Harvesting the natural wealth of the sea
The nutritional power of seaweed is being harnessed by a small West of Ireland company supplying speciality food stores around the country with handpicked wild seaweed harvested from the Clare coastline.
Spanish Point Sea Vegetables, newly renamed Wild Irish Sea Veg, sells dried produce to around 500 outlets in Ireland, one high-end speciality store in New York, and, is aiming to develop sales to Britain.
People have known about the nutritional value of seaweed for hundreds of years, and it’s now being rediscovered, says Gerard Talty, who set up Spanish Point Sea Vegetables three years ago.
His grandfather gathered seaweed and sold it to medical companies to supplement his farm income while his father, an agricultural contractor, supplied carrageen moss to the meat industry in the 1970s.
Mr Talty set up his business in 2009 and, with assistance from LEADER, has recently built a 1,800 sq ft facility for drying, storing, and packaging seaweed on his family farm near Quilty. He aims to grow sales in Ireland, start exporting to Denmark, and with Bord Bia’s help, develop sales in Britain.
“We expect in three or four years to have at least five or six full-time employees and also to take on seasonal workers for harvesting,’’ he says, explaining that it’s currently a part-time family enterprise, involving him, his wife Eileen, and their four children.
They are all involved in harvesting, drying, and packaging the seaweed that comes from the shoreline 100m from the Talty farm and sells mainly in health food shops and speciality food shops.
“It began with a Galway company looking for a supply of seaweed and continued when Sligo doctor Prannie Rattigan wrote a cookbook, The Irish Seaweed Kitchen, and listed Spanish Point Vegetables as a supplier,’’ explains Mr Talty.
Their first customer was O’Dwyer’s Shop in Quilty village and within a year he was supplying 100 outlets. In 2010 he took on Irish Independent Health Foods as a distributor which began supplying products to 300 health food stores nationally. With some assistance from Burren Smokehouse, Spanish Point also began to receive orders from Dean & DeLuca, a speciality store in New York.
The first two Spanish Point products were dillisk and carrageen moss, which are probably the best known of the seaweeds.
“Seaweeds contain high levels of calcium, iodine, and minerals and can be used as an ingredient in soups, chowders, and a wide range of dishes,’’ Mr Talty says.
In 2010 he sourced biodegradable packaging in the UK and increased the range of products to seven, adding Atlantean Organic animal feed products and fertilisers. Dillisk and carrageen continue to sell well but he says sea spaghetti, wakame, and sea salad are also proving popular.
Mr Talty believes there is a growing appreciation of the nutritional value of seaweed and that the market is growing in Ireland.
“According to research at the Irish Marine Institute in Galway it is now estimated to be worth €8m a year to the Irish economy,’’
He sees significant potential for Wild Irish Sea Veg in the international market.
“Our key selling points are the fact that our seaweed is organic, wild, and sustainable and not farmed as it grows in crystal clear waters of the Atlantic Ocean, situated between Loop Head to the South and the world-renowned Burren to the North.”
The name Spanish Point Sea Vegetables caused some confusion with US customers and led to Mr Talty changing the name to one which emphasises the Irishness of the product.
During the recent Speciality Food Fair in London, Mr Talty met with many buyers from large firms.
“We were already in discussions with a large health food chain in the UK, now we have had enquires for some high-end stores and also from one of the multiples interesting in using seaweed as an ingredient. The speciality food show has opened up my eyes to a number of possibilities.”
Wild Irish Sea Vegetables are being sold in small packages but Mr Talty says selling in bulk would be a viable way to improve cashflow. Other opportunities include the Danish market and he’s now in advanced negotiations with a distributor supplying 800 health food stores.
Given that there is a plentiful supply of seaweed, which is being sustainbly harvested by his family, Mr Talty says expansion is now on the cards. He will be looking at finding funding, adding on processing facilities, buying equipment, and taking on full-time staff — and is optimistic that within a few years, he can provide employment in the local area.
Company: Wild Irish Sea Veg/ Spanish Point Sea Vegetables.
Location: Co Clare.
Proprietor: GerardTalty
Staff: Five part time.
Product: Dried seaweed.
Website: www.spanishpointseaveg.ie
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