Ocean’s Balance, the rapidly growing Maine based vertically integrated seaweed company, raised a Seed Plus equity round from 3 value added investors. There will be a second closing in the first quarter of 2023.
This new investment round will enable Ocean’s Balance to scale its regenerative sea farming and processing operations as well as ramp up its fast-growing functional ingredients and consumer products businesses.
The round included participation from the award-winning Norwegian impact focused investor and accelerator program Katapult, a large Japanese food manufacturer St. Cousair, and the chairman of one of the largest natural food companies in the US.
St. Cousair, the anchor investor in the round, and Ocean’s Balance have entered into a strategic business alliance. St. Cousair will help Ocean’s Balance develop and manufacture a suite of Japanese inspired food products that incorporate seaweed. St. Cousair manufactures and sells over 1,000 innovative food products. “Asian cuisine and seaweed are two of the hottest food trends in restaurants and home kitchens across North America. Consumers are turning to exciting new flavors as a source of culinary adventure”, says Mitchell Lench, CEO of Ocean’s Balance.”
“We sense a huge potential in Ocean’s Balance with what they are doing with seaweed, one of the most environmentally friendly plants in the world. We’re thrilled to form a business alliance with Ocean’s Balance. Working together there is great synergy to bring innovative Japanese-inspired food products that contain healthy Maine- grown seaweed to US consumers.” – Naoki Kuze, CEO of St. Cousair.
Ocean’s Balance has been rapidly expanding its CPG and industrial ingredients sales while simultaneously scaling up its kelp hatchery, farming, and advanced manufacturing capacity. The increasing demand of our value-added seaweed products is driving regenerative ocean farming that sequesters carbon, reduces ocean acidification, and helps create jobs on the water to offset the decline in traditional fisheries as a result of climate change.
“In our mission to build a world where a thriving ocean and economic development can exist in harmony, we are committed to investing in and helping to scale the most impactful ocean-tech startups. Ocean's Balance joins Katapult Ocean as part of a growing number of Katapult investments into the seaweed space. With increasing opportunities for seaweed's application and the growing potential of scalability for the industry, we are very excited to work with this highly talented team and we look forward to the journey ahead both through our accelerator program and beyond.”
-Jonas Skattum Svegaarden, CEO Katapult Ocean