Mapping the Seaweed Sector
As part of this year’s Seagriculture 2025 event, Hortimare surveyed industry professionals to better understand current trends, opportunities, and challenges in the European farmed seaweed sector. From producers to processors, researchers to innovators, voices from across the value chain shared their vision of the actual market, and where it is heading.
In this article, we summarize the main findings from the survey and the workshop, collected live during the event. The goal: provide open access to valuable market insights and help the community grow with transparency and shared knowledge.
Table of content
- Methods
- Distribution of Respondent Profiles
- General outlook on the future of the Seaweed Industry
- Promising Seaweed Species
- Value Loss in Seaweed
- Comparing Seaweed Market Outlooks
- Strategic Levers
- Open Discussion
- Undervalued Seaweed Markets
- Aligning Investments with Sector Needs
- Key needs to strengthen the sector
- Conclusion
- Download PDF
1. Methods
A Google Form survey was conducted during the visit to Hortimare’s facilities. Out of 94 participants in the visit, 60 answered the questionnaire. The survey included both closed- and open-ended questions, allowing for a combination of quantitative analysis and qualitative insights (e.g., perceptions of undervalued markets). We gathered responses from a broad range of international seaweed professionals, with participants from more than 15 countries and various professional backgrounds. The survey offered valuable field-based insights into the seaweed sector, aiming to identify high-potential markets, uncover key development barriers, and highlight investment priorities.
Besides, data was collected live during the workshop about the seaweed market. In total, 94 people participated in the workshop, and the data was collected using Mentimeter. The responses and insights collected from the workshop were analyzed and edited, and they will be presented in this article.
To enrich the analysis, responses from the survey and the workshop were compared with findings from two recent strategic publications. The first, the Seaweed for Europe Investor Memo (2021), outlines investor priorities and key recommendations to scale the seaweed industry in Europe. The second, the World Bank’s 2023 report Global Seaweed New and Emerging Markets Report, provides a global overview of emerging trends and investment opportunities in the seaweed sector. These references offer a valuable institutional perspective that helps contextualize the field-based insights gathered during Hortimare’s site visit.
2. Distribution of Respondent Profiles and Seaweed Market Experience
The first charts give a broad overview of the attendees of the Seagriculture 2025 visit to Hortimare. Most visitors are working in Europe and were also glad to welcome professionals from Asia, North America, and Africa, reflecting a growing cross-regional momentum which will be key to enhancing the sector’s growth in Europe.
Nationality of Participants
Age of Participants
The survey results show that the majority of participants who joined the Hortimare visit are familiar with the seaweed market and quite experienced professionals, with 73% indicating more than two years of experience in the seaweed sector. This suggests a strong understanding of the market’s realities and challenges.
Level of Knowledge
Professional Experience
A diverse range of companies, from innovative startups to established multinationals, attended the visit, indicating a maturing industry blending disruptive innovation from Europe’s start-ups with strategic investments from larger groups. Insights from startups, driven by innovation, and multinationals, focused on scalability and profitability, highlight potential points of convergence and tension. Notably, 7% of attendees are not yet involved in the sector but are exploring opportunities, reflecting growing interest. Most participants (37%) focus on global markets, aligning with increasing intercontinental engagement, particularly between Europe and Asia.
Company Size
Targeted Markets
The survey data revealed a mix of professional backgrounds among respondents. Business owners (26.6%) and business developers (20.3%) constitute a significant share, while technical specialists (16.5%), industry researchers (19%), and academic researchers (11.4%) highlight strong scientific and technical representation. This balance underscores the multidisciplinarity of the seaweed sector, where market and technological development are tightly interconnected. However, the complete absence of policy makers and regulators (0%) indicates a gap in public sector engagement, which could be critical when addressing regulatory barriers and building long-term policy support.
Current role
Involvement in Seaweed
The survey results show that the majority of participants who joined the Hortimare visit are familiar with the seaweed market and quite experienced professionals, with 73% indicating more than two years of experience in the seaweed sector. This suggests a strong understanding of the market’s realities and challenges.
