What Ocean Rainforest does

Ocean Rainforest is a vertically-integrated seaweed cultivation and processing company founded in 2007 in the Faroe Islands, operating proprietary open-ocean cultivation systems engineered since 2010 to withstand North Atlantic conditions including hurricane-force winds and 6-meter waves. The company cultivates and harvests seaweed biomass across multiple jurisdictions (Faroe Islands, California, Iceland via 50% JV Lava Seaweed, and Mexico via 60%-owned Algamar acquired January 2025), with processing concentrated in its Faroese Kaldbak facility (cleaning, ensiling, co-extraction, drying, freezing, packaging, hatchery, and laboratories) and a pilot processing plant in California. Production scaled from approximately 240 tons of biomass in 2023 to 400 tons in 2024, with the company's primary customer verticals being agriculture (seaweed-based biostimulants for high-value crops), animal feed (including methane-reducing additives for cattle), food and nutraceuticals, and cosmetics.

The company's product portfolio is anchored by its 2025 commercial launches of two OMRI-Listed and CDFA-registered biostimulants: SEAWEED (derived from Giant Kelp, Macrocystis pyrifera, sourced in Southern and Baja California) and KELPSHIELD (derived from cultivated Sugar Kelp, Saccharina latissima). Both products leverage AlgaMar's 20+ year processing methods that preserve bioactive compounds (laminarin, fucoidan, alginates) to enhance plant health, nutrient uptake, and abiotic stress resilience. The portfolio is supplemented by the acquired Algamar brand (Mexico-based Giant Kelp products across agriculture, aquaculture, feed, and biomedical/cosmetic applications), functional food ingredients and extracts, animal feed supplements, and the MakroBoost fertilizer-savings calculator tool. The company holds the first-ever offshore seaweed cultivation permit in US federal waters (Santa Barbara, CA) and long-dated Faroese cultivation licenses (Funningsfjørður through 2032, Gøtuvík through 2033).

Ocean Rainforest operates a direct B2B enterprise sales model with field sales engagement across agriculture, food, feed, cosmetics, and nutraceuticals customers, complemented by event-driven lead generation (Seagriculture EU conferences, SeaMark consortium events) and earned media coverage (BBC World, ABC News, World Wildlife Magazine). Pricing is not publicly disclosed. Revenue derives primarily from one-time product sales of biomass, biostimulants, feed ingredients, food extracts, and cosmetic inputs, with significant non-dilutive funding (ARPA-E USD 4.5M Technology to Market Plus Up, EUR 9M Horizon Europe SeaMark consortium) supplementing equity capital from impact-aligned investors including WWF, Grantham Foundation, Builders Vision, Katapult Ocean, and Triodos Food Transition Europe Fund. The SeaMark consortium (25 partners including Carlsberg, Vattenfall, and Algaia) is developing 12 seaweed-based products across food, feed, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, and packaging, positioning the company as a central orchestrator of the emerging European seaweed bioeconomy.

Name

Ocean Rainforest

Legal name

Ocean Rainforest Sp/F

Website

https://oceanrainforest.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2007

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Ocean Rainforest is a Faroe Islands-based seaweed cultivator and processor producing cultivated biomass and derived biostimulants, animal feed ingredients, food extracts, and cosmetic inputs, sold via direct B2B enterprise sales to agricultural, feed, food, and personal care customers across Europe and the Americas.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Seaweed Cultivation and Marine Biostimulants

NAICS

Aquaculture (11251), Seafood Product Preparation and Packaging (31171)

SIC

Agricultural Production-Crops (100), Food And Kindred Products (2000)

akta.pro primary industry

Seaweed & Algae Aquaculture (incl. microalgae) (AFAEAAAE)

akta.pro secondary industries

Offshore & Open-Ocean Aquaculture (AFAEAAAH), Seed Stock Production for Seaweed & Microalgae (Spores, Seedlings, Inoculum) (AFAEAKAI), Algae & Seaweed Proteins (Microalgae/Spirulina, Macroalgae) (AFAJAHAF)

Keywords

• Seaweed cultivation
• Marine biostimulants
• Aquaculture feed ingredients
• Seaweed biomass processing
• Open ocean farming

