well. But that's, I didn't realize how long it takes to make cheddar. It's quite a
12:41while. So that's one for next year. And do you, so when you said you were, one of the things you have
12:51is sugar kelp, I actually thought you were going to be giving it to gin, someone who makes gin,
12:54because I feel like there's some of the island gins have kind of put that kelp on the map with
12:58how popular it's become. Do you think things like that, although that's not like a healthy way to
13:03take it, things like that have really made people more aware of seaweed? Yeah, I think it's raised
13:09the profile. We spoke to the Harris Distillery three or four years ago, because obviously Harris
13:15gin, which is a delicious gin with this seaweed in it, and they've got a line growing
13:23out there where they grow sugar kelps especially for that. And absolutely, it's interesting
13:28using it as a botanical like that. We've mucked about with putting it in rum, of all things.
13:35But we've also experimented with oils and we've been speaking to
13:42an oilseed grape grower to work on a development of an infused oil. But I think there's
13:49the classic thing, I guess, is healthy Scottish salmon is top of the list for sushi and
13:54sashimi, I think, and rightly so, because it's a really nutritious food, it's delicious. And I think
14:00we're thinking along the back of that, that Scottish rope-grown kelp should be
14:07hopefully in that same sort of good company as a health food. And anything that's done
14:13with seaweed, if it's in butter, if it's in bread, cheese, oil, and anything else that gets added to
14:20that spreads the word. And sure, the crisps we farmed, we contract farmed for sure for
14:27four years, supplying them with the seaweed that goes into their crisps and the feedback. The first
14:31crop we produced from them, we got the comment we got is, my goodness, that's the best quality
14:36wakame I've ever seen. And that is the difference between rope-grown and picked off the beach. So
14:42we were able to produce a consistent quality, really good quality product, and it's fully
14:47traceable. And it's quite consistent in terms of the nutritional profile as well, because we're
14:51monitoring exactly how long we're growing it for and harvesting it at the right time to get so we
14:55don't get excess iodine in it, which can accumulate over the years. And yeah, generally anything
15:04that's using seaweed should be applauded and doesn't have to be. It is obviously, it's vegan,
15:10it's gluten-free. So anyone who's on a paleo diet or has got dietary requirements absolutely ticks
15:16the box for that. But equally, we've been speaking to our local butchers who've made a brilliant
15:22chicken sausage with it, which is chicken, pickled ginger, chili and wakame,
15:28which was absolutely fabulous. That's the local butchers that we're working on that. And it's
15:34really, really good in things like bolognese or even a cottage pie or shepherd's pie or something
15:39like that. Just a pinch of that in a seasoning really just lifts the flavor. So very, very versatile.
15:46And for anyone who wants to try your seaweed, what should they look out for if they are at that
15:50butcher's or how could I eat something that has the seaweed you've grown in it?
15:57At the moment, we're looking at retailing it direct. So it's available online
16:04from our website on the shop. We've signed up with Food from Argyll and
16:13Forth Valley Food and Drink because we operate in Stirlingshire and in Oban. So we're looking to
16:19roll out, hopefully this year, we're going to be attending some farmer's markets and looking to
16:25sell the product direct to customers. And that face-to-face contact will give us good feedback
16:30as well. We'll be looking to get it in some farm shops around the country. And we're also looking
16:37to work with some chefs like Michael at the Pear House. And we've got some other chefs more
16:45centrally in Perthshire and Glasgow that we're working with on sort of product development for
16:50their menus. So I guess at the moment, there are not that many products that they've got it in,
16:56but we're making it widely available. I'm guessing we're going to have to produce a recipe book
17:01or speak to someone like the Hebrew baker, get people's input on how to use it.
17:08But bread, it's a brilliant thing. If you make your own bread, I'm lucky. I've got three daughters
17:12and they all bake, they make bread, they make cakes, they make all sorts of things. So
17:15they put seaweed in absolutely anything and try it once at least.
