Irish Seaweed Company
Company Background:
The Irish Seaweed Company sustainably hand harvest a variety of edible seaweed for consumption and home spa bathing. The company which is based Ballymena has been hand harvesting raw, wild Irish seaweed since 2006 from the Antrim coastline.
Challenge:
The company wanted to develop an innovative packaging solution which was environmentally friendly and complimented their bespoke food range.
Solution:
In order to overcome this obstacle, the Irish Seaweed Company made contact with North West Regional College (NWRC) Business Support Centre (BSC) who supported them through the InnovateUs programme which is funded by the Department for the Economy.
This provided 30 hours of 1:1 mentoring support from NWRC Creative and Digital Media Consultant, Aaron McKeever, who provided upskilling in Adobe Illustrator training, finalizing of designs for cutting, printing, distribution and 3D packaging mock up design.
Impact:
On completion of the project, the company successfully developed an innovative packaging solution which is environmentally friendly and compliments their bespoke food range.
The Irish Seaweed Company also worked with the colleges Foodovation team to review and develop a range of new and unique recipe ideas using their seaweed. With the innovative packaging solution ready to launch, watch this space for new products in the future.
Testimonial from the Irish Seaweed Company who described the benefits of working with NWRC’s Business Support Centre via the InnovateUs programme:
‘’I was extremely impressed with the help and support I received from Aaron at the college. He couldn’t be more helpful, positive and encouraging with my product idea and his expertise is also very impressive. From my first initial meeting with Aaron through to completion of the design his communication with me was excellent and the final design of the packaging is fantastic. I wouldn’t have known where to start without the support so thank you so much.’’
