Hi, I'm Emily!
I fell in love with seaweed during a '60 Minutes' episode
About 8 years ago, I was watching a segment about seaweed farming with my family. Bren Smith (basically the godfather of seaweed farming in the US) told his audience all about the climate-fighting superpowers of seaweed.
Then he added, “If you have $20,000 and a boat, you can start a seaweed farm!” So, I thought, “That’s it! I’m gonna farm seaweed and help save the world!”
Turns out, it’s not that simple, Bren. Especially here in Washington state.
But from that day on, I was hooked on Kelp. The more I learned, the more I realized that seaweed isn’t just great for the planet—it’s basically a superhero of the ocean (really, it’s better than you’re imagining). And I tried to integrate seaweed into my life wherever I could.
So, I left big tech to make kelp big
I was working in sales and digital advertising at Microsoft back then. Sounds fancy, right? But Covid happened, and I thought, “What am I doing here?”, “Do I want to spend my life putting ads on the internet?” The answer was… NOPE. I wanted to create something that actually mattered — something that could make the world a little bit better. So, I quit my corporate job to go after a bigger, bolder dream.
I...failed spectacularly at first. I left to start OceanMade—a 100% sustainable, eco-friendly online store. The idea was to have every product either come from the ocean or be committed to protecting it. I was ready to take on Amazon and become the greenest retailer in the world. (I mean, who wouldn't want that, right?) Spoiler alert: That’s not exactly how people shop. Plus, guess what I ended up doing? Putting ads on the internet again.
Whoops.
The idea came, where else? In the garden
Instead of working on that magical online store (yep, procrastinating), I spent my time in the garden. And there it was: plastic. Everywhere. Plastic pots, plastic tools, plastic this, plastic that — just, plastic in every form you can imagine. I tried using biodegradable pots. Big mistake. They either didn’t break down at all or crumbled too soon. They were overpriced, didn’t hold water well, and honestly, they didn’t make me a better gardener.
Then it hit me: Seaweed. It’s been used as a natural fertilizer for centuries. It’s sustainable, it retains moisture, it locks in carbon. Why was no one making pots from this? People are making biodegradable pots from cow poop, for crying out loud! So after diving into a lot of research, I realized there was nothing out there that combined seaweed’s magical properties with a self-fertilizing, biodegradable pot. And that’s how Kelp Pots came to life.
It hasn't been smooth sailing—but our Kelp Pots are ready to make waves
The seaweed industry is still figuring itself out, so the cost of seaweed is sky-high. And getting the formula right to balance strength with a perfect nutrient profile for plants? It’s harder than it sounds.
Also, not everyone gets how amazing seaweed is. Some people still think it’s the “toilet paper of the ocean” (thanks for that, husband). So, convincing people to buy into the magic has been a challenge.
But with some incredible partners, we figured it out. We developed a prototype that works better than we ever imagined. Now, we’re ready to bring Kelp Pots to you—and we really hope you love them as much as we do.
- Emily