March 23, 2025 • 19 mins
What if the pot you use to plant in will actually nourish your plants and flowers?
Why are we using plastic for this when it could be a product that provides value to the soil?
Contact Us at Atlantic Packaging Today for Smart Strategies, Sustainable Solutions
Innovative Packaging you can trust for over 75 years!
https://anewearthproject.com/pages/our-story
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/packaging-today-show/id1656906367
Join Us Live Daily on LinkedIn Or YouTube or listen at your leisure on Apple or Spotify
Packaging Today Podcast
https://open.spotify.com/show/6dksVwqEFVDWdggd27fyFF?si=e924995740f94e19
https://www.linkedin.com/in/cory-connors/
I'm here to help you make your packaging more sustainable! Reach out today and I'll get back to you asap.
This podcast is an independent production and the podcast production is an original work of the author. All rights of ownership and reproduction are retained—copyright 2022.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Cory Connors (00:00):
Welcome to Sustainable Packaging
(00:01):
with Cory Connors,
Brodie Vander Dussen (00:03):
and I'm Brodie Vander Dussen
Cory Connors (00:05):
we have an exciting guest today that, Brody
has found, one of the leadersin the sustainability space.
She's an impressive, founderof a company called Ocean Made.
We've got Emily Power.
Welcome to the show.
Emily Power (00:18):
Thank you.
It's so great to behere with both of you.
for having me.
Cory Connors (00:22):
Of
Brodie Vander Dussen (00:22):
course.
we're excited about this one.
I think, I foundyou on LinkedIn.
We love LinkedIn over here, thesustainable packaging podcast.
and I saw, I've been, for thosewho know me or have listened
to the podcast before, I'mobsessed with seaweed packaging.
I think there's so muchto be done with it.
I think we're justwatching innovation.
(00:44):
It's beginning stages andI'm just so excited about it.
So when I saw on LinkedInthat you, had this really cool
new product out, based in aseaweed material, I jumped.
And I was like so excitedto talk to you and
learn a little bit moreabout what you're doing.
And so maybe let me.
Pause there andtake a step back.
(01:05):
My excitement is goingto get ahead of me.
Can you share a little bitabout your background and how
it led to this innovation?
Emily Power (01:14):
Yeah, absolutely.
so my background is actuallyadvertising and sales and has
nothing to do with seaweedor biology or chemistry or
manufacturing, but I, I havebeen a lifelong gardener.
my mom, was a professionalgardener and my grandpa had
a little farm in Michigan.
And so gardening has alwaysbeen like a passion of mine.
(01:35):
And I actually, I started Youknow, my professional experience
thinking I wanted to be amarine biologist, so I had
an internship at the SeattleAquarium when I was in college,
and I quickly learned how muchmath was involved with that,
and it wasn't all, being outon a boat and seeing wildlife.
that was, 10 percent ofthe time, but I really
just fell in love with theocean and everything that
(01:58):
it has and represents.
And the Seattle Aquariumdid such a great job of
inspiring a desire to conserveand regenerate our oceans.
And so that hadalways stuck with me.
I think sales and advertisingwas more meeting my
professional, Skill set, but,I worked at Microsoft for
almost 10 years, and I thinkit was about eight years ago.
(02:21):
I watched a 60 minuteswith Bren Smith on seaweed
farming, and he basicallysaid, if you had 20, 000.
And a boat, you could havea seaweed farm and here all
the reasons that you shouldhave a seaweed farm from a
sustainability perspective,how well it sequesters carbon,
what it can do to help usfight climate change, how it
builds these ecosystems foranimals out in the ocean.
(02:42):
And basically, there are,like, no downsides to
seaweed farming, and youshould have a seaweed farm.
and so that's how thisadventure started.
But, it, it turns out it's alittle bit harder than Bren
shared, and especially herein Washington, we really
don't have a seaweed industry,like many states across the
United States do, and theUnited States actually, I
think, represents less than 0.
(03:03):
2 percent of all of the,commercially harvested
seaweed across the world,and so it's really a budding
industry around here, butI found it Fascinating.
and ever since that 60 minutes,I think I was just really hooked
on the idea of seaweed andtrying to incorporate it in my
life in any way that I could.
I was using it out in mygarden as a fertilizer.
I use it in myskincare and hair care.
(03:24):
and I just like reallyhave always wanted to
support the seaweedindustry in any way I can.
And, I think for a long time,Seaweed was the key and I was
walking around and lookingfor the door to open and how I
could, utilize this to get otherpeople inspired by seaweed.
and then one day theidea for kelp pots just
popped into my head.