3. General outlook on the future of the Seaweed Industry
We began the workshop by asking participants to share the words that come to mind when they think about the future of the seaweed industry.
The future of the seaweed industry
We can see that when it comes to seaweed, sustainability is the primary association. Indeed, many consider this industry promising because it offers a way for companies to grow economically while having little to no negative, or even a positive impact on the environment. On the other hand, the word “food” also stood out, which makes sense as seaweed is considered a promising alternative protein source.
4. Promising Seaweed Species: Between Cultivation Feasibility and Market Demand
Participants in the workshop were asked to identify the seaweed species they considered most promising for cultivation in Europe and for end-market applications. Their responses have been synthesized into two visualizations: one showing species with strong potential for farming, and the other for commercial exploitation. These insights offer a valuable overview of how professionals across the sector perceive current and future biological assets.
The results highlight Saccharina latissima, Alaria esculenta, and Ulva spp. as top species for both cultivation and market potential. This outcome is consistent with the current dynamics of the European seaweed industry as Saccharina latissima and Alaria esculenta are among the most established cultivated species in Europe.
Ulva spp., although less widely farmed, is gaining traction for its fast growth and versatility, especially in biostimulants and feed—two short-term markets with low regulatory barriers identified in the World Bank Report (2023). Its growing recognition among professionals suggests a shift toward scalable green seaweeds with multiple use cases.
Other species such as Palmaria palmata, Gracilaria spp., and Chondrus crispus also rank high, notably for end-market applications. This is in line with their traditional role in the food and hydrocolloid industries. While they are mostly wild-harvested, the World Bank notes a strategic interest in transitioning these species toward farmed production to reduce environmental impact and improve reliability of supply.
Lastly, Asparagopsis spp., rated higher for end-market potential than cultivation, reflects current challenges and opportunities: as reported in the World Bank report, this species holds strong promise as a methane- reducing feed additive, but faces significant barriers to achieving scaled cultivation in Europe.
In summary, the results gathered through the survey align closely with the technological maturity, infrastructure availability, and market readiness of specific species, underlining the strong coherence between field experience and broader sector analyses.
Promising seaweed species for cultivation in Europe according to participants
Promising seaweed species for end market applications in Europe according to participants
5. From Potential to Profit: Addressing Value Loss in Seaweed
The second part of the workshop focused on identifying value leakage points in the seaweed value chain. To better define a value leakage point, it can be seen as a loss of value of the final product due to inefficiencies in the value chain. A clear example is the stabilization process of the biomass for transport needs; while it ensures no spoilage, it reduces the versatility and freshness. The participants were invited to think about other value leakage points they consider important to tackle for the farmed seaweed industry to become economically viable. The most common associations to value leakage pointed out by participants are shown in the graph below.
6. Comparing Seaweed Market Outlooks: Industry Perspectives vs. Global Forecasts
Following value leakage, we asked for respondents’ assessments of different seaweed-based applications, across three criteria:
- Likelihood of successful establishment in Europe
- Expected time to market maturity
- Potential revenue or economic impact
This section aims to get a clearer view of the markets that have higher chances of success in Europe, according to workshop participants. The results of the survey are provided for each criterion separately in the following histograms (Y axis corresponds to the number of votes).
What is the probability this market will be successfully established in europe?
What is the probability this market will reach maturity?
What is the potential revenue of this application?
We aggregated the survey data into a bubble graph, which was shown during the workshop for further discussions, and comparison with the World Bank Report of 2023 about new and emerging seaweed markets.
Side by side comparison: World Bank Report and Hortimare results
The comparison between the bubble graph produced by the World Bank in 2023 and the one generated from the Hortimare Seagriculture 2025 survey reveals several notable divergences in how the future of seaweed markets is perceived by institutional analysts versus field actors.
