12 Tides

What 12 Tides does

12 Tides is a San Francisco-based, privately held direct-to-consumer snack company founded in 2019. According to its own short-description, the brand sells sea salt, chili pepper, and "everything"-style chips through an online store positioned in the seaweed/snack category. The company operates at a small scale (11–50 employees) and runs a Shopify-hosted e-commerce storefront; as of the captured snapshot, that storefront displays a password-protected "Opening Soon" landing page featuring a newsletter sign-up form and a store-login link, indicating the brand has not yet opened to general consumer traffic.

The underlying technology stack is minimal and commodity: a standard Shopify storefront with newsletter-capture functionality. No proprietary features, integrations, AI/ML components, apps, or APIs are referenced in the source material. The go-to-market motion is direct-to-consumer only, with email newsletter sign-up as the sole visible top-of-funnel demand-generation channel; no retail, wholesale, marketplace, or partnership distribution is in evidence.

On the commercial side, revenue model mechanics are not disclosed — pricing is not publicly listed, no customer segments are named, and no logos or anchor accounts are referenced. Ownership and investor identities are also undisclosed. The only material capital event on file is a $5.67M funding round dated April 2024, with investors and lead investor both unknown. Co-founder Patrick Schnettler is the sole identified leader.

Name

12 Tides

Website

https://12tides.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2019

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

12 Tides is a San Francisco-based direct-to-consumer snack company founded in 2019, selling sea salt, chili pepper, and everything-style chips via a Shopify-powered online storefront that remains in pre-launch ("Opening Soon") status.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Better-for-you snack foods

NAICS

All Other Specialty Food Retailers (445298)

akta.pro primary industry

Better-for-You / Functional Snacks (Low Sugar, Keto, Probiotic, Fortified) (CRADABAM)

akta.pro secondary industry

Chips & Savory Snacks (Potato, Tortilla, Extruded) (CRADABAE)

Keywords

• Kelp chips
• Seaweed snacks
• Plant based snacks
• Sustainable snack foods
• Online snack store

Headquarters

HQ city

San Francisco

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Supply Chain, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Infrastructure

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels1 record

Core offering

12 Tides sells kelp-based snack chips in flavors including sea salt, chili pepper, and everything seasoning directly to individual consumers through its own Shopify-powered online store. The company focuses on sustainable, plant-based snack products positioned in the better-for-you snack category. The website currently shows an "Opening Soon" page with newsletter signup, indicating the storefront is in pre-launch or early commercial rollout.

Product overview

12 Tides operates an e-commerce store powered by Shopify. The website currently displays an 'Opening Soon' landing page with newsletter signup functionality. No specific products, named offerings, or detailed service descriptions are available in the source data.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Kelp Chips (Sea Salt, Chili Pepper, and Everything flavors) Kelp-based snack chips sold in sea salt, chili pepper, and everything seasoning flavors, targeted at health- and sustainability-conscious individual consumers and distributed via the company's own Shopify online storefront.

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Recent moves3 records

Expansion highlights2 records

Emerging players

• Outstanding Foods: Outstanding Foods makes puffed snacks (Puffworks) positioned as better-for-you protein snacks. It competes with 12 Tides for the same BFY savory-snack occasion and shelf set, though via a different core ingredient.
• Simple Mills: Simple Mills is a fast-growing better-for-you snack and baking brand selling crackers, cookies, and crackers through DTC and mass retail. While not seaweed-focused, it competes for the same health-conscious snack dollar and represents a successful DTC-to-mass playbook that 12 Tides may emulate.
• Hippeas: Hippeas makes chickpea-based puffs positioned as a better-for-you savory snack. It is comparable to 12 Tides on category (BFY savory snack), distribution (DTC plus retail), and target consumer, though its core ingredient differs from seaweed.
• Bare Snacks: Bare Snacks produces baked fruit and vegetable chips (e.g., apple, banana, beet). It shares the better-for-you savory snack positioning, DTC-plus-retail go-to-market, and 'clean ingredient' brand narrative with 12 Tides.
• Lesser Evil: Lesser Evil is a better-for-you snack brand (puffs, popcorn, paleo chips) sold through DTC and natural retail. It overlaps with 12 Tides on BFY positioning, premium pricing, and DTC-plus-retail omnichannel strategy.

Direct peers

• Seasnax: Seasnax is a direct-to-consumer and retail brand specializing in roasted seaweed snacks. It is the most direct analogue to 12 Tides — both target health-conscious consumers with seaweed-based savory snacks sold through DTC and grocery channels.
• Ocean's Halo: Ocean's Halo produces seaweed-based snacks and ramen noodles with a sustainability-focused brand positioning. It competes directly with 12 Tides in the seaweed snack category, especially across natural and mainstream grocery channels.
• GimMe Snacks: GimMe Snacks is a seaweed snack brand selling roasted seaweed sheets in individual and multi-pack formats. It overlaps with 12 Tides on product (seaweed), target consumer (better-for-you snackers), and channel (DTC plus natural retail).

Broad incumbents

• Annie Chun's: Annie Chun's (owned by CJ CheilJedang) sells Asian-inspired pantry and snack products including seaweed snacks. It is a broader incumbent in the same snack aisle with significant retail distribution that 12 Tides would compete against for shelf and consumer mindshare.
• Kettle Brand: Kettle Brand (owned by Campbell Soup) is a major better-for-you potato chip brand with broad retail distribution. It represents the larger incumbent 12 Tides must displace at shelf and in consumer consideration for premium salty snacks.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat2 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

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 12 Tides