Brodie Va (03:42):
Well, that's amazing.
I feel like I've seen arise for sure, not only in
packaging, but then also.
On the shelf, of algaeor kelp or seaweed.
So I think that's amazing.
I had no idea that it'sless than you said, 0.2%.
Emily Power (03:57):
Yeah.
It might be a littlebit more than that now.
I think seaweed really isstarting to catch on in the
United States, but it's, Idefinitely think it's under
1% still of all of the wow.
Harvested seaweed in the world.
Cory Connors (04:07):
Lots of potential.
Sounds like Absolutely.
We've had several other seaweedbased packaging companies on
the podcast and Brody's right.
This is seems to be ahuge part of a sustainable
packaging future.
we would like, first ofall, you're from Seattle.
I didn't know that fellowNorthwestern or I knew
I'd like to immediately.
(04:28):
I'm from Portland.
Will you be at the sustainablepackaging coalition
event there in Seattle?
Emily Power (04:36):
no, we actually have something
else going on, but ifthings change, I will come.
I have another,previous engagement.
Cory Connors (04:44):
Oh, well, let's talk about this,
company that you've started.
What kind of challenges, did youface when you were beginning the
process and where are you at nowin the process of development?
Emily Power (04:57):
Yeah, let's see that the challenges I
faced probably in developinga biodegradable gardening
pot that's made from seaweedand other fibers is the
fact that I didn't knowhow to do any of that.
so I would say that's thebiggest challenge that I ran
into and it was really about,Finding the answers to things
and doing a lot of researchand making sure, hey, when
I thought of this idea, itclicked in my head and seemed
(05:19):
It should have already existed.
And so I spent a lot of timefiguring out if it did exist.
And if I was infringing onanybody's innovations, and
It seemed like it wasn't.
And I spent a ton of timejust networking and cold
calling my way to resourcesthat might be able to help me.
And it's such a niche thingthat I'm looking into that
it was really difficultto find those answers.
so I would say that wasdefinitely a big challenge that.
(05:42):
required a big timeinvestment before being
able to, move forward.
and then when we finallydid find the right people
and got the right answers, Iwould say the other challenge
is really that seaweedis amazing, but it's also
extremely potent in its rawform and really expensive
to use the raw material,especially as a dried form.
So finding the right formand formula to make this
(06:05):
work where we could have theright materials to create the
structural integrity in areasthat seaweed wasn't capable of
doing that while still retainingthe bioactive properties
and the binding agents thatseaweed has, to combine those
things together to create thisgardening pot that I have,
and I'm holding 1 of these upas a sample of 1 of our early
(06:25):
prototypes, And I would say,so in terms of where we are,
in the process right now, wehave, created our prototypes.
We then moved into MVPsthat we then tested.
And those early tests andexperiments, absolutely
exceeded all of my expectations.
And so we actuallyhave come to market.
With our MVP product, andright now we just, we just
(06:47):
held our presale kind of as atraction point to get a sense
of, is this a product thatpeople even want before we
move into mass manufacturingor investing hundreds of
thousands of dollars intoreally intense R& D and testing
all of these different thingsthat we want to look into?
Do people even want it?
And so we held our presalein January and we sold out of
(07:08):
all of our presale inventoryin less than two weeks.
Wow.
So it was a successful, testand trial and now we are
moving full steam ahead intodeveloping different versions
of this, getting feedback fromcustomers on how it works and
how we can improve it, andexploring commercial uses.
And I don't know, it just feelsif the MVP was the floor, I
(07:29):
don't even see the ceiling.
Cory Connors (07:32):
what does that mean?
MVP?
Emily Power (07:34):
you are most, minimum viable product.
Cory Connors (07:37):
Oh, okay.
Okay.
Not most valuable player.
Emily Power (07:40):
Sorry.
Yeah.
No, Cause that didn'tmake sense to me.
Turns out for me, they turnedto be, they're one in the same.
Cory Connors (07:46):
That's great.
Well, congratulationson a successful launch.
Well done.
Brodie Vander Dussen (07:50):
Thank you.
It was really exciting.
that's amazing.
I think, it's alwaysscary to put that pilot
out, but, exciting to seethe feedback from that.
right now, talk to me alittle bit about what you,
what the current product is,what are the use cases, what
is, you said a gardening pot.
Is that all that it can do?
packaging is, comes inmany shapes, forms, sizes,
(08:12):
colors, Tell me a little bitmore about this kelp pot.
Emily Power (08:15):
so the kelp pot is a plantable and biodegradable
seed starter specificallydesigned for gardeners who are
starting a plant from a seed ora propagation that needs some
protection and some, some earlynutrients to make sure that the
roots can establish themselvesand the plant can thrive.
