Innovation

Amarea is using seaweed to its full capacity in order to lead the way in sustainable seafood production. The core of Amarea's innovation lies in its product: ”Because there's no one doing it, also because it's Chilean endemic seaweed so you cannot find it anywhere else” (Ignacio Cueto, co-founder of Amarea). They started by developing two different snacks in collaboration with local fisher-men and women because “they are used to cooking and using their seaweed in their meals on a daily basis” - Ignacio Cueto, thereby incorporating long standing cultural knowledge into product development .

They now have three types with four different tastes but also food supplements such as magnesium, collagen, and probiotic fiber, and in the future, they are planning to expand the product range with a burger. This process was sometimes challenging because “everything that we do is new” - Ignacio Cueto. In order to sell their snacks, the company has a dual market strategy: a B2B model targeting large-scale buyers in international markets like China “where the culture of eating seaweed is a whole different thing“ (Ignacio Cueto, co-founder of Amarea) and a B2C approach that focuses on introducing seaweed-based snacks and supplements to health-conscious consumers.

This innovation directly supports several United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Primarily, it addresses SDG 14 (Life Below Water) by promoting sustainable harvesting practices that ensure the long-term health of marine ecosystems. Seaweed farming is an extremely sustainable food source because it doesn't require fresh water, land, or pesticides. Additionally, by increasing the income of local fishermen from $7,000 to $40,000 annually, Amarea contributes to SDG 1 (No Poverty) and SDG 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth). Despite the increased expenses, the company's dedication to using recyclable packaging aligns with SDG 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production).

Packaging of algea snacks tell the stories of individuals from the fishing communities

Inspiration

It all started because of Ignacio Cueto’s huge love for the ocean. The founder saw the local fishermen and fisherwomen daily, as he lived in the coastal town of Pichilemu, where they worked. He observed that they started working very early in the morning. Seeing their humble homes, he believed that they deserved to earn more for their hard work. Driven by a desire to make a difference in the fishermen’s lives, Ignacio began by trying to understand their problems, their work, and their products. His overall aim was to find a way to provide these hard-working individuals with fair wages.

Throughout his observations and conversations with the fishermen, he discovered that they primarily sold seaweed without adding value. They simply extracted Cochayuyo, an endemic seaweed that cannot be cultivated but is only harvested wild from the ocean. After drying the seaweed for a day, they sold it to various intermediaries, receiving minimal compensation as the product passed through several hands in the value chain. “And that’s when we understood that we ourselves had to be the ones that buy their seaweeds. That was the only way we could make sure that they were getting the money and the value that we thought was fair. So that's how Amarea started” - Ignacio Cueto.

Recognizing this issue, Ignacio decided to start by improving the fishermen’s processes. He created a machine to speed up the process, enabling them to work more efficiently and thereby earn more money for the same amount of seaweed. Meanwhile, he had to find a way that would allow him to purchase the seaweed from them at a fair price: “The only way that we could actually sell the seaweed that we were buying was creating products. And so that's how we started with these snacks" -Ignacio Cueto.

Overall impact

According to Amarea’s co-founder, the company’s current impact can be divided into two main categories. “The first one is pretty obvious and has to do with the fishermen: They lived on $7,000 a year and now going from $7,000 to $40,000, that’s a whole different story. First of all, I would say, we try to give them a stable income. It's game-changing. And I would say that's the biggest impact” - Ignacio Cueto.

In this context, it is important to note that Amarea has already grown its impact in terms of the number of fishermen involved in their projects: “We started with like 50 just for the snacks and B2C model... And with this new model that we have been working on the last year, we have over 100” - Ignacio Cueto.

In addition to increasing the fishermen’s standards of life, Amarea has an impact on the society at large. By supplying two of the main Chilean retailers, Jumbo and Unimark, with Amarea’s seaweed snacks, these sustainable and healthy products are made accessible to the public. “The seaweed doesn't need any water, any soil, or any pesticides to grow. And that gives you a really sustainable source of food. And you go to the coast and you see that you take out one - we call it here in Chile matas. You take out one crop and only six months later, you have another one. So it's really, really productive and it's really healthy and really sustainable. So I would say that's the second impact that we are trying to make” - Ignacio Cueto.

