Founded in 2016 by Mitch Lench, Ocean’s Balance is a vertically integrated seaweed ingredients company based in Biddeford, Maine. With a passion for sustainable food systems and ocean conservation, Mitch has built Ocean’s Balance into a leader in the industry. Dedicated to preserving the health of Maine’s natural resources, he has also served on the board of the Maine chapter of The Nature Conservancy for the past 8 years.
Currently, Ocean’s Balance is one of the largest seaweed manufacturers in North America.
A seaweed manufacturer typically handles all aspects of the production process—from sourcing and harvesting the seaweed (either from oceans, seas or aquaculture farms) to processing, packaging, and distributing the finished products. The goods are then processed into a variety of forms, such as powders, flakes, sheets, snacks, seasonings, health supplements, fertilizers, skincare products, or whole-leaf products.
Sustainability is a core principle at Ocean’s Balance. Their focus on sustainable practices is to ensure the health of marine ecosystems, as well as to meet increasing consumer demand for eco-friendly products. Their seaweeds are harvested from the pristine waters of Maine and beyond, and their eco-friendly approach to seaweed production allows them to maintain the health of our oceans, while providing top-quality products to customers.
Ocean’s Balance provides both regeneratively farmed and sustainably wild-harvested organic seaweeds. The seaweed species they offer are cultivated in the pristine waters of the Gulf of Maine, renowned for its deep, nutrient-rich currents that create an optimal environment for seaweed to flourish. They have partnered with leading marine science laboratories and ocean engineers to develop advanced seeding and farming techniques to increase yield and resiliency and their partner farmers benefit from this specialized knowledge, which results in increased income for them at the end of the season.
When farmed in the ocean, seaweed crops require no land, fresh water, or fertilizers. Seaweed actually cleans the water as it grows and helps restore marine ecosystems. This is good news, considering that it is a truly versatile food source with virtually endless other uses. In addition to cooking, people are now using seaweed as a source of animal feed, biofuel, beauty treatments, and more. Farming seaweed is a sustainable and restorative practice—plus, it supports the local economy. Ocean’s Balance works with fishermen and fisherwomen in Maine who are looking to start kelp farms in order to diversify their income, as well. One of their primary goals is to help Maine’s coastal communities thrive while preserving the environment and by sourcing from local farmers, as well as responsible wild-harvesters, they are able to do so.
In addition to farmers, the company also partners with responsible harvesters to source some of their seaweed varieties. For centuries, in China, Korea, and Japan, seaweed has been part of the daily diet—and from the start, they gathered it simply: harvesting by hand. Wild-harvesting seaweed is a delicate process that requires a great deal of knowledge and awareness of the different species growth habits to ensure the future health of these wild communities. The harvesters that Ocean’s Balance partners with use sustainable techniques that preserve the local marine ecosystem, source seaweed from unpolluted water, and rinse and inspect the plants thoroughly during the harvesting process.
Ocean’s Balance seaweeds are all USDA Certified Organic by the Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association (MOFGA). To ensure consumer safety, all of their products are tested by 3rd party laboratory partners to ensure they are free of food borne pathogens, common spoilage organisms, and excessive amounts of heavy metals. Because seaweed is naturally absorbent, it absorbs minerals in their growing environment, which includes heavy metals—fortunately, seaweed grown in the waters of the North Atlantic is closely monitored for contaminants, such as heavy metals, by institutes such as the Gulf of Maine Council on the Marine Environment.
In May 2023, Mitch obtained an industrial kelp dryer from South Africa that could dry up to 3 million pounds of farmed seaweed annually. Prior to that, the company had been blanching and freezing its farmed kelp because there wasn’t a suitable dehydrator available, which was severely limiting marketing options. “The kelp harvest always comes in at the same time of year, March through May, and you can’t dry it outside if you’re in a cold climate, so we had to freeze it,” Mitch remarked in a recent blog post on the company’s website. “But frozen kelp has a limited market. Ninety percent of the [global kelp] market is dried kelp.” The company had tried drying it in greenhouses and using other dehydrating machines designed for wild kelp, but the temperatures were too high for farmed kelp. Lench needed a machine that could handle 10,000 pounds of kelp biomass per day. The 50-foot-long, 17-ton dehydrator uses belts to dry the seaweed at low temperatures, which preserves its nutritional properties, before the seaweed is shredded and spread evenly on the belts for drying. The machine can be operated by one or two people, so its labor requirements are minimal.
Since its capacity is three times more than what Ocean’s Balance requires, Lench formed “Seaweed Farmer Services,” offering dehydration and kelp milling to other kelp farmers, as well as to agricultural producers. They get calls daily from kelp farmers in British Columbia, Alaska and Norway who are interested in using the dehydrator, as the major issue faced by kelp farmers currently is the inability to dry large quantities of product (and there’s limited demand for frozen seaweed in the market). The new dehydrator is a game-changer that will allow Ocean’s Balance and its competitors to compete more effectively in the global market for seaweed, as well as allow Ocean’s Balance to discontinue its frozen farmed kelp and to dehydrate other high-value wild kelp species in the future, including dulce and nori.
The health benefits of seaweed have gained widespread recognition in the last decade, leading to a surge in demand for seaweed-based products. Packed with essential vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants, seaweed is now a popular choice for health-conscious consumers. Whether used in snacks, dietary supplements, seasonings, or skincare products, seaweed is becoming an essential part of everyday life for many. Ocean’s Balance has seven species of Gulf of Maine seaweeds and two types of microalgae (spirulina and chlorella) available in a wide variety of forms. They offer whole leaf, flakes, granules, powders, furikake seasonings, supplements, and superfood smoothie powder blends. The Blue Hill Co-op carries all three flavors of Ocean’s Balance Furikake seasonings. Furikake is a traditional Japanese seasoning mix that can be used to spice up your next avocado toast, poké bowl, french fries, cooked vegetables, rice, or popcorn, and is a delightful way to include more vitamin- and mineral-rich seaweed in your diet.
Look for these Ocean’s Balance products in our Grocery Department:
Bonito Seaweed Furikake Sprinkles (1.7oz)
Spicy Seaweed Furikake Sprinkles (1.7oz)
Truffle Seaweed Furikake Sprinkles (1.7oz)
Be sure to follow Ocean’s Balance on Instagram or Facebook for updates and recipe ideas!
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