And the purpose of thisis really designed to
(08:35):
be transplanted outsideinto your garden bed.
So that the roots can growthrough the container wall, it
reduces the transplant shockthat your plant typically
experiences when it'sbeing transplanted outside.
And as it breaks down, itcontinues to release our formula
of seaweed nutrients to helpimprove the soil quality and
increase the plant survivabilityrate and increase the yield
(08:59):
of the fruit or the flowerthat comes off of the plant.
The plan, and this is thespecific use case right now.
And I totally recognizepackaging comes in
all shapes and sizes.
And the thing that I'mmost excited about.
For this, I've listened andwatched your podcast before and
you've so many great innovatorsthat come on that are selling
packaging to companies who thenpackage their product in that.
(09:21):
But this is also a retailproduct that people can
go and go to our websiteand buy right now.
It's a package for your plantsand, I feel like there are so
many opportunities for where wecould go with seaweed packaging,
but I'm most excited about thebioactive component of this,
where it has a double use.
Yes, it's a cribfor your plants.
(09:42):
if we take an analogy ofhumans, you start off in a
crib, you're really protected,but like people, plants all
have our own different needs.
And so for humans, we tryand give our children the
most successful head startin life by providing them.
all of the optimal things thatthey need, and I believe that
we should be doing that forplants as well, and I just
happen to believe that seaweedis the answer to do that.
Cory Connors (10:04):
Yeah, it gives a whole new
meaning to cradle, right?
This is really great.
Yeah,
Emily Power (10:08):
absolutely.
We talk about fromseabed to seedbed.
Cory Connors (10:11):
My wife grew up on a farm in Oregon.
And so we like to grow ourown fruits and vegetables
here in, in Oregon.
And, I think we'll definitelybe a customer of yours.
I would like to talk a littlebit about, how this compares
as a life cycle analysisto the plastic version.
(10:32):
we've all seen thoseblack pots that starters
and small plants come in.
have you done someanalysis of that?
I'm assuming it's adramatic improvement.
Emily Power (10:42):
In terms of the life cycle, I would say, well,
first, this is designed tobreak down really quickly,
whereas plastic pots aren't.
And, I would say that was the,really the inspiration for
kelp pots was sitting out inthe garden and transplanting
some of my plants andrealizing I'm doing that from
a plastic container and I'musing a tool that is plastic.
Plastic and metal, and thebag that the soil came in is
(11:05):
plastic, and the label that I'musing to tell you what kind of
plant it is made from plastic,and, that was really frustrating
to know that, like, all of thesethings were going to live for a
really long time, and everythingelse is designed to break down
in a growing cycle, right?
and in terms of alife cycle, this does
disappear really quickly.
(11:26):
In fact, I, in the earlyexperiments that we did in our
garden, I was really excitedto see that they broke down
within less than two months ofplanting them in the ground.
Granted, I think it's importantto note that every soil
structure is different based offof the environment that you're
in or the zone that you're in.
And so the period of time thatit will take to break down in
your soil depends on the pHlevel, the zone that you're in,
(11:49):
the temperature, those kindsof things, the time of year.
All of that.
but I will say in our earlytests, we also compared
it against compostableor biodegradable or other
plantable, gardening potsagainst peat moss and cocoa
choir and, like recycledpaper, some of the DIY things
that people would make andit absolutely held up longer
(12:09):
than the paper versions ofthings from a structural
integrity standpoint whenyou know, you're first
putting your seeds in there.
but it also broke down so muchfaster than cocoa choir or
peat moss, which is really whatyou want, because if you're
planting this in the ground,you don't want your roots
to be stuck and strangled.
Or prohibited by that container.
What you want is for yourroots to be able to spread
(12:31):
far, wide, and deep toestablish growth really well.
And our pot is designed toreally help plants do that.
Cory Connors (12:39):
That's great.
My understanding is most ofthe black plastic versions
of these don't get recycled.
is that yourunderstanding as well?
Emily Power (12:47):
Absolutely.
Many of them can't be recycled,and even the ones that can
be recycled often aren't.
I'm sure you've talked to quitea few people on here about
the limitations of recycling.
Even when you do all the bestthings that you can possibly
do as a consumer, and you'reseparating your recycling,
less than 7 percent of thatgets recycled regardless.
(13:08):
So it is great knowing thatfor every One of these pots
that's purchased, we arediverting a plastic pot from
going into a landfill and we'realso supporting the seaweed
industry at the same time.
