MAINE COMPANY EXPANDS SEAWEED PRODUCT LINE

Maine company expands seaweed product line. Ocean’s Balance, an award-winning innovator of edible seaweed products, is expanding its product line with the introduction of gluten free, sugar-free, plant-based pasta sauces. Made with sustainably farmed and harvested kelp from the Gulf of Maine, the premium sauces are available in traditional marinara and spicy arrabbiata flavours.

“Seaweed adds irresistible flavour and dense nutritional benefit to any food,” said Ocean’s Balance CEO Mitch Lench. “It’s time that Americans move beyond ‘seaweed as Asian’ and start thinking of seaweed as an everyday ingredient on our kitchen tables.”

Ocean’s Balance will release the new line of Mariner Pasta Sauces at Expo East (9/23-9/25 in Philadelphia), where the Arrabbiata is a finalist for a NEXTY Awards. The NEXTY Awards recognise the most progressive, innovative, inspiring, and trustworthy products in the natural products industry. The company plans to unveil the new sauces as “comfort food made with superfood.”

Seaweed consumption continues to increase in the U.S. thanks to its well-publicised use by celebrity chefs, its depth of flavour (known as umami), its distinct nutritional benefits, and its powerful sustainability story.

“Despite all of its extraordinary benefits, seaweed can still be a leap for many Americans,” said Lench. “That’s why Ocean’s Balance is creating a new line of products that are comfortingly familiar yet healthier to eat.” The Ocean’s Balance Pasta Sauces are ideal with seafood, spaghetti, noodles, and pizza.

Seaweed is a uniquely sustainable alternative to traditional vegetables and proteins because it is a zero-input crop that requires no fresh water, no arable land, and no fertilisers to grow. Seaweed can play a vital role in fighting climate change by sequestering carbon emissions and regenerating marine ecosystems. Ocean’s Balance works with seaweed farmers and lobsterwomen along the Coast of Maine to grow and harvest abundant amounts of the densely nutritional food. By adding farm-raised kelp that is rope grown in the Gulf of Maine, Ocean’s Balance is uniquely positioned to offer foods that are sustainably produced and nutritionally rich.

“Seaweed is one of my favourite superfoods,” says Mascha Davis MPH, RDN, a nationally recognised registered dietitian nutritionist and founder of Los Angeles-based Nomadista Nutrition. “Seaweed is extremely nutrient dense and contains essential vitamins and minerals such as iodine, fibrew, potassium and iron, plus many others. I love that it contains a range of antioxidants and can be a good source of omega-3 fatty acids.”

Davis recommends seaweed for its heath and sustainability benefits, adding that hesitant adopters can start by adding small quantities of seaweed to common foods, such as pasta sauces, stir-fries, or soups. “If all of that wasn’t enough, seaweed is one of the most sustainable and earth friendly foods that you can consume. It should be a staple in most of our diets.”

Additional health benefits of seaweed include its natural abundance of potassium salts, which – unlike sodium salts typically encountered in processed foods – do not lead to high blood pressure. Seaweed is also a natural source of iodine, which is critical for good metabolic health. Seaweed contains beneficial antioxidants, Omega-3s, dietary fibres, and minerals. It is low in calories, vegan and gluten free.

New Mariner Sauces Hit Pasta and Arrabbiata Trend
According to recent Nielsen data, pasta sauce sales increased overall by 22.6% in 2020. Arrabbiata was the fastest growing pasta sauce flavour profile, with a 45.6% increase in sales, and Marinara the third fastest, increasing by 31.3%*. (*Nielsen data: 52 weeks ending 11/28/2020).

The new line of Mariner Pasta Sauces come in six-packs of 24-ounce recyclable glass jars and have a suggested retail price of $7.99. The company also offers organic whole leaf seaweeds, organic seaweed flakes, a sesame seed blend seasoning line and award-winning kelp purée. Retailers or food service buyers interested in ordering please email lscali@oceansbalance.com.