$100K grant to enable Buxton seaweed company to scale up
Courtesy / VitaminSea LLC
VitaminSea LLC, a family-owned seaweed harvesting and processing company based in Buxton, received a Phase I grant through the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Small Business Innovation Research Program to fund a concept study for larger-scale commercialization of its seaweed products.
VitaminSea LLC, a family-owned seaweed harvesting and processing company based in Buxton, received a Phase I $10,000 grant through the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Small Business Innovation Research Program to fund a concept study for larger-scale commercialization of its seaweed products.
VitaminSea harvests seaweed from Maine sources and creates health products from the seaweed, including animal food, nutritional supplements, plant fertilizers and skin-care products. The company, which plans to use the grant to explore the market potential of kelp as a nutritional supplement and natural preservative, sees the commercialization of kelp as potentially benefitting Maine’s coastal fishing communities.
“Small businesses are the backbone of the Maine economy, and helping them to reach their growth potential strengthens Maine’s economy and creates new employment opportunities, particularly in our rural communities,” U.S. Sens. Susan Collins, R-Maine, and Angus King, I-Maine, said in a news release announcing the grant. “We commend the USDA for recognizing the importance of fostering promising business ventures and innovation that support Maine jobs.”
The USDA’s Small Business Innovation Research Program encourages the growth of domestic small businesses by offering competitively awarded grants to support high-quality research related to important scientific problems and opportunities in agriculture. These small business ventures are recognized as having the potential for larger scale commercialization as well as benefits to the community at large.
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