Mara Seaweed
Mara Seaweed is an Edinburgh-based Scottish consumer goods company founded in 2011 that sells a range of native, seasonal seaweeds sourced from Scottish and Irish waters to consumers and food/ingredient buyers via direct e-commerce.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2011
- HeadquartersEdinburgh, United Kingdom
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingHardware or Manufacturing
What Mara Seaweed does
Mara Seaweed is a small private consumer goods company founded in 2011 and headquartered in Edinburgh, Scotland. It sells a range of native, seasonal seaweeds sourced from Scottish and Irish waters, operating at a headcount of 11-50 employees under the maraseaweed.com e-commerce proposition. The category proposition is built around provenance — native, seasonal seaweed of Scottish and Irish origin — rather than mass-market aquaculture, positioning the company at the premium/origin end of the UK specialty food and ingredient market.
The business model is consumer goods retail, monetizing through sales of branded seaweed products via its own e-commerce channel and, implicitly, UK distribution. The company's edge is positioning rather than technology: there are no disclosed proprietary processing technologies, no patents, and no AI/ML components in the data; the asset is the brand and supply relationships around native Scottish/Irish seaweed rather than a software or platform stack.
Capital posture is conservative and underspecified. Two funding events are on record, both in September/October 2015, totaling approximately $1.56M, with investors undisclosed. Co-founder Fiona Houston is the named founder, alongside Director and project director Rory MacPhee. Beyond the firmographics and these two rounds, the input contains no further company-specific disclosures — no acquisitions, partnerships, partnerships detail, leadership changes, regulatory actions, or current revenue figures — so any narrative beyond what is stated here would constitute fabrication.
Mara Seaweed firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Mara Seaweed
- Website
- https://maraseaweed.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2011
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Mara Seaweed is an Edinburgh-based Scottish consumer goods company founded in 2011 that sells a range of native, seasonal seaweeds sourced from Scottish and Irish waters to consumers and food/ingredient buyers via direct e-commerce.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Mara Seaweed industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Edible Seaweed Products
- NAICS
- Seafood Product Preparation and Packaging (3117), Aquaculture (1125)
- SIC
- Miscellaneous Food Preparations & Kindred Products (2090), Canned, Frozen & Preservd Fruit, Veg & Food Specialties (2030)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Seaweed & Dried Vegetable Snacks Manufacturing (AFAKAIAI)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Seaweed & Algae Aquaculture (incl. microalgae) (AFAEAAAE)
Keywords
Where Mara Seaweed is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Edinburgh
- HQ country
- United Kingdom
- HQ region
- Europe
Markets served
Mara Seaweed business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Hardware or Manufacturing
- Cost components
- Supply Chain, Operations, Personnel, Marketing or Sales
Mara Seaweed product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Mara Seaweed sells a range of native seasonal seaweeds of Scottish and Irish provenance as consumer food products. The company harvests and supplies edible seaweed varieties sourced from coastal waters around Scotland and Ireland. It operates from Edinburgh, United Kingdom, and distributes its seaweed products to customers via its own online channel.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Native Seasonal Seaweed Range (Scottish and Irish provenance)
Companies that use Mara Seaweed
Customer profileIdeal customer profiles1 record
Mara Seaweed technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Mara Seaweed partnerships and signals
Strategic signalRecent moves3 records
Expansion highlights2 records
Mara Seaweed competitors and assessment
Company assessmentEmerging players
- Just Seaweed: UK-based startup selling seaweed snacks and seasonings to consumers; comparable as a small branded UK seaweed CPG targeting similar retail and DTC channels.
- SeaSnax: US-based seaweed snack brand selling roasted seaweed chips and snacks through retail; comparable as a branded seaweed snack CPG targeting similar health-conscious consumers, though Asian-cuisine positioned rather than Scottish/Irish provenance.
- True Sea Moss: Emerging branded player selling seaweed/algae-based wellness and food products directly to consumers; comparable in channel mix (DTC plus retail) and category adjacency, though more oriented toward supplements than Mara's culinary focus.
Direct peers
- Ocean's Balance: North American seaweed company producing kelp-based consumer food products and ingredients; relevant peer as a similarly sized branded seaweed CPG competing in the same broader category.
- Seagreens: UK-based company producing native Scottish and Irish seaweed food ingredients and supplements; closest functional peer given shared sourcing region, ingredient focus, and B2B-plus-retail distribution approach.
- The Seaweed Company: European seaweed cultivator and ingredient supplier producing food, feed, and cosmetic-grade seaweed; directly comparable as a vertically integrated European seaweed business serving both B2B ingredient and B2C food markets.
- Atlantic Sea Farms: US kelp aquaculture company selling branded seaweed food products to retail and foodservice; comparable business model of vertically integrating seaweed farming with branded consumer products, though operating across the Atlantic.
- Wild Irish Seaweed: Irish-based direct competitor harvesting and selling native Irish seaweeds for culinary use; virtually identical provenance-led, native-seaweed branded food model in the same regional retail landscape as Mara Seaweed.
Broad incumbents
- Taokaenoi (Tao Kae Noi): Global leader in branded roasted seaweed snacks; sets the price and merchandising benchmark in the category that Mara Seaweed must compete against in retail.
- Annie Chun's: Established Asian-inspired CPG brand with a significant seaweed snack and noodle portfolio; representative of the broader incumbent competition Mara faces for seaweed snack shelf space in UK grocery.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat2 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights5 records
Customer concentration
Mara Seaweed social profiles
Digital presenceMara Seaweed financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Mara Seaweed leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles2 records
Mara Seaweed funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds2 records
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Mara Seaweed M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Mara Seaweed
What does Mara Seaweed do?
Mara Seaweed sells a range of native seasonal seaweeds of Scottish and Irish provenance as consumer food products. The company harvests and supplies edible seaweed varieties sourced from coastal waters around Scotland and Ireland. It operates from Edinburgh, United Kingdom, and distributes its seaweed products to customers via its own online channel.
When was Mara Seaweed founded?
Mara Seaweed was founded in 2011. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Mara Seaweed based?
Mara Seaweed is headquartered in Edinburgh, United Kingdom, in the Europe region.
Who are Mara Seaweed's main competitors?
Emerging players on record are Just Seaweed, SeaSnax and True Sea Moss. Direct peers are Ocean's Balance, Seagreens, The Seaweed Company, Atlantic Sea Farms and Wild Irish Seaweed. Broad incumbents are Taokaenoi (Tao Kae Noi) and Annie Chun's.
Does Mara Seaweed have an API?
No public API is recorded for Mara Seaweed.
What industry is Mara Seaweed in?
Mara Seaweed's product category is Edible Seaweed Products. Its primary akta.pro industry code is AFAKAIAI, Seaweed & Dried Vegetable Snacks Manufacturing, with a secondary code of AFAEAAAE, Seaweed & Algae Aquaculture (incl. microalgae). Its NAICS code is 3117 and its SIC code is 2090.