So it has that double impactof, sequestering carbon,
capturing that carbon andsinking that carbon back into
the ground, but then also notleveraging Any plastic that
(13:30):
has to go into a waste stream.
And I would also say againstpeat pots, I have, I've used
them in the past and I'm justnot a fan, especially when you
think about the environmental orecological impacts that it has
when you're harvesting peat fromour peat lands and disturbing
that really pulls a lot ofcarbon into our atmosphere.
And yeah, I'm just reallyexcited about how sustainable
(13:53):
this product really is.
And, From an environmentalstandpoint and from a
performance standpoint,because I recognize that
if we're going to be able,if we're going to replace
plastic, it has to be perfect.
And a lot of the biopodsthat I've used in the past
didn't even come close tocompeting with plastic.
And so I recognize there'sstill a far road to go to make
(14:14):
something fully comparableto plastic, but that's the
ultimate goal is to replaceall plastic and gardening with
something like a kelp pot.
Brodie Vand (14:21):
I think, especially because if gardening is.
of the earth were,regenerative in so many ways.
I think a lot of the plastics,even the bioplastics that
I've seen, a lot don't reallycontribute to that regenerative.
and I think that's the goal,right, is like to be more
sustainable, do less harm,do more good, but it needs
(14:45):
to be part of that circular,fits it all together, and I
think, this is a really greatsolution that, that encompasses
a lot of that, and I reallyfeel like regenerative is
something that you couldattribute to this product.
I'm curious, what'snext for Ocean Maid?
this is a, it sounds likeyou guys had a really
successful pilot in January.
(15:05):
what comes after this?
Is there any plans tobranch into more than
just gardening pots or anysort of other packaging?
Because my wheels are turningof opportunities here.
Emily Power (15:16):
Yeah, absolutely.
there are definitelypossibilities of expanding
beyond gardening.
And in fact, we still need tocome up with some packaging
solutions for our own product.
But right now, I think thething that really excites me
is this bioactive componentthat we can leverage and
integrate into the packaging.
And, in terms of what'snext for us, it's developing
(15:37):
more sizes, more formulasfor more applications.
We're really looking to scale tocommercial uses and applications
where we can tailor specific,specific formulas to solve
unique growing challenges.
For example, we're lookingat cannabis cultivation.
How can we, adjust the potformula to increase the yield
of that flower or reforestation?
(16:00):
For example, growing up inthe Pacific Northwest, it's
a big logging area, and wedefinitely don't replace
all of the trees that we cutdown on a one to one basis.
And for all of the trees thatwe do transplant or replant,
those don't have 100 percentsurvivability rate, you don't
have somebody that can sitthere and monitor them and
(16:20):
make sure that they're, gettingwatered evenly or being able
to survive the cold weather.
And so being able todevelop a formula that could
increase the survivabilityrate of trees or plants
in drought stricken areas.
Leveraging the alginatein seaweed and all of the
nutrients that it does haveand tailoring it specifically
to different crops to reallyhelp more people around the
(16:43):
world grow more successfully,and more confidently.
Brodie Vander Duss (16:47):
I love that.
A big goal, but I think weneed more people aiming for
that in order to get there.
Emily Power (16:53):
Yeah, absolutely.
I think everyone shouldknow how to grow things.
and it's such a rewardingexperience and it also
just gives me a lot ofsecurity in knowing that
I can grow my own food.
But as we run out of landspace, it's really difficult
for everybody to have thecapability to do that.
And so being able to leveragekelp pots in a small garden bed
(17:14):
and potentially have a pot that.
Is designed for your tomatoesversus your peas and be able
to maximize the yield and spacethat you do have in a limited
capacity or be able to helpregenerative farmers overturn
their crops and replenish thenutrients in that soil faster.
I'm really excited about thepossibilities of where kelp
pots and ocean made can go.
That's
Brodie Vander Dussen (17:34):
awesome.
I'm very
Cory Connors (17:34):
excited.
Yeah.
Brodie Vander Dussen (17:36):
So how do people get in contact with you?
How do people, you said,order on your site, what's,
if I'm a gardener, what amI, how do I get started?
Emily Power (17:45):
Well, you can visit our website at www.
oceanmaid.
co. Or we also have thedomain name kelppots.
com.
So you can visit either one ofthose places to check out more
about OceanMaid and Kelp Pots.
Or you can also alwaysreach out to me on LinkedIn.
Like you guys mentioned in thebeginning, it is such a valuable
tool and resource and I havemade so many connections in the
(18:09):
sustainable packaging industryas well as, the seaweed industry
and gardening industry there.