In the long term, Amarea plans to expand its two-fold impact. Not only do they wish to grow their impact among Chilean fisher communities, but they also plan to supply more parts of the world with their health-benefiting snacks and supplements: “I would love to have different fishermen facilities owned by the fishermen and fisherwomen. I don't want to own any facility. I would love to give more jobs to these communities. It would be interesting to train them, to empower them. So our dream would be to be a sustainable source company that works with fishermen along the whole Chilean coast and supplying different countries with our sustainable model. That's the biggest goal. And hopefully taking these people out of poverty. I think that's actually the change we make and that's our whole point” - Ignacio Cueto.

Business benefit

The company started out with Ignacio Cueto and his business partner, Jose Tomas Sagredo, and has grown to “6 employees who work part-time and remotely” - Ignacio Cueto, from different locations in Chile, all sharing the love for the ocean and the will to help local fishing communities. The reason for working part-time over full-time is that the founders believe they can “externalize all the services and jobs to be done,” - Ignacio Cueto such that the fishermen and -women can take on more tasks and receive more pay, leading to a more “financially healthy company” - Ignacio Cueto. The fishermen and women are seen as business partners rather than employees, as Amareas' goal is to positively impact these rural communities by “helping them out of poverty” - Ignacio Cueto.

Amarea’s business model has changed from a strict B2C approach to an open B2B approach over the years, as the company's main purpose is to try to help and kind of give some stability to the local fishermen by “purchasing the seaweed according to fair trade principles” - Ignacio Cueto. At first, Amarea focused on creating products for the B2C market, starting out with a “Chilean endemic seaweed snack” local fishermen and -women would traditionally cure and eat, yet the price is high (approximately 10 times the price of regular chips), and the quantities produced were low. Therefore, Amarea created other products such as supplements and later also, different flavored seaweed snacks. However, broadening the product palette did not allow the company to create revenues high enough to purchase seaweed from the fishermen and -women to assure them a $ 40,000 income. Extending the business model and targeting countries in which people eat more seaweed on the other hand became a lucrative way of conducting business. Amarea now additionally sells one shipping container per month worth of endemic seaweed to merchants in China, ensuring stable revenues for the company and giving jobs to over 100 fishermen and -women. This business model shift and openness to new markets allowed Amarea to increase revenues and purchase seaweed from the fishermen and -women at steady rates.

Moreover, the Business was founded in 2020 as a 100% for-profit company and has been profitable for 1 year now. The founder aims to give “10 % of the profits to the fishermen and -women because if we win, they win.” The rest of the profits are reinvested into the company to make it financially stronger and more resilient for the years to come.

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Social and environmental benefit

Environmentally, it’s clear that both the raw material and the productive process are not harmful to the ecosystem, due to the properties of Cochayuyo, the endemic seaweed that doesn't need to be cultivated but rather grows wild from the ocean without the need of intervention. This makes it ideal for a sustainable economy that uses renewable resources and helps preserve marine ecosystems. Sustainable seaweed harvesting protects marine life, promoting biodiversity and ecological balance, especially if you give nature time to recover. “There are many seaweeds in the ocean. We actually stop for four months a year, so we don't have any issues with the sustainable extraction” - Ignacio Cueto

Additionally, Amarea raises awareness about marine conservation with constant posts and educational material on their platforms about public politics and regulations regarding this topic and encourages sustainable eating habits by informing about the benefits and nutritional value of these unique products. These products target a health-conscious market, which needs a boost in their local market. By incorporating sustainable practices into their operations, Amarea sets an example for other businesses.

In conclusion, Amarea benefits society by improving the livelihoods of local fishing communities and fostering social cohesion. Their sustainable practices protect marine ecosystems and promote the use of renewable resources. This comprehensive approach contributes to a more sustainable future for everyone and although Amarea has already created crucial impacts, the company is looking forward to making even bigger changes by scaling their production and targeting more parts of the world: “I think the biggest change is yet to come” - Ignacio Cueto.

Interview

Ignacio Cueto, Co-Founder