A key divergence concerns methane-reducing additives. The World Bank views them as an emerging, high-growth segment, estimating a $47 million market in 2022 with a 57% CAGR and a projected $306 million by 2030 (World Bank, 2023, p.53). It emphasizes strong policy momentum and corporate interest driven by net-zero and climate commitments. Conversely, our survey assigns a lower likelihood of market establishment and smaller size, reflecting industry concerns over technological maturity, regulatory hurdles, and scalability—issues also noted in the Bank report. Moreover, this market predominantly revolves around Asparagopsis spp. cultivation, mainly in lower latitudes.
Biostimulants, animal feed additives, and pet food consistently rank as the most established short-term markets, with high success potential and large market size. This is likely because these sectors already incorporate seaweed-derived inputs at scale. The World Bank estimates the biostimulant market will reach $1.87 billion by 2030 (World Bank, 2023, p.148). The respondents also see these segments as accessible and scalable, thanks to existing supply chains and low regulatory hurdles.
However, a major point of divergence emerges with nutraceuticals. The World Bank report projects this market to reach $3.9 billion by 2030 (p.150), making it the highest in value among all applications. The report itself hints at reasons for caution: clinical validation requirements, product complexity, and the long development cycles all limit rapid expansion.
The World Bank forecasts a $733 million market for seaweed-based bioplastics by 2030, driven by sustainability goals and growing consumer demand (World Bank, 2023, p. 166). However, it highlights major barriers, including current reliance on niche biofilm applications, high production costs, and the need for 5–10 years of R&D to match existing plastics. This cautious outlook is echoed by Seagriculture 2025 survey respondents, who ranked bioplastics lower in probability and market size, likely reflecting concerns about cost, scalability, and technical limitations—challenges also outlined in the report.
Alternative proteins from seaweed are projected to reach $448 million by 2030, supported by consumer interest in non-animal products, seaweed’s functional properties and potential food supply chain sustainability improvement (World Bank, 2023, p. 166). Despite some commercial traction, the report notes a high competition with cheaper biomass with higher protein contents than seaweed. This aligns with the Hortimare survey, where respondents gave this segment a lower establishment probability, suggesting that professionals remain cautious due to cost of protein extraction despite promising long-term potential.
The World Bank identifies pharmaceuticals as a long-term, high-potential market for seaweed, though projections remain uncertain due to the early development stage of most products. Currently, no seaweed-derived pharmaceuticals are commercially available, and most remain in preclinical research, with market entry expected only after 5–10 years (World Bank, 2023, p. 167). Despite this, participants in the Seagriculture survey assigned this category one of the largest economic impact scores. This apparent contrast is understandable: although institutional forecasts remain cautious, professionals recognize the significant future value that seaweed compounds could bring to the health sector, especially if successful therapeutic applications emerge.
Both the World Bank report and the Hortimare survey estimated seaweed-based construction materials as long-term opportunities with a modest chance of reaching the market by 2030. The World Bank estimates a $1.4 billion potential but notes key obstacles: limited biomass, high production costs, and industry resistance (World Bank, 2023, p. 167). Regional opportunities exist, notably in the Caribbean where Sargassum blooms are abundant and interest is rising. Accelerated development may be possible if safety issues, such as arsenic in Sargassum, are addressed, explaining why some survey participants saw construction materials as worth considering despite their longer market horizon.
7. From Bottlenecks to Breakthroughs – Strategic Levers Identified by the Community
Following the bubble chart analysis of emerging markets, participants were asked to go one step further. Based on the challenges they identified—such as delayed market entry, low establishment likelihood, or limited economic impact—they were invited to propose actionable levers to “move the bubble”: accelerate market entry, boost economic returns, or improve success probabilities.
The heat map consolidates input across all market segments, revealing that participants view Research & Development (R&D) as the top lever for market success, with 18 mentions. This aligns with the World Bank (2023), which highlights that unlocking high-value markets—such as bioplastics and nutraceuticals—requires ongoing R&D to enhance product functionality and cut costs.
