Mark Bonnar in Glenrothes with one of the concrete hippos made by his dad Stan in the 1970s. Picture: BBC/Objective Media In addition to its use as a food and material, seaweed also absorbs carbon and nitrogen while it’s growing, helping to combat climate change. Industry growing like a weed If we scale-up the processing facilities and the farms to ensure a quality supply, then we can start really going after export markets – there are exciting times ahead.” ‘Every single day, there seems to be a new use for seaweed’

Clare joined us from a career in the food industry to lead our brand and marketing! A passionate foodie with links across the food sector, she’s helping to make sure our delicious and nutritious seaweed is getting on more and more plates 🍽️Mialgae is using a combination of whisky draff and algae to produce nutritious omega-3 NA. Photo by Chris Watt photography.

Mara’s wild seaweeds are sustainably hand-harvested under license from the Crown Estate in Fife, on the East Coast of Scotland. Mara is also committed to working with other local harvesters around the coastlines of Scotland and Ireland. So many companies have come out with all sorts of different ways to use it as a material, from the lining for boxes through to ketchup sachets made from seaweed.” As well as using it as a food, it can also be turned into animal feeds, fertilisers, medicines, and even alternatives to plastic. The Last Drop Distillers has announced the launch of its eighteenth release, the 1970 Glenrothes single malt Scotch whisky.Her enthusiasm is shared by Rhianna Rees, the coordinator at the Seaweed Academy in Dunstaffnage, near Oban, which was launched officially at the end of April. Mara established the UK’s first SALSA-accredited sea-to-shelf production facility for retail seaweed products in Edinburgh. Their locally sourced seaweeds sell as a range of flakes and powders throughout the UK, including nationwide in Ocado, Tesco and across Europe and America.

The company already has around 23 members of staff and expects to double its headcount within a year, recruiting more production and research workers. It's a BBC Scotland documentary which sees Shetland and Guilt star Mark Bonnar embark upon an odyssey around Scotland's post-war new towns to shine a spotlight on their legacy of public art. These single casks were distilled in 1970 and complete the trilogy of Glenrothes Single Malts. The first, from 1968, was released in 2018, and the second from 1969 in 2019: alongside this final bottling from 1970, they collectively make up a unique trilogy of remarkable whiskies.

Industry growing like a weed

And of course, we must not forget our fearless leader Fiona, whose vision, ambition, and entrepreneurial drive is at the very heart of Mara’s mission to Nourish Body and Soul with incredible Scottish seaweed.