So I, I love connecting.
With gardeners and seaweednerds and people who
are really focused on,creating a greener planet.
So feel free to reach outto me about anything there.
That's great.
Cory Connors (18:26):
Thank you so much, Emily.
It's been great to have you on.
Congratulations on yourearly success and we wish you
all the best in the future.
Emily Power (18:32):
Thank you both so much.
It's such a pleasure to be here.
Welcome to Sustainable Packaging
(00:01):
with Cory Connors,
Brodie Vander Dussen (00:03):
and I'm Brodie Vander Dussen
Cory Connors (00:05):
we have an exciting guest today that, Brody
has found, one of the leadersin the sustainability space.
She's an impressive, founderof a company called Ocean Made.
We've got Emily Power.
Welcome to the show.
Emily Power (00:18):
Thank you.
It's so great to behere with both of you.
for having me.
Cory Connors (00:22):
Of
Brodie Vander Dussen (00:22):
course.
we're excited about this one.
I think, I foundyou on LinkedIn.
We love LinkedIn over here, thesustainable packaging podcast.
and I saw, I've been, for thosewho know me or have listened
to the podcast before, I'mobsessed with seaweed packaging.
I think there's so muchto be done with it.
I think we're justwatching innovation.
(00:44):
It's beginning stages andI'm just so excited about it.
So when I saw on LinkedInthat you, had this really cool
new product out, based in aseaweed material, I jumped.
And I was like so excitedto talk to you and
learn a little bit moreabout what you're doing.
And so maybe let me.
Pause there andtake a step back.
(01:05):
My excitement is goingto get ahead of me.
Can you share a little bitabout your background and how
it led to this innovation?
Emily Power (01:14):
Yeah, absolutely.
so my background is actuallyadvertising and sales and has
nothing to do with seaweedor biology or chemistry or
manufacturing, but I, I havebeen a lifelong gardener.
my mom, was a professionalgardener and my grandpa had
a little farm in Michigan.
And so gardening has alwaysbeen like a passion of mine.
(01:35):
And I actually, I started Youknow, my professional experience
thinking I wanted to be amarine biologist, so I had
an internship at the SeattleAquarium when I was in college,
and I quickly learned how muchmath was involved with that,
and it wasn't all, being outon a boat and seeing wildlife.
that was, 10 percent ofthe time, but I really
just fell in love with theocean and everything that
(01:58):
it has and represents.
And the Seattle Aquariumdid such a great job of
inspiring a desire to conserveand regenerate our oceans.
And so that hadalways stuck with me.
I think sales and advertisingwas more meeting my
professional, Skill set, but,I worked at Microsoft for
almost 10 years, and I thinkit was about eight years ago.
(02:21):
I watched a 60 minuteswith Bren Smith on seaweed
farming, and he basicallysaid, if you had 20, 000.
And a boat, you could havea seaweed farm and here all
the reasons that you shouldhave a seaweed farm from a
sustainability perspective,how well it sequesters carbon,
what it can do to help usfight climate change, how it
builds these ecosystems foranimals out in the ocean.
(02:42):
And basically, there are,like, no downsides to
seaweed farming, and youshould have a seaweed farm.
and so that's how thisadventure started.
But, it, it turns out it's alittle bit harder than Bren
shared, and especially herein Washington, we really
don't have a seaweed industry,like many states across the
United States do, and theUnited States actually, I
think, represents less than 0.
(03:03):
2 percent of all of the,commercially harvested
seaweed across the world,and so it's really a budding
industry around here, butI found it Fascinating.
and ever since that 60 minutes,I think I was just really hooked
on the idea of seaweed andtrying to incorporate it in my
life in any way that I could.
I was using it out in mygarden as a fertilizer.
I use it in myskincare and hair care.
(03:24):
and I just like reallyhave always wanted to
support the seaweedindustry in any way I can.
And, I think for a long time,Seaweed was the key and I was
walking around and lookingfor the door to open and how I
could, utilize this to get otherpeople inspired by seaweed.
and then one day theidea for kelp pots just
popped into my head.
Brodie Va (03:42):
Well, that's amazing.
I feel like I've seen arise for sure, not only in
packaging, but then also.
On the shelf, of algaeor kelp or seaweed.
So I think that's amazing.
I had no idea that it'sless than you said, 0.2%.
Emily Power (03:57):
Yeah.
It might be a littlebit more than that now.
I think seaweed really isstarting to catch on in the
United States, but it's, Idefinitely think it's under
1% still of all of the wow.
Harvested seaweed in the world.
Cory Connors (04:07):
Lots of potential.
