Seeing Kelp

If you had asked me three years ago what I was going to do, I probably would not have guessed, ‘Go work with a kelp company,’” says Matt Haight.

But today, Haight is the culinary and quality manager for Biddeford, Maine–based Atlantic Sea Farms and an outspoken advocate for kelp’s nutritional and sustainable properties.

Kelp is a type of seaweed (essentially all kelp is seaweed, but not all seaweed is kelp, Haight explains). Much seaweed is grown in China, but companies like Atlantic Sea Farms see environmental and economic benefits of growing it in U.S. waters. Atlantic Sea Farms currently makes veggie burgers and fermented salads, with frozen meals and snacks likely to launch within the next year.

Food Technology asked Haight, a chef, former restaurant owner, and South Maine native, about his efforts to open eyes to the benefits of kelp, his love affair with all things fermented, and how seaweed might create jobs, save the lobster, and help the planet.

What initially brought you to Atlantic Sea Farms?

I got hired to build their fermentation program in-house. They had three SKUs of fermented products, but they were all being produced by co-manufacturers. And they had just built out a new facility. They hired me to create the production system and figure out how to scale it up.

What interested you in the career change?

I had a lot of experience in fermentation. I did a whole bunch at my restaurant, trying to make sure that I didn’t throw anything away. I had a garden in the back, so I made sauerkraut kimchi. I made my own vinegars. I had plenty of experience in fermenting, 22 quarts at a time. Here, I’ve been able to scale up. The co-manufacturers were doing 2,500 lb to 3,500 lb a run. I’ve increased efficiency, so we’re doing a little over 10,000 lb.

Why do you think fermented products, in general, are having a moment?

People are realizing the health benefits. The reason that I got into fermentation wasn’t just for food waste reduction. It was my own personal health. I used to have terrible indigestion and heartburn. I decided to try to rebuild my gut biome. I saw the change almost instantly. I eat three to five fermented products a day. Fermentation has been around since humans have been around; a lot longer than refrigeration has. The reason that we’re all here today is because people were able to preserve their food naturally. And so we’re just resurrecting that old tradition.

How do you preserve kelp’s nutrient-dense properties while developing recipes?

The fermentation is huge. Not only are all the nutrients in the kelp there, but it adds that probiotic element as well. It’s just kind of a superfood. It’s got tons of iodine and magnesium. It also has glutamates and amino acids, so it acts similarly to MSG to enhance the flavors of everything else. Our products have to have kelp first on the ingredient list and always have to be a minimum of 30% kelp.

What did you learn about kelp when you came on board at Atlantic Sea Farms?

I’d always used it as more of a flavor enhancer. It’s a natural source of umami. It would be kombu, the Asian kelp variety, which is overgrown, wild-harvested, and pretty unpalatable when it comes to chewing it. It’s just very rubbery. I’d use it as a soup additive. When I came in, I said, “You’re going to eat the stuff just the way it is? That doesn’t sound very good.” And I found out, being an aquaculture product, they’re never letting it grow to its maturity. It’s kind of like eating baby kale. When you eat baby kale, it is delicate, and not nearly as in-your-face flavor-wise. But when you let that thing overgrow, you can’t even chew on that stuff. It’s like chewing on boot leather.

You mentioned aquaculture. Tell me about Atlantic Sea Farms’ vertical integration.

We’re 100% vertically integrated. We don’t take anything out of the water that we didn’t already put in. We have seaweed scientists that will gather wild seed from our previous sites during their spawning time, which is in the summer, and then we cultivate them in our nursery on-site. We grow them until, for lack of a better word, they are saplings or seedlings, and then we give them to our partner farmers for free. Starting in October to December, they grow it in the water using their fishing vessels and the equipment they already have.

We guarantee to buy back 100% of everything that comes out of the water, either food grade or non-food grade, based on the assessment of our supply team on the boat. All food-grade kelp comes in and we process all of it. We have a great ingredient program. We’re pushing our domestic, sustainable, traceable kelp to potential ingredient partners. We sell and get that out there for research chefs and other companies, as well as turn it into products, which is where my job comes in.

That’s a lot of confidence to guarantee to buy back 100%.

The company believes in the mission. Maine’s waters are warming faster than 99% of the world’s oceans. Outside of tourism, the Maine economy relies heavily on the lobstering industry. So, if the water continues to acidify and increase in temperature, the lobsters will die or go to Canada, putting our coastal economies at risk. The whole company’s philosophy has been completely mission-driven to help get more farmers in the water, support the waters our lobstering industry relies on, and help give the Maine economy something different.

How does that provide the lobster farmer with increased income?

The kelp grows throughout the wintertime and is harvested right before lobstering season begins, so it provides our partner farmers with a way to diversify their incomes by making money in their offseason from fishing. In addition, the kelp farming supports the health of the oceans, thereby bolstering the lobstering industry.

What is it like to work somewhere with such a clear vision around the mission?

It’s inspiring. And it’s interesting, too. I’m working with something that I’ve never worked with before and now becoming one of the people that knows the most about it. It’s a very interesting ingredient. It can be off-putting to some people, but that’s just because they’re not using it properly. Try to lean into what it can do and don’t make it do what it can’t. An apple is delicious, but don’t try to make it an orange. You’ve got to see what it can give and try to play to its strengths.

What are some of the misconceptions people have about kelp?

That they taste bad. That they taste fishy or dirty. Harvesting them young and growing them in the clean Maine waters keeps the flavor mild and refreshing.

How is Atlantic Sea Farms now helping other companies play to those strengths with ingredients?

Obviously, we have our own brands. We have CPG products I work on developing that go to market under our brand. And we have an ingredient channel. Kelp is especially sustainable. Kelp is a pretty hot topic; it’s very trendy. A lot of people are curious, but they don’t know what they’re doing with it. That’s where I come in and help. The more people [that are] using kelp more, especially larger companies, the more it drives the mission even further. There’s only so much one CPG company can do.

Is there a goal of a specific number of SKUs Atlantic Sea Farms would like to introduce?

It’s limitless. The more people using it, the more kelp gets out there, the better the mission is driven, the more farmers are in the water. The company’s goal is to have 100 farmers, each pulling 100,000 lb of kelp by 2030. We’re trying to get there, however many products it takes so we can do that.ft