Similarly, Marketing & Awareness was by far the most cited domain to increase economic impact, echoing the S4E Investor Memo (2021), which highlights that poor market access and low consumer awareness are among the most urgent bottlenecks limiting sector growth.
Technology & Infrastructure was frequently cited by participants, reflecting the ongoing need to reinforce the technical backbone of the sector. Although infrastructure is available in some regions, it must now evolve to support higher volumes, broader processing needs, and greater product quality consistency—especially as the sector expands into new applications.
Legislation & Policy emerged as the top domain to decrease time to market, indicating concern over regulatory complexity. This view is consistent with both reports: the S4E Memo and the World Bank study identify the lack of harmonised regulation as a major factor slowing the development of new seaweed markets.
Together, these findings reveal that while investment remains important, actors on the ground emphasise more immediate and practical levers—clear regulation, infrastructure access, market visibility, and collaborative research—as key to unlocking the next phase of growth in Europe’s seaweed sector.
8. Voices from the Field – Insights from the Open Discussion
In addition to the structured survey, a portion of the workshop session was dedicated to open discussion among participants, where industry professionals were invited to freely share their views, questions, and suggestions. These conversations revealed field-level concerns and strategic reflections that complement and nuance the quantitative findings presented earlier in the article. Below is a synthesis of these insights, grouped by theme, with selected quotes and paraphrased observations that reflect the diversity of the voices in the room.
Investment Strategies and Gaps
One participant highlighted the risk of imbalance between seaweed farming and market development:
“While farming is crucial, neglecting market development can hinder future growth and miss opportunities.”
Another participant pointed out structural challenges in the UK support system:
In the UK, « aquaculture sits under DEFRA » and « grants and farming subsidies » primarily support terrestrial farming, which makes financial support for seaweed projects « out of scope » compared to the European market.
Several participants also stressed the need to de-risk farming production and improve access to working capital for early-stage farmers.
From Research to Market: Redirecting the Focus
There was a strong feeling that too much funding is still oriented toward fundamental research:
“There is way too much money going into fundamental research in comparison to everything else.”
“Fundamental research must be specific now and linked to the real needs of the sector.”
This reinforces the need for practical, applied research to support commercial applications and farmer-oriented innovation.
Value Chain Weaknesses and Standardization
Participants expressed concern over disconnections along the seaweed value chain:
“There’s a gap in the middle” of the seaweed value chain, where the link from “wet kelp on the dock to the Empire’s door” remains unclear and unorganized.”
The lack of standardization in processing was also mentioned as a barrier to market trust:
Uncertain product specifications can “scare buyers away” and lead to quality inconsistencies.
In addition to these structural issues, some pointed out that even basic improvements in harvesting and post-harvest logistics could have a strong impact. As one participant put it, the sector would benefit from “mechanizing farming through basic tools like tractors and trailers”, which could help address productivity bottlenecks and make operations more consistent and scalable.
Biostimulants: A Long-Term Commitment
Biostimulants were described as promising but slow to validate:
“It takes at least five years to do field trials and “you’ve got to keep going” despite initial failures to maintain stakeholder interest.”
Some saw seaweed bioactivity as a multi-market opportunity:
“If we can work out the functionality of the seaweed for humans, we could address food, pharma, and nutraceutical markets through shared bioactive compounds.”
Fish Feed and Functional Additives
Seaweed was widely discussed as a promising functional additive for aquaculture, especially for its effects on fish immunity. Participants mentioned benefits such as increased mucus production and protection of gills from phytoplankton species:
“Seaweed diets are showing positivities against AGD or protecting the gills from phytoplankton species.”
However, the feed market is hard to penetrate due to cost constraints:
“They are paying the maximum price they’re paying for fish meal, which is about two euros per kilo dry weight. We can’t sell our seaweed dried for that.”
To address these challenges, some suggested redirecting toward the pet food market, which offers more pricing flexibility and marketing potential:
“A pet is by definition a luxury… the ability there to create a high value product might be a lot higher.”
