Maine-based seaweed company wins USD 100,000 in entrepreneurial contest

Ocean’s Balance, an edible seaweed company based out of Biddeford, Maine, recently received a USD 100,000 (EUR 88,500) prize for its edible seaweed products. 

The award comes from “Greenlight Maine,” a television show airing in the state that promotes small businesses and startups in the region. Ocean’s Balance won the grand prize for the fourth season of the show, beating out fellow finalists Flowfold, an outdoor gear company; and American Roots, a company making outerwear products. 

Including fellow finalists, Ocean’s Balance also had to beat out more than 60 prospective startups that auditioned through a live call, before being whittled down to the 26 companies that competed during the show, according to a story in Mainebiz.

“This was a team effort,” Ocean’s Balance CEO Mitchell Lench said in a press release. “We are grateful to Greenlight Maine for providing us with financial capital towards achieving our goal of making seaweed from the Gulf of Maine a staple of the American diet. We will look to re-invest in our business to further expand Ocean’s Balance’s personnel, production capabilities, and farming operations.”

The company makes a variety of seaweed-based products, like organic kombu flakes, kelp purees, flavored seaweed sprinkles, and whole leave wakame products. The product also generated buzz at the summer fancy food show in 2018, which got the company a mention in Martha Stewart magazine. 

“Ocean’s Balance competed against some of the very best companies ever on Greenlight Maine,” Brian Corcoran, a partner in Portland Media Group, which produces the show, said in a statement. “We are confident the best is yet to come for all participating startups in large part to the intellectual and financial capital provided by our committed partners and mentors.”

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