Sounds like Absolutely.
We've had several other seaweedbased packaging companies on
the podcast and Brody's right.
This is seems to be ahuge part of a sustainable
packaging future.
we would like, first ofall, you're from Seattle.
I didn't know that fellowNorthwestern or I knew
I'd like to immediately.
(04:28):
I'm from Portland.
Will you be at the sustainablepackaging coalition
event there in Seattle?
Emily Power (04:36):
no, we actually have something
else going on, but ifthings change, I will come.
I have another,previous engagement.
Cory Connors (04:44):
Oh, well, let's talk about this,
company that you've started.
What kind of challenges, did youface when you were beginning the
process and where are you at nowin the process of development?
Emily Power (04:57):
Yeah, let's see that the challenges I
faced probably in developinga biodegradable gardening
pot that's made from seaweedand other fibers is the
fact that I didn't knowhow to do any of that.
so I would say that's thebiggest challenge that I ran
into and it was really about,Finding the answers to things
and doing a lot of researchand making sure, hey, when
I thought of this idea, itclicked in my head and seemed
(05:19):
It should have already existed.
And so I spent a lot of timefiguring out if it did exist.
And if I was infringing onanybody's innovations, and
It seemed like it wasn't.
And I spent a ton of timejust networking and cold
calling my way to resourcesthat might be able to help me.
And it's such a niche thingthat I'm looking into that
it was really difficultto find those answers.
so I would say that wasdefinitely a big challenge that.
(05:42):
required a big timeinvestment before being
able to, move forward.
and then when we finallydid find the right people
and got the right answers, Iwould say the other challenge
is really that seaweedis amazing, but it's also
extremely potent in its rawform and really expensive
to use the raw material,especially as a dried form.
So finding the right formand formula to make this
(06:05):
work where we could have theright materials to create the
structural integrity in areasthat seaweed wasn't capable of
doing that while still retainingthe bioactive properties
and the binding agents thatseaweed has, to combine those
things together to create thisgardening pot that I have,
and I'm holding 1 of these upas a sample of 1 of our early
(06:25):
prototypes, And I would say,so in terms of where we are,
in the process right now, wehave, created our prototypes.
We then moved into MVPsthat we then tested.
And those early tests andexperiments, absolutely
exceeded all of my expectations.
And so we actuallyhave come to market.
With our MVP product, andright now we just, we just
(06:47):
held our presale kind of as atraction point to get a sense
of, is this a product thatpeople even want before we
move into mass manufacturingor investing hundreds of
thousands of dollars intoreally intense R& D and testing
all of these different thingsthat we want to look into?
Do people even want it?
And so we held our presalein January and we sold out of
(07:08):
all of our presale inventoryin less than two weeks.
Wow.
So it was a successful, testand trial and now we are
moving full steam ahead intodeveloping different versions
of this, getting feedback fromcustomers on how it works and
how we can improve it, andexploring commercial uses.
And I don't know, it just feelsif the MVP was the floor, I
(07:29):
don't even see the ceiling.
Cory Connors (07:32):
what does that mean?
MVP?
Emily Power (07:34):
you are most, minimum viable product.
Cory Connors (07:37):
Oh, okay.
Okay.
Not most valuable player.
Emily Power (07:40):
Sorry.
Yeah.
No, Cause that didn'tmake sense to me.
Turns out for me, they turnedto be, they're one in the same.
Cory Connors (07:46):
That's great.
Well, congratulationson a successful launch.
Well done.
Brodie Vander Dussen (07:50):
Thank you.
It was really exciting.
that's amazing.
I think, it's alwaysscary to put that pilot
out, but, exciting to seethe feedback from that.
right now, talk to me alittle bit about what you,
what the current product is,what are the use cases, what
is, you said a gardening pot.
Is that all that it can do?
packaging is, comes inmany shapes, forms, sizes,
(08:12):
colors, Tell me a little bitmore about this kelp pot.
Emily Power (08:15):
so the kelp pot is a plantable and biodegradable
seed starter specificallydesigned for gardeners who are
starting a plant from a seed ora propagation that needs some
protection and some, some earlynutrients to make sure that the
roots can establish themselvesand the plant can thrive.
And the purpose of thisis really designed to
(08:35):
be transplanted outsideinto your garden bed.
So that the roots can growthrough the container wall, it
reduces the transplant shockthat your plant typically
experiences when it'sbeing transplanted outside.
And as it breaks down, itcontinues to release our formula
of seaweed nutrients to helpimprove the soil quality and
increase the plant survivabilityrate and increase the yield
(08:59):
of the fruit or the flowerthat comes off of the plant.