17:21But smoothies is a good one. If you're into a morning smoothie or a shake, it's really,
17:25really good because the young leaf that we produce is quite a mild flavor. It's kind of nutty.
17:30It's almost the cross between sort of a cabbage and spinach in terms of texture. And it's quite
17:37a mild, nutty flavor. So it's not, people quite often have a misconception with seaweed because
17:43based on what they smell on the beach. Ours is grown out in the open water. It is absolutely
17:49clean as a whistle. It goes straight into a barrel and it's not that strong flavored at all. So
17:55it will evolve quite strong umami flavors in a product if it's cooked in it and it sits for
18:02two or three days, but you can eat a teaspoon of it or put a pinch of it in your smoothie
18:07and you, to be honest, you don't really taste it. You get all the goodness from it,
18:10but it doesn't impact on a flavor when you eat it that fresh.
18:15Well, that sounds like a plan for January since we're all going to be eating smoothies and
18:19trying new things. Thank you very much. It's been really interesting to chat and I'll be looking
18:26out for your product soon because it sounds great. Thank you very much.
18:31My pleasure. Thank you, Rosalind.
18:33I'm joined by Keith Patterson from Shore Seaweed Crisps. Hi, Keith, how are you?
18:39Hi there, I'm very well, thanks. Great to join you.
18:42But for anyone that doesn't know, could you just tell us a little bit about your company?
18:47So the brand's called Shore, the Scottish seaweed company. We take Scottish seaweed
18:55and transform it into healthier, better for you crisps that still taste great.
19:02And so we started that brand in 2019.
19:07What were you doing before? Like, did you work with seaweed before or
19:09how did you sort of become aware that this is something you could do?
19:12The story of our company, we actually started a seaweed factory up in Wiccan around late 2016,
19:20early 2017. And that was set up to diversify our business into a very, what we identified as
19:28sustainable, nutritious crop that Scotland was in a great position to take advantage of.
19:35And we saw early on that really the supply of seaweed was something that was holding
19:41the industry back. And in those days, a factory was started to prove that we could supply traceable
19:49quality organic seaweed in bulk at a commercial rate. So that started in 2016, 2017.
19:59The brand came about from that because we identified seaweed goes into many things.
20:03So that factory now sells seaweed into sort of cosmetics as well as
20:09nutraceuticals, as well as food. But in food, we saw there was a barrier.
20:13And that was that seaweed was seen as being very nutritious.
20:17It was identified as being very healthy. People understood that. They understood it was sustainable,
20:22but they didn't really know how to eat it. And what we saw was a lot of the products in
20:27the market at that stage was seaweed as a seasoning or as a sheet. And consumers
20:34liked the idea of it. We did a research, but the big barrier was they didn't know how to cook with
20:39it. And it is very complicated. Seaweed, there's lots of different species. There's lots of
20:43different ways you can use it. So we identified that as being a big barrier to entry for people
20:50to eat seaweed. And we developed the Shore brand as a way of introducing seaweed to a much wider audience.
20:59And so that was 2019. So what's customer reaction been like?
21:04So, I mean, it's been fantastic. I mean, in 2019, we launched a product,
21:09seaweed puffs that weren't quite right, part of the learning curve that flavor comes first.
21:14But since then, we launched the chips in 2020. And since then, it's been fantastic. So
21:21today, we're probably in over 1000 stores around the UK. And the brand grows every year 35 to 40%.
21:28So it's done fantastically well since then, since we learned that lesson to get the taste right.
21:34And just to go back a bit, can you just clarify what you were producing before
21:43it was you developed Snack? So you said it was just a factory sort of bring seaweed in and sort
21:48of process it? It was harvesting wild seaweed by hand, which our factory still does. So literally
21:54people going out onto the coast, cutting the seaweed by hand. We harvested about nine different
21:59species. It was then taken back to the factory and dried. And what's amazing about seaweed,
22:05and one of the reasons it's why it's so nutritious is it absorbs lots of minerals and nutrients from
22:10the sea. But by the time you harvest the wet seaweed, and if you harvest 100 kilos of wet
22:15seaweed, and you come to dry it, coming out the dryer is 10 kilos. So you get this really nutrient
22:22dense material in your hands, one of the most nutrient dense foods in the planet. So really,
22:27if anything deserves the label superfood, seaweed does. But what we identified was
22:33trying to find a purpose of how we could introduce it and make an existing food better using it.
22:40And you mentioned that customers already kind of knew the health benefits of seaweed. Do you
22:44think that's just kind of grown over the last few years that people are more aware of that they
22:48should be eating it? Yeah, I think what I would say is people understand there's a health halo
22:56around seaweed. I think where the education comes in is going from, yeah, I understand it's healthy,
23:02to explaining why it's so healthy. So consumers know, you know, eating seaweed, is it going to
23:07be good for me? Yes. The precise reasons, vegans have a good understanding that iodine is very good
23:13for them, and we lack it in our diets, especially vegan diets. But the broader population will know
23:19it's healthy, but not quite know the reasons behind why it's healthy. And that's part of our
23:25education to get that across. And do you find, because it's so abundant and quite sustainable,
23:33do you sort of think that it will just kind of grow as something that people are more aware of
23:37and people want to use? Just like you said, it was getting it harvested and getting it
23:42into like products. Do you think it's just like an industry that's in growth?
23:48I think it isn't an industry in growth. It's an industry that's been talked about for a long time
23:52about its potential. And it's only going to continue to grow if we get a number of things
23:57right. So we need a consistent supply of seaweed. And it's important for us is, yes, it's sustainable,
24:04but it needs to be sustainably harvested. So there's that piece to it as well. So it needs to
24:08be harvested correctly, so we cut it by hand and make sure it's regenerative, so we can monitor
24:13the regrowth and only take a quarter. The other thing is it needs continued innovation. So we've
24:18done our crisps, which are doing great, but we want to do more. So we need to continue to look
24:24at what seaweed can add to products. And one of the reasons we developed crisps was that we felt
24:33that seaweed could add to healthy crisps. We felt that things like lentil crisps that were already
24:39in the market, the actual lentil part of it didn't actually deliver much nutrition in the portion
24:44size. And it didn't deliver much flavor because all the flavor just came from the seasoning.
24:49And we identified that seaweed being salty could help healthier snacks taste better
24:54with lower sodium, but also develop some umami flavor into the crisp and actually improve it. So
24:59we need to look at ways that seaweed can actually improve an existing product,
25:03make it more tasty, make it more nutritionally dense, add a sustainability element to it.
25:09And so you talked a bit about the crisps there. You've launched a new flavor recently,
25:14which is salt and balsamic. How do you come up with the flavors?
25:19Yeah, it's a good question. We try a lot to start with. When we first launched the brand,
25:25we recognized that seaweed actually went well with Asian flavors. So in a range, we've got
25:30Peking duck, we've got sriracha, and people identify seaweed with Asian flavors, often
25:36the first sort of coming across seaweed is from Japan. So that sort of world foods really helps
25:41create quite a foodie product around seaweed. Now, salt and balsamic happened because we tested it
25:47and it just tasted so good that we thought we've got to launch this. It was just one of those where
25:54when we tried different products, salt and balsamic was, you know, the best tasting flavor
26:00we could come up with. And it's also a very familiar flavor in the UK. So, you know, it was
26:09a nice safe starting point for people to try the crisp range if they didn't want to go into the
26:13spicy sriracha, etc. And can you tell us a bit about the day-to-day running of the company?
26:21Yeah, so we today, you know, we still get the seaweed from WIC and it's processed into the
26:29crisp. So everything, you know, from that side is produced in Scotland. We store the products
26:35in Scotland. We've got a small team. I've got myself who runs the brand. We've got a marketing
26:41manager and an admin and finance support. So we're still a very small team, but we get out there
26:48and important for us to get out there and get sampling the product as much as we can. So,
26:53you know, the team's out in the road as much as we can visiting customers
26:57sampling with consumers as much as we can. And you must eat a lot of the crisps.
27:05I do. We try a lot of crisps. It's important for quality control to try them.
27:10Everything in moderation. So I certainly get my iodine fiber and antioxidants
27:15from them on a daily basis.
27:20Yeah, that sounds good. Sorry.
27:24No, as you say, it's important that when you're doing a food product, you've got to try it.
27:27You've got to make sure the consistency of the products there every day in a serious nature. So,
27:32and we're using a natural product like seaweed and we're always learning something every year.
27:38We're learning a bit more about the seaweed, about the flavors, about the way it works
27:42in food products. So trying it is critically important.
27:47And this may be a bit of a daft question. Do different seaweeds add different tastes
27:51once it's all kind of dried out?
27:53It's a great question because we think of when we talk about seaweed as a generic thing.
27:59It's a bit like saying vegetables or plants. Seaweeds can come in all different shape sizes.
28:05They come in all different flavors, all different nutritional properties. So
28:09one of the big jobs we had to undertake when we started this project was figuring out what
28:15species of seaweed we could harvest sustainably and what seaweed species worked in certain foods.
28:23And it depends on the product you want to come up with. Depends on the type of seaweed you want to
28:27use. So that's one of the big things that goes into our development processes, learning and
28:32understanding the different species of seaweed. And we've worked with universities. We worked
28:37with Aberdeen University. We've worked with some private manufacturers to figure that out
28:42because it is a challenge.
28:46And would you like to branch out into other areas or are you just going to continue
28:50kind of what you're doing?
28:53Well, we see the Shore brand as a vehicle for seaweed, as a champion for Scottish seaweed.
28:58So certainly the crisps is our core range. We want to continue that. But we do want to look
29:05in the future about broadening it out into other product areas. And our mission as a company is to
29:11make seaweed available and appealing for all. So to do that, we want to look at other areas where
29:17we can introduce seaweed into products.
29:21And do you find, so this time of year, I mentioned at the start, we're into January,
29:26we've just had Christmas. Do you find you have more demand from people wanting to look for a
29:29kind of healthier snack?
29:31Yeah, there's no question, especially as we come into Christmas, people are looking for
29:38something more indulgent. But actually, Veganuary, the retailers are looking to stock something
29:45healthier, something better for you. And we tick a lot of boxes. So actually this January, we are
29:51one of the Aldi special buys across the UK for Veganuary. So we get a lot of retailers looking
29:57for us to go on promotion for January. And it's a great opportunity for us, for new consumers,
30:03to buy into the brand and try it. Because yes, it fits a healthier snacking, a healthier lifestyle.
30:09But we pride ourselves that the crisps actually taste great. And once you try them,
30:13it's something you can continue for the rest of the year.
30:17And to go back to the seaweed, is there some seaweed that's more valuable or sought after
30:21than others?
30:22Yeah, there are. So I mean, if you can go to the extreme, Pepperdulse is known as truffle
30:27of the sea, and it can be 200 pounds a kilo. And it's a tiny little plant, extraordinary flavour.
30:32And to some of the kelps, which are used more in sort of pet food industries and their bulk.
30:39I think in terms of foods, it's more a question of what works and what product. Some of them
30:46have flavours that are more fishy, that are more bitter, and some of them are much more
30:51neutral and spinachy. So you're going to learn, and if you can get those umami,
30:55spinachy type flavours, they work very, very well in food products. But getting that balance,
31:00and sometimes actually blending the seaweeds together can give a really interesting flavour.
31:07And so you mentioned you're an Aldi special buy across the UK, and you're in quite a lot
31:11of supermarkets. How's that journey been? Because you're still quite a small company, you said.
31:17Yeah, we are quite a small company, and we actually launched the crisps in March, April 2020,
31:24right before, you know, taking everyone back down to lockdown. So it was a real challenge.
31:29And we're really lucky at that time that Sainsbury's had agreed to stock us.
31:33So that helped during that period, because literally we couldn't get out and sell.
31:38So, you know, it's been a very gradual growth, which has been great. You know, we've gone to
31:42the independent market, sold in there. We've developed supermarkets solely. So last year
31:48we went into Tesco and Morrison's for the first time as well. So it's taken time. You know,
31:55seaweed is new, and that's appealing, because if you're going to launch something, supermarkets
31:59want something new and interesting. But also it's risky, you know, from their point of view, it's,
32:04you know, we don't know if seaweed will work, we don't know if it will sell. So it's taken us time
32:08to build up the case study to take to supermarkets to say, actually, this is a product that will sell
32:14if you put it on shelf. And it's taken us two or three years to get to that point.
32:20And do you find sort of coming from the north of Scotland and it being Scottish seaweed,
32:23is that a kind of selling point for people around the UK?
32:27Absolutely. We actually, when we first did the research with consumers, we put
32:32different geographic locations. What if the seaweed came from, you know, Cornwall,
32:37what if it came from London? And by far and away, Scottish was number one.
32:42So I think in the same way Scottish seafood is renowned both throughout the UK and the world,
32:47the Scottish element really helps to add quality. And also, I think people understand that the
32:55waters are clean, that it's a much more appealing location for it to come from. And we very proudly
33:01put that on the pack, because it just, I think, gives another stamp of approval. And it's an
33:06important part of our brand. I was going to say Scotland being number one, as it should be,
33:11but I don't want to offend anyone in Cornwall. Yeah, well, it was just, you know, we thought
33:17to ask the question, because one can always, you can always presume, you know, all Scottish
33:21should all be great. But actually, got to ask the question and see what people really think.
33:25And it came out really strongly in terms of, you know, is it an advantage having the seaweed from
33:30Scotland, and immediately people made the connection to some of the cleaner waters,
33:36etc. and the seafood that we've got in Scotland. Yeah. And we're obviously in January, do you have
33:44any future plans for the year that you could share with us? So number one for us, you mentioned the
33:49new flavour, salt and balsamic, so we're trying to roll that out in more stores as we speak.
33:54And the products are also rolling back into co-op stores this January. So that's great for us.
34:02The big thing for us is we're developing new product ranges. So we've got nothing that
34:07will be launching immediately. But in the background, we're working away at looking
34:11at extra product ranges. And that'll be the next thing for us to launch. And perhaps early late
34:17this year, early next year. Do you have any wild flavour combo? You know how at Christmas time,
34:23people come out with like pigs in blanket Christmas stuff. Do you have any wild flavour
34:27combos in the back of your head? Well, it's interesting, we go back to the seaweed being
34:34a sort of food ingredient and linked with Asia. So we very much look at what the food trends are
34:39coming out of there. So some of the Korean flavours we've done quite a lot of work on,
34:45which are really, really interesting. And it's always getting that balance. Is that ready for
34:49a wider market? Are we pushing the boundary too far? But certainly, it's a lot of fun
34:53looking at different flavour combinations from around the world and say, will that work? Will
34:57this work? And until you try them, you never know. Some of them work out great. And some of them are
35:02quite frankly awful. So you know, we work our way through them. Yeah, I can't imagine it's a good
35:08day at the office when you're tasting the horrible ones. No, but you've got to guess,
35:14you won't know unless you try. So we try and keep the sort of ideas as wide as you can.
35:21And just, you know, sample them and see what works well with the seaweed
35:25and learn that way. But yeah, it's fun. I mean, there's worse things you could be doing.
35:33Exactly.
35:36Well, thank you very much. It's been really interesting. And I have tried some of the
35:39crisps at the cafe in our office. I used to have them quite often. So yeah, I can vouch that they
35:44are delicious and healthy. So thank you very much for chatting more about them.
35:49Thank you. Pleasure to be on.
35:52Thanks for joining us today. Please remember to rate, review and subscribe. I'll be back
35:55again soon with more stories from Scotland's food and drink industry.