Headquarters

HQ city

Tórshavn

HQ country

Faroe Islands

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Supply Chain, Operations, Personnel, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Seaweed Biomass Sales: Sale of cultivated seaweed biomass to various industries. Ocean Rainforest produces approximately 400 tons of seaweed biomass in 2024, up from 240 tons in 2023. Seaweed is sold to customers in food, cosmetics, animal feed, biostimulants, and nutraceuticals markets.
2. Biostimulant Products: Processing seaweed into finished biostimulant products for agriculture. Products like SEAWEED and KELPSHIELD are sold to growers for agricultural applications, supporting soil conditions, nutrient availability, and resilience to abiotic stress.
3. Functional Food Ingredients: Sale of seaweed extracts and ingredients to food manufacturers for use in various food products and nutritional supplements.
4. Animal Feed Ingredients: Seaweed-based feed supplements and ingredients sold to animal feed manufacturers, including products targeting methane reduction in cattle.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Ocean Rainforest seeds, grows, harvests, and processes seaweed in open-ocean conditions, then sells premium fully-traceable seaweed biomass and processed products to enterprise customers. Its commercial portfolio centers on agricultural biostimulants (SEAWEED from Giant Kelp and KELPSHIELD from Sugar Kelp), seaweed-based animal feed ingredients, functional food and nutraceutical extracts, and cosmetic ingredients. The company operates cultivation and processing infrastructure in the Faroe Islands, California, Mexico, and Iceland.

Product overview

Ocean Rainforest is a seaweed cultivation and processing company offering a portfolio of seaweed-based biostimulant products and functional ingredients. The core products include SEAWEED and KELPSHIELD biostimulants (launched 2025) made from Giant Kelp and Sugar Kelp respectively, supplemented by the acquired Algamar brand products from their Mexican subsidiary. The company also provides a MakroBoost Calculator tool for agricultural customers to assess fertilizer savings opportunities. Products are sold to agricultural (biostimulants), feed, food, cosmetics, and nutraceutical industries, sourced from seaweed cultivated in the North Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• SeaMark: EU-funded consortium project developing 12 innovative seaweed-based products including bio-packaging, meat replacer, and feed supplements. Hosted by Ocean Rainforest with 25 multi-disciplinary partners.
• MacroSystems
• Seaweed
• KELPSHIELD

Products and services

• SEAWEED Biostimulant Seaweed-based biostimulant produced from Giant Kelp (Macrocystis pyrifera) sourced in Southern and Baja California; formulated to support soil conditions, nutrient availability, and resilience to abiotic stress in high-value crops, registered by CDFA and OMRI Listed for USDA NOP organic farming.
• KELPSHIELD Biostimulant Seaweed-based biostimulant produced from cultivated Sugar Kelp (Saccharina latissima) that supports environmental resilience and consistent crop performance under challenging growing conditions; registered by CDFA and OMRI Listed for USDA NOP organic farming.
• Seaweed-Based Animal Feed Ingredients Cultivated seaweed biomass and red seaweed species including Palmaria palmata supplied as functional feed ingredients for animal feed manufacturers, including seaweed-based additives targeting methane reduction in cattle via the CircleFeed and MABICOW projects.
• Seaweed Food and Nutraceutical Ingredients Seaweed biomass and extracts from cultivated species including Saccharina latissima, Laminaria digitata, Alaria esculenta, Palmaria palmata, and others sold to functional food and nutraceutical manufacturers for use in food products and nutritional supplements.
• Seaweed Cosmetic Ingredients Cultivated seaweed biomass and extracts supplied to cosmetic product manufacturers for use in personal care and cosmetic applications, leveraging bioactives from species such as Macrocystis pyrifera and other seaweeds.
• Algamar Seaweed Product Line Biostimulants and seaweed-based products derived from Giant Kelp and other seaweed species for agriculture (particularly fruits and vegetables), food, cosmetics, and animal feed, supplied through the acquired Algamar brand in Mexico.