The plan, and this is thespecific use case right now.
And I totally recognizepackaging comes in
all shapes and sizes.
And the thing that I'mmost excited about.
For this, I've listened andwatched your podcast before and
you've so many great innovatorsthat come on that are selling
packaging to companies who thenpackage their product in that.
(09:21):
But this is also a retailproduct that people can
go and go to our websiteand buy right now.
It's a package for your plantsand, I feel like there are so
many opportunities for where wecould go with seaweed packaging,
but I'm most excited about thebioactive component of this,
where it has a double use.
Yes, it's a cribfor your plants.
(09:42):
if we take an analogy ofhumans, you start off in a
crib, you're really protected,but like people, plants all
have our own different needs.
And so for humans, we tryand give our children the
most successful head startin life by providing them.
all of the optimal things thatthey need, and I believe that
we should be doing that forplants as well, and I just
happen to believe that seaweedis the answer to do that.
Cory Connors (10:04):
Yeah, it gives a whole new
meaning to cradle, right?
This is really great.
Yeah,
Emily Power (10:08):
absolutely.
We talk about fromseabed to seedbed.
Cory Connors (10:11):
My wife grew up on a farm in Oregon.
And so we like to grow ourown fruits and vegetables
here in, in Oregon.
And, I think we'll definitelybe a customer of yours.
I would like to talk a littlebit about, how this compares
as a life cycle analysisto the plastic version.
(10:32):
we've all seen thoseblack pots that starters
and small plants come in.
have you done someanalysis of that?
I'm assuming it's adramatic improvement.
Emily Power (10:42):
In terms of the life cycle, I would say, well,
first, this is designed tobreak down really quickly,
whereas plastic pots aren't.
And, I would say that was the,really the inspiration for
kelp pots was sitting out inthe garden and transplanting
some of my plants andrealizing I'm doing that from
a plastic container and I'musing a tool that is plastic.
Plastic and metal, and thebag that the soil came in is
(11:05):
plastic, and the label that I'musing to tell you what kind of
plant it is made from plastic,and, that was really frustrating
to know that, like, all of thesethings were going to live for a
really long time, and everythingelse is designed to break down
in a growing cycle, right?
and in terms of alife cycle, this does
disappear really quickly.
(11:26):
In fact, I, in the earlyexperiments that we did in our
garden, I was really excitedto see that they broke down
within less than two months ofplanting them in the ground.
Granted, I think it's importantto note that every soil
structure is different based offof the environment that you're
in or the zone that you're in.
And so the period of time thatit will take to break down in
your soil depends on the pHlevel, the zone that you're in,
(11:49):
the temperature, those kindsof things, the time of year.
All of that.
but I will say in our earlytests, we also compared
it against compostableor biodegradable or other
plantable, gardening potsagainst peat moss and cocoa
choir and, like recycledpaper, some of the DIY things
that people would make andit absolutely held up longer
(12:09):
than the paper versions ofthings from a structural
integrity standpoint whenyou know, you're first
putting your seeds in there.
but it also broke down so muchfaster than cocoa choir or
peat moss, which is really whatyou want, because if you're
planting this in the ground,you don't want your roots
to be stuck and strangled.
Or prohibited by that container.
What you want is for yourroots to be able to spread
(12:31):
far, wide, and deep toestablish growth really well.
And our pot is designed toreally help plants do that.
Cory Connors (12:39):
That's great.
My understanding is most ofthe black plastic versions
of these don't get recycled.
is that yourunderstanding as well?
Emily Power (12:47):
Absolutely.
Many of them can't be recycled,and even the ones that can
be recycled often aren't.
I'm sure you've talked to quitea few people on here about
the limitations of recycling.
Even when you do all the bestthings that you can possibly
do as a consumer, and you'reseparating your recycling,
less than 7 percent of thatgets recycled regardless.
(13:08):
So it is great knowing thatfor every One of these pots
that's purchased, we arediverting a plastic pot from
going into a landfill and we'realso supporting the seaweed
industry at the same time.
So it has that double impactof, sequestering carbon,
capturing that carbon andsinking that carbon back into
the ground, but then also notleveraging Any plastic that
(13:30):
has to go into a waste stream.
And I would also say againstpeat pots, I have, I've used
them in the past and I'm justnot a fan, especially when you
think about the environmental orecological impacts that it has
when you're harvesting peat fromour peat lands and disturbing
that really pulls a lot ofcarbon into our atmosphere.
And yeah, I'm just reallyexcited about how sustainable
(13:53):
this product really is.