One participant highlighted that products for cats in particular—due to the natural connection with seafood and premium positioning—could be promising. Germany and The Netherlands were mentioned as potential early entry points given their market size and interest in innovative, natural pet food solutions.
Others emphasized the need to demonstrate functionality clearly and engage large players:
“We should be going to the industry with our hands out, saying we have a product that could help you—give us the money to do it.”
Pharmaceuticals and Volume Expectations
One participant emphasized the industry requirements for entering the pharmaceutical space:
“The pharmaceutical industry asks for volumes. They need stable volumes. They need large volumes. They need predictability and quality.”
Seaweed-Based Dyes and Consumer Awareness
An innovative suggestion emerged around the use of seaweed in natural dyes:
“Creating a « textile dye out of seaweed » would require heavy « marketing », revised « labeling », and broad consumer education to offer an alternative to synthetic dyes.”
9. Unlocking Hidden Opportunities: Undervalued Seaweed Markets
During the Hortimare Seagriculture EU 2025 survey, participants were asked to identify which seaweed markets they considered to be undervalued. The graphic below compiles the responses and highlights the applications that industry professionals saw as promising but still underdeveloped or underexploited. Numbers indicate how many times each application was mentioned by participants as an undervalued market.
Unsurprisingly, human food emerged as the most cited undervalued market, mentioned seven times. This finding aligns with the World Bank’s 2023 report, which emphasized that the food sector remains limited by low consumer awareness, regulatory barriers, taste and quality of seaweed-based products. Yet, the growing demand for healthy and sustainable foods suggests this market holds significant growth potential. Biostimulants (3 mentions) were also frequently cited, despite their proven effectiveness in enhancing crop yields. According to the S4E report (2021), their adoption remains low, largely due to a lack of large-scale efficacy data and limited recognition from farmers. Similarly, markets such as cosmetics, nutraceuticals, and biomaterials were identified by participants as being underexploited. These results reflect a widely shared perception: the seaweed industry is rich in opportunities but still held back by technical, regulatory, or visibility-related barriers.
10. Aligning Investments with Sector Needs
The next part of the workshop focused on investments. They are key to developing and structuring the industry but need to be well-targeted to be effective. We asked participants how they would distribute an investment of 100€, in 10€ increments, among different parts of the value chain to see if their needs are in accordance with actual observed investments momentum. On the bottom left is the resulting graph from the workshop, and on the bottom right is a graph taken from Seaweed For Europe report of 2021 titled : The case for seaweed investment in Europe.
Comparing the investment priorities from the current workshop (left graph) and the Seaweed for Europe 2021 investor mapping (right graph) reveals clear differences between field-level perceptions and historical capital flows in the sector.
Workshop participants identified Marketing & Market Access as the top investment priority, emphasizing the need to build consumer awareness, drive demand, and boost visibility for seaweed products. Despite this, the sector is largely neglected in institutional strategies. In the S4E Investor Memo, the closest segment—“Services and Umbrella Organizations,” possibly including marketing support—received only 15 out of 138 investment tickets across the value chain. Although not explicitly tracked, the report highlights “limited market access and poor consumer understanding” as major barriers. The disconnect between institutional funding and practitioner needs indicates that effective sector growth depends on increased focus on branding, public communication, and coordinated market entry.
Farming and seed supply also received more attention in the workshop results than in S4E data, which shows only 6 distinct investments (investment tickets) for hatcheries and 49 for production. The report explains that farming remains underfunded due to high capital needs and regulatory complexity, despite being essential for scaling the industry. This highlights a disconnect between what operators view as bottlenecks and what investors perceive as viable.
Both datasets converge on the importance of Processing & Biorefinery, which received the highest number of investment tickets in the S4E report (92) and remains a high priority in the workshop. This suggests a shared recognition that expanding processing capacity is key to unlocking higher-value applications and cost-effective solutions.
