Seaweed - the salt substitute

Walsall-based SALTernative has joined the battle to cut the costs to the nation of strokes and raised blood pressure with a new salt 'substitute' using Kombu seaweed imported from Taiwan Seas.

Long-standing friends Nitesh Mall and Andrew Vanezis have joined forces to ship thousands of tins of Kombu seaweed a month from the Far East to the UK – and have already signed up 500 UK outlets from health stores to pharmacies, including recent listing in Harrods Pharmacy.

The enterprising duo, backed by Birmingham-based investor Daljit Birdi, now have their sights set on stocking the seaweed in supermarkets to further boost sales to between 10,000 and 15,000 tins a month.

"They are being helped to explore markets by the enterprise department at Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce.

Nitesh, aged 28, from Sutton Coldfield, said: "If everyone were to cut a gram of salt out daily, it could save 6,000 lives a year in the UK. Kombu seaweed contains 92 per cent less sodium than table salt – there is a massive opportunity in commercialising the product for consumers.

"Eliminating salt from Indian cooking, for example, is very hard. But when we tested the seaweed it worked a treat. The thought of seaweed in food may not be appealing to everyone but we wanted to see if it would work in the mass market and so far we have had a positive response."

The two friends opted for Kombu seaweed – found in the seas off Taiwan – after flying out to Far East in May last year to sign an exclusive deal with one of the area's biggest seaweed producers to ship the tins back to the new firm's distribution centre in Preston.

"We feel we are the only ones in the UK market heavily pushing a seaweed-based product as a salt alternative. We are currently pushing up to a figure of 3,000 to 4,000 tins a month and we are looking to reach between 10,000 and 15,000 a month by March."

Andrew said: "The Western market is not used to using seaweed in their diets. But we have just under 500 retailers now and it is distributed via pharmaceutical and health food wholesalers. Last June we did the BBC Good Food Show at the NEC, where our feedback was astounding."

Nitesh and Andrew have also agreed a corporate partnership deal with national charity Blood Pressure UK. "Our partnership collaboratively looks to educate UK consumers on the risks of high blood pressure, and to offer consumers a healthier alternative, where they find it difficult to remove salt in their cooking."

"We are in discussions with other retailers, including supermarkets, grocers and other chains, and from January we will be selling in health food stores across the country," added Nitesh. The tins retail at £3.99 for a 50 gram supply.

Birmingham-based entrepreneur and the new firm's commercial director Daljit Birdi has bolstered the seaweed initiative by ploughing investment into the business while Nitesh and Andrew are aiming to broaden their horizons further with an export drive, with Europe, the US and Russia in their sights. Meanwhile Shailesh Ahya is in charge of pharmacy sales.

But profitability is not the new firm's only goal. As Nitesh says: "One in three adults suffers from high blood pressure and salt is the biggest culprit. If we can create a business that helps the UK population and is a viable business that is a win-win situation. It is a good feeling that you can help people's lives."

SALTernative seaweed can also be purchased from their website www.salