PHILADELPHIA — The executives behind leading food strategy consultancy Changing Tastes announced the launch of Sea and Flour, the first company to integrate seaweed into the commercial baking process. Its breakthrough line of baked goods includes bread, buns and rolls, which debuted at the UN Ocean Conference last week in Lisbon, Portugal.
This new line of baked goods sequesters carbon while helping prevent leading chronic diseases by using nutrition-packed sea plants. Sea and Flour is streamlining ocean health and human health by revolutionizing one of the world’s most popular foods: bread.
Sea and Flour products are the first of their kind. The carb-positive and carbon-negative breads help address climate change and expand regenerative coastal agriculture and the blue economy, all while boasting an improved nutritional profile. The company credits its innovation to its team, which brings more than a half century of executive experience in the food industry at companies including Sodexo, Unilever and Compass Group in addition to various Michelin three-starred restaurants.
“We found that by making incremental changes to one of the world’s best-loved and most frequently eaten foods, we could turn bread into a solution to some of our most pressing health and environmental problems,” said Arlin Wasserman, the CEO of Sea and Flour who is also the founder and managing director of Changing Tastes. “Over two years of R&D, we developed a way to process sea plants so they can be blended with common grains and flours in the commercial baking process. And the timing is ideal with consumer interest in plant-based eating and seaweed, specifically, primed to explode.”
Consumer research conducted by Changing Tastes in January found that 32% of American adult consumers ate seaweed in the past month. Eighteen percent said they want to eat more of it within the next year, and 25% of those who had never tried seaweed wanted to do so.
“We found that by making incremental changes to one of the world's best-loved and most frequently eaten foods, we could turn bread into a solution to some of our most pressing health and environmental problems.” —Arlin Wasserman | CEO | Sea and Flour
Inventing Better Bread
“Your typical bread products may taste delicious, but they often lack nutritional value,” said Penelope Wasserman, president of Sea and Flour president and member of the Bone Health and Osteoporosis Foundation’s Ambassadors Leadership Council. “Osteoporosis and hypertension are two of the most common chronic diseases plaguing Americans today. Sea vegetables help keep our bones strong and are a rich source of vitamin K and calcium, which help prevent bone loss. Sea and Flour products help consumers get more out of what they’re already eating, adding rich health benefits while also being better for the Earth.”
Sea and Flour products support healthy bone development and maintenance by pairing vitamins K and D to make calcium more bioavailable. They also feature a clean ingredient label and contain less sodium and fewer calories than some other bread products.
Ramping Up for Launch
Sea and Flour is currently working to expand financing and manufacturing capacity to meet strong early demand, including a national launch with a US grocery retailer planned for this fall. Philadelphia-based Afina International, which specializes in agriculture, food and water technology, is acting as strategic partner in financing and developing the launch strategy.
“Afina is focused on companies which solve the climate change-nutrition security paradox, and Sea and Flour is taking leadership in this critical sector,” said David Godfrey-Thomas, CEO of Afina International.
