by Evelyn Cullen
CARRIGART woman and innovative entrepreneur, Lorraine Gallagher is making waves at home and beyond with her new business The Seaweed Company, which harnesses the previously untapped potential of seaweed.
Seaweed is one of the fastest growing biomasses in the world, and Lorraine has discovered that it can be used in a variety of new ways to build a more sustainable, scalable, and healthy future for the health, food and agriculture industries around the world.
And Donegal is surrounded by it.
Lorraine acquired an aquaculture licence in 2018 which enabled her to establish the new facility along the Atlantic Drive in Downings, in order to grow and cultivate seaweed.
The farm itself, where they harvest the seaweed is the largest of its kind in Ireland and is situated in the pristine waters of Mulroy Bay near Cranford.
It was important for Lorraine to be able to establish this facility in Mulroy Bay where she grew up, not just because of her roots here but also because it provides the environment needed to achieve her ambitions
“We have such an amazing coastline here in Ireland and we have Class A waters in Mulroy Bay,” Lorraine told the Donegal News.
‘The Seaweed Company’ has been a passion project for Lorraine who says she wants to make an impact on the world by making our planet healthier and more sustainable.
One of the ways they are doing this is with a totally new product called SeaMeat, a unique seaweed based food solution that can be used to make burgers and other meat-based products.
“By adding 25 per cent seaweed to your burger recipe, just like you might add onions, you reduce the carbon footprint massively”, she said
And what does it taste like?
“It’s so tasty,” she said.
“The texture is similar to beef but with added taste, fibre, vitamins and minerals and it reduces your saturated fats. And the Europeans love it,” she added.
Ms Gallagher has an impressive four degrees including one Undergrad in Biochemistry and Nutrition and three Postgraduates across the subjects of Business and Marketing, Global Logistics in Supply Chain Management, and Developing Sustainability for Enterprise which is about business with a sustainability focus. She also worked as a nutritionist for the NHS.
She was a regional finalist in Ireland’s Best Young Entrepreneur and went on to win an accelerator programme with her idea for the seaweed farm among a field of 140 applicants which helped her to secure funding to progress her idea.
With her qualifications and experience, Lorraine was perfectly placed to delve into this innovative sector.
“And my family have always worked in aquaculture, my earliest memories are on the water,” she said.
She has a fantastic core team including one of the most renowned seaweed scientists in the world Stefan Kraan, whose research she utilised in her thesis on the health benefits of seaweed.
Her core team is further made up of a marine biologist from Limerick who has moved up, their Purchasing Operations Officer is from Wales and local man Malcolm McIlwaine from Cranford heads up the farm facility.
WORK-LIFE BALANCE
Lorraine and her team are enjoying the amazing work- life balance in Donegal.
“We have the beaches here and we all just really want to live in Donegal” she said.
Lorraine has exciting plans for the future of the facility in Donegal. The facility currently uses approximately 25 hectares of a potential 350 hectares to expand into.
“We have a great capacity to expand and grow and provide a lot more job opportunities soon.
Having that base in Donegal has enabled them to avail of regional supports like BIM, Enterprise Ireland and Údarás na Gaeltachta.
“We are an Údarás na Gaeltachta client and they were a great support in establishing the seaweed processing facility. BIM have also been a huge support to us along with the Department of Agriculture, Food, and the Marine for securing European Funding.”
Lorraine also did the ‘Start your own Business’ course with the local enterprise office which was a great help to her in starting the business.
The future is exciting and innovative for ‘The Seaweed Company’ in Downings, and we are excited to see them make waves in their sector, in Donegal and indeed around the world.
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