BANGOR, Maine, December 10, 2024 – U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development Maine State Director Rhiannon Hampson announced today that USDA is awarding a Value Added Producer Grant (VAPG) to Cold Current Kelp in York County. The company grows, harvests, processes, and produces value-added products from kelp raised offshore in Kittery. It will match the $24,700 planning grant with another $25,000 and invest the total to develop business and marketing plans and to explore ways to efficiently increase production.
“Maine’s long history of innovation on the sea is not a thing of the past,” said Director Hampson in announcing the grant. “Companies like Cold Current Kelp demonstrate the potential for the Gulf of Maine to provide us with new, sustainable economic opportunities. USDA Rural Development is proud to support entrepreneurs who are raising awareness of the value and abundance of our oceans and stepping up to elevate Maine’s reputation with the creation of high-quality products. Our team celebrates the success of Cold Current Kelp, and the partnerships that help to make it happen.”
Kelp is a nutrient-dense and environmentally friendly aquaculture product that has grown increasingly popular in recent years. Though it is well known as a specialty food and dietary supplement, Cold Current Kelp instead uses its farmed kelp to create luxury skincare products. Krista Rosen and Dr. Inga Potter founded the company in 2021 and manage most aspects of growing and processing the seaweed themselves.
Just a few years in, partnerships and new funding opportunities are helping the company grow. Staff from Island Institute and the Maine Technology Institute encouraged the entrepreneurs to pursue ambitious grant proposals. That encouragement paid off, first with a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Saltonstall-Kennedy grant for farming red seaweeds. They then secured a USDA Small Business Innovation Research grant to develop improvements to their extraction process. Now the VAPG funding will help them develop solid business and marketing plans, work with Maine Manufacturing Extension Partnership on a manufacturing planning and feasibility study, and perhaps eventually add to their product line.
“It’s exciting to be involved in all steps of the process, but very time-consuming, which is why VAPG is important,” says co-founder Rosen. “It will be a huge benefit for us to be able to rely on other Maine-based professionals to help develop our marketing and business plans. It sets us up for bringing our company to the next level. Eventually, we plan to seek investment, and being able to show we have thought about these long-term plans is beneficial.”
Sebastian Belle, Executive Director of the Maine Aquaculture Association, has been following Potter’s and Rosen’s work. "Cold Current Kelp is a great example of how Maine aquaculture entrepreneurs are adding value to the wonderful products we grow in Maine's pristine environment,” he said. “The development of innovative value-added products is critical to the continued growth of the aquaculture sector, and USDA Rural Development programs are vital to those efforts."
Rural Development anticipates announcing more VAPG awards in Maine for this round of funding.
About VAPG:
USDA’s Value-Added Producer Grant (VAPG) program helps agricultural producers expand their businesses and increase their incomes by developing new products and reaching wider markets. Farmers, producer groups, farmer-cooperatives, and others are eligible to apply for this program. For more information contact Ivana Hernandez Clukey, Loan Specialist, Business & Cooperative Services (ivana.hernandezclukey@usda.gov or 207-990-9127).
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