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Biotech startup Seadling has launched a second processing facility in Malaysia for its seaweed-based functional ingredients for pet and human consumption.
The expansion follows a recent $1 million seed round for the startup co-led by AgFunder, The Yield Lab Asia Pacific, Toyo Seikan Group, Katapult Ocean, and KUL Loesningar 3.
Both the funding and the new facility will enable Seadling to increase production capacity of its fermented, seaweed-based ingredients.
The company works with farmers in the Malaysian portion of Borneo, providing Elkhorn Seamoss (Kappaphycus sp.) seaweed seedlings initially sprouted in its land-based hatchery. Farmers cultivate these plants to maturity, at which point the seaweed undergoes a fermentation process that Seadling says boosts oligosaccharides (for gut-health benefits) and Vitamin K2 (for cardiovascular and bone health).
The end product (dried, milled, and packaged seaweed) is currently incorporated into pet food products.
‘A step forward’ for Southeast Asia
Elyas Eric, Seadling’s communications manager, says the launch of the second facility is “a step forward” for more than just the company. “This is a step forward for this region [Southeast Asia] to contribute to the blue economy,” he tells AgFunderNews.
Global seaweed output has grown three-fold over the last 20 years, with the majority of that coming from farmed seaweed grown in Asian aquaculture environments.
Seadling hopes to boost productivity and the economy in Southeast Asia by working directly with these seaweed farms.
“There are hundreds of thousands of these farmers, they have their own rights to the water, they’ve been farming for generations,” explains Seadling founder Simon Davis. “If we can get seed material that grows faster—and we’ve got varieties which grow two to three times faster than [via traditional methods]—the improvement we can leverage is massive. We can really create tremendous productivity gains.”
Estimates by Standard Chartered Bank say the blue food economy across Southeast Asia could unlock $15 trillion in value by 2050. Meanwhile, industries ranging from food and pharma to crop protection and cosmetics now view seaweed as both a health-boosting, all-natural ingredient and a way to mitigate climate impact in their supply chains thanks to its ability to absorb nitrogen and boost biodiversity.
Ingredients for human consumption slated for 2027
Seadling held a “soft launch” event in Sabah, Borneo recently that was officiated by YB Datuk Phoong Jin Zhe, minister of industrial development and entrepreneurship Sabah, and attended by senior officials from government agencies including the Sabah Fisheries Department, Malaysian Cocoa Board, and Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS).
With the new facility, Seadling will boost its production capacity from one ton per month currently done at the company’s pilot factory to five tons per month, says Eric.
The company will continue to focus on the pet food industry and expects to receive its GMP+ certification—the international quality assurance system for the animal feed and feed ingredient supply chain—by the end of 2026. Seadling also offers a seaweed-based, liquid biostimulant product it says can improve plant defenses against some leaf and root diseases.
Pet food is “a great entryway” into other areas of agrifood, says Davis. “We’re developing all these ingredients for cats and dogs, but we can apply those same ingredients to other animal groups and to humans.”
For example, the company has pet food partnerships with Nestlé, Thai Union, and Mars, all companies with human food divisions as well. “Once we get in with pet food, we can just branch out.”
In 2027, the company will expand its efforts into products for human consumption, too, says Eric, and geographic expansion is also on the cards. Seadling currently provides its pet food ingredients to parts of Southeast Asia, the US, and the UK. Plans for India (“it’s booming in terms of seaweed products”) and Thailand are also in the works.
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