Quantifiable outcome

• 400 tons of seaweed biomass produced in 2024, up from 240 tons in 2023
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• AlgaMar (Alamarsa S.A. de C.V.)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMexican seaweed processing company acquired with 60% stake in January 2025. Specializes in Giant Kelp processing for agriculture, aquaculture, animal consumption, and biomedical/cosmetic applications.
• Lava Seaweed ehfcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerJoint venture between Icelandic investors and Ocean Rainforest (50% shareholder). Produces red seaweed species (Palmaria palmata/dulse) using Iceland's unique lava-filtered Arctic seawater and geothermal energy.
• DTU (Technical University of Denmark)coreTechnology or IntegrationDanish technical university, key research partner for seaweed cultivation science and food applications.
• HortimarecoreTechnology or IntegrationPartner in MacroSystems project for hatchery processes and seaweed cultivation technology.
• Primary Ocean ProducerscoreTechnology or IntegrationPartner in MacroSystems project for open ocean seaweed cultivation in California.
• NORA (Nordic Atlantic Cooperation)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerNordic organization, funded Tara Tekstil project for seaweed fiber textiles.
• Nordic InnovationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFunded CircleFeed project for seaweed-based cattle feed to reduce methane emissions.
• SeaMark Consortium PartnerscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner25-partner Horizon Europe consortium led by Ocean Rainforest developing 12 seaweed-based products across food, feed, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals and packaging. Includes Carlsberg, Wattenfall, Algaia and 12 research institutions.
• Kerteminde SeafarmminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in KelpBoost project, cultivating sugar kelp in Denmark with Ocean Rainforest providing seed material.
• LactobiominorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in MABICOW project developing methane-reducing cattle feed additive.
• Chr HansenminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in MABICOW project for methane reduction solutions.

Scale indicators12 records

Recent moves9 records

Expansion highlights7 records

Direct peers

• Atlantic Sea Farms: US-based kelp farming and processing company focused on edible kelp products for food brands. Comparable in cultivating kelp in cold North Atlantic waters and selling processed seaweed into consumer food channels, though smaller-scale and food-focused versus Ocean Rainforest's diversified B2B portfolio.
• Cascadia Seaweed: Canadian cultivator of kelp and other seaweeds for food, feed and agricultural applications in British Columbia. Comparable offshore cultivation model serving similar North American B2B markets (food, biostimulants, animal feed) and competing for the same customer segments.
• Acadian Seaplants: Canadian-based global leader in cultivated seaweed processing for agricultural biostimulants, animal feed, and food ingredients. Direct competitor in seaweed-extract biostimulants and functional ingredients with overlapping customer base in specialty crops and comparable B2B distribution model.
• Algaia: French seaweed processor producing extracts and hydrocolloids for food, feed, agriculture and cosmetics. Direct competitor in seaweed-based ingredients and an explicit SeaMark consortium partner of Ocean Rainforest, making it the closest comparable in European seaweed processing.
• Kelp Blue: Namibia- and Norway-based large-scale kelp cultivator producing biostimulants, food and textile inputs from giant kelp. Comparable offshore-cultivation business model targeting premium extract markets and biostimulants, and a direct competitor for global seaweed biomass supply contracts.

Emerging players

• Samsara (seaweed): Australian seaweed-to-product company developing seaweed-based packaging and agricultural inputs. Partially overlapping with Ocean Rainforest in seaweed-derived agricultural applications and emerging material uses for cultivated seaweed biomass.
• Mara Renewables: Canadian algae biotech producing omega-3 oils and other microalgae-derived ingredients for food and feed. Overlaps with Ocean Rainforest in algae-based functional ingredients and nutraceutical markets, but focuses on microalgae fermentation rather than open-ocean macroalgae cultivation.
• Sea6 Energy: India-based ocean farming and bioproducts company cultivating red seaweed at scale for biostimulants, animal feed and biofuels. Comparable offshore-cultivation and bioproducts business model targeting similar agricultural end-markets from a tropical geography.

Broad incumbents

• Qingdao Seawin Biotech Group: China's largest seaweed fertilizer producer with extensive cultivation and processing capacity. Competes directly with Ocean Rainforest in seaweed-based agricultural biostimulants at global scale and is the dominant low-cost incumbent in the category.
• Symborg: Global agricultural biotechnology company producing microbial and biostimulant inputs for crop production. Adjacent incumbent competing for the same agricultural biostimulant wallet share as Ocean Rainforest's SEAWEED and KELPSHIELD products, with established specialty crop distribution.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/ORainforest

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Subsidiaries4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds3 records

Investors8 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Ocean Rainforest