The Seaweed Protein Market Is Raising Again

Algae represents a largely untapped resource that can be used to produce food, feed and pharmaceuticals, among other products. Despite the many benefits of seaweed, the uptake in Europe of algae production and consumption is slow.

During the EIT Future of Food Conference in June 2022, Virginijus Sinkevičius, European commissioner for environment, oceans and fisheries and one of the seven members of the Commissioners Group on the European Green Deal, stressed the interests of the EU in uplifting this sector within the member states, by creating an initiative to improve cooperation between European algae farmers, producers, sellers, and technology developers.

The market interest peaked in 2017, when the health benefits of spirulina, the green algae powder to add to drinks and shakes, had been discovered and became a trend. In the past few years that interest faded, shifting towards alternative protein products based on pulses or nuts such as soy, almonds and chickpeas. However, algae and seaweed are slowly appearing within restaurants menus or as an ingredient in cereal products such as pasta, in order to increase their protein value.

According to the latest report published by Allied Market Research, the seaweed protein market is estimated to reach $ 1.51 billion by 2030, growing at a CAGR of 11.6% from 2022 to 2030. The website Protein Directory, an aggregator of alternative protein companies and startups, lists over 100 companies worldwide which are currently developing algae and seaweed products.

In Europe, enterprises involved in the algae value chain, covering macroalgae, microalgae and the cyanobacteria spirulina employes at least 8,600 employees. A map of macroalgae production across the European continent shows a clear predominance of algae farms in the U.K., Norway and France, while some producers are found even in Austria, one of the few European countries with no access to the sea. Just 10 years ago a Dutch entrepreneur started his business on a cargo bike, cleverly marketing his products as a ‘weed’ burger, due to the country’s well known open drug policy towards weed consumption. The company Dutch Weed Burger’s product was a seaweed enriched plant-based burger and ten years later, its market extends to child friendly vegan fish fingers.

Seaweed remains a very scalable solution to the climate crisis as it provides ecosystem services such as the absorption of excess nutrients, lower environmental footprint in aquaculture products. Seaweed farms can release carbon that may be buried in sediments or exported to the deep sea, therefore acting as a carbon sink. As well, as farmland remains limited, growing sea-crops in the oceans and seaweed aquaculture is becoming the fastest-growing component of global food production.