And, From an environmentalstandpoint and from a
performance standpoint,because I recognize that
if we're going to be able,if we're going to replace
plastic, it has to be perfect.
And a lot of the biopodsthat I've used in the past
didn't even come close tocompeting with plastic.
And so I recognize there'sstill a far road to go to make
(14:14):
something fully comparableto plastic, but that's the
ultimate goal is to replaceall plastic and gardening with
something like a kelp pot.
Brodie Vand (14:21):
I think, especially because if gardening is.
of the earth were,regenerative in so many ways.
I think a lot of the plastics,even the bioplastics that
I've seen, a lot don't reallycontribute to that regenerative.
and I think that's the goal,right, is like to be more
sustainable, do less harm,do more good, but it needs
(14:45):
to be part of that circular,fits it all together, and I
think, this is a really greatsolution that, that encompasses
a lot of that, and I reallyfeel like regenerative is
something that you couldattribute to this product.
I'm curious, what'snext for Ocean Maid?
this is a, it sounds likeyou guys had a really
successful pilot in January.
(15:05):
what comes after this?
Is there any plans tobranch into more than
just gardening pots or anysort of other packaging?
Because my wheels are turningof opportunities here.
Emily Power (15:16):
Yeah, absolutely.
there are definitelypossibilities of expanding
beyond gardening.
And in fact, we still need tocome up with some packaging
solutions for our own product.
But right now, I think thething that really excites me
is this bioactive componentthat we can leverage and
integrate into the packaging.
And, in terms of what'snext for us, it's developing
(15:37):
more sizes, more formulasfor more applications.
We're really looking to scale tocommercial uses and applications
where we can tailor specific,specific formulas to solve
unique growing challenges.
For example, we're lookingat cannabis cultivation.
How can we, adjust the potformula to increase the yield
of that flower or reforestation?
(16:00):
For example, growing up inthe Pacific Northwest, it's
a big logging area, and wedefinitely don't replace
all of the trees that we cutdown on a one to one basis.
And for all of the trees thatwe do transplant or replant,
those don't have 100 percentsurvivability rate, you don't
have somebody that can sitthere and monitor them and
(16:20):
make sure that they're, gettingwatered evenly or being able
to survive the cold weather.
And so being able todevelop a formula that could
increase the survivabilityrate of trees or plants
in drought stricken areas.
Leveraging the alginatein seaweed and all of the
nutrients that it does haveand tailoring it specifically
to different crops to reallyhelp more people around the
(16:43):
world grow more successfully,and more confidently.
Brodie Vander Duss (16:47):
I love that.
A big goal, but I think weneed more people aiming for
that in order to get there.
Emily Power (16:53):
Yeah, absolutely.
I think everyone shouldknow how to grow things.
and it's such a rewardingexperience and it also
just gives me a lot ofsecurity in knowing that
I can grow my own food.
But as we run out of landspace, it's really difficult
for everybody to have thecapability to do that.
And so being able to leveragekelp pots in a small garden bed
(17:14):
and potentially have a pot that.
Is designed for your tomatoesversus your peas and be able
to maximize the yield and spacethat you do have in a limited
capacity or be able to helpregenerative farmers overturn
their crops and replenish thenutrients in that soil faster.
I'm really excited about thepossibilities of where kelp
pots and ocean made can go.
That's
Brodie Vander Dussen (17:34):
awesome.
I'm very
Cory Connors (17:34):
excited.
Yeah.
Brodie Vander Dussen (17:36):
So how do people get in contact with you?
How do people, you said,order on your site, what's,
if I'm a gardener, what amI, how do I get started?
Emily Power (17:45):
Well, you can visit our website at www.
oceanmaid.
co. Or we also have thedomain name kelppots.
com.
So you can visit either one ofthose places to check out more
about OceanMaid and Kelp Pots.
Or you can also alwaysreach out to me on LinkedIn.
Like you guys mentioned in thebeginning, it is such a valuable
tool and resource and I havemade so many connections in the
(18:09):
sustainable packaging industryas well as, the seaweed industry
and gardening industry there.
So I, I love connecting.
With gardeners and seaweednerds and people who
are really focused on,creating a greener planet.
So feel free to reach outto me about anything there.
That's great.
Cory Connors (18:26):
Thank you so much, Emily.
It's been great to have you on.
Congratulations on yourearly success and we wish you
all the best in the future.
Emily Power (18:32):
Thank you both so much.
It's such a pleasure to be here.
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
24/7 News: The Latest
The latest news in 4 minutes updated every hour, every day.
Crime Junkie
Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by audiochuck Media Company.