In contrast, Fundamental Research ranks low in the workshop. During open discussion, a workshop particpant voiced the opinion that the fundamental research would need to be very specific toward the identified bottlenecks of the sector and less funding should be allowed to it compared to other value chain steps.
Regarding Tech & Equipment, one workshop participant explicitly called for basic tools like “tractors and trailers” to ease farming operations. Yet this priority from the field does not appear to be reflected in institutional investment patterns. According to the S4E Investor Memo, the equipment-related segments of the value chain attract little funding: only a small share of investment tickets targeted the “Tech & Equipment” category, suggesting that investors prioritize other areas despite the operational bottlenecks reported by practitioners.
Overall, the comparison shows that practitioners emphasized foundational needs like market-building and upstream capacity, while investors have mostly targeted midstream activities. Bridging this gap will be critical to aligning financial flows with real-world challenges and opportunities in the seaweed industry.
11. Key needs to strengthen the sector
The final section of the workshop aimed to better understand the biggest obstacles slowing down the farmed seaweed industry in Europe, and to identify the most impactful actions to support its growth. Three questions were posed to participants:
- What do you believe is the biggest barrier to seaweed market development in Europe?
- What support mechanisms would help accelerate seaweed market development?
- Which strategic actions would most help unlock the next growth phase in the seaweed sector?
The biggest barriers
The workshop identified regulatory complexity as the top barrier, followed by limited consumer awareness and lack of investment. This aligns with the Seaweed for Europe (2021) and World Bank (2023) reports, both citing the absence of a harmonized European regulatory framework as a key challenge. Regulatory uncertainty raises entry barriers and hampers market development in food, feed, and bioplastics
Support mechanisms
In response to the second question, participants prioritized cross-industry collaboration, government R&D subsidies, and regulatory simplification as key to accelerating the market. These preferences reflect a sector consensus that collaboration and targeted public support are crucial for unlocking seaweed’s potential. The World Bank stressed that national strategies, enabling policies, financial incentives, and public–private partnerships are vital to scale production and processing.
Strategic Actions
When it comes to long-term strategic actions, expanding pilot-scale cultivation and downstream processing emerged as the top priority, closely followed by joint R&D and knowledge sharing among suppliers.
This reflects the fragmented structure of the current European farmed seaweed value chain, where many actors still lack access to reliable infrastructure and shared technical resources. The S4E Investor Memo (2021), underlines that poor processing capacity and the lack of vertical integration are key limiting factors for value creation. The current survey, contrastingly, points to less desire for vertical intergration.
Taken together, the responses showed that while financing remains important, the respondents view regulatory clarity, consumer education, and technical scaling as more urgent levers for growth. These findings provide valuable direction for both policymakers and investors aiming to strengthen the seaweed industry in Europe.
12. Conclusion
This report has brought together the insights shared by professionals across the seaweed value chain during the survey and workshop at the Hortimare site visit of Seagriculture EU 2025. From identifying promising species and under-explored markets to revealing investment gaps and operational bottlenecks, the survey and workshop results reflect a sector that is both ambitious and grounded in real-life experiences and practical challenges.
While some perspectives aligned with recent institutional reports, the differences observed—particularly in market priorities and investment needs—highlight the importance of listening to field actors when shaping future strategies.
We sincerely thank all participants for their time, engagement, and thoughtful contributions throughout the survey and workshop. Your input has been essential in capturing a realistic picture of where the European farmed seaweed sector stands today and what it needs to move forward.
Thank you for visiting us!
We look forward to continuing the conversation and to seeing you at the next year’s edition of Seagriculture or as a visitor to our facility.
Reference List:
Seaweed for Europe (S4E), 2021, Investor Memo: The case for seaweed investment in Europe. https://www.seaweedeurope.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/S4E-InvestorMemo-MainReport-16OCTOBER2021.pdf
World Bank, 2023, Global Seaweed New and Emerging Markets Report. https://documents1.worldbank.org/curated/en/099081423104548226/pdf/P175786073c14c01609fe409c202ddf12d0.pdf
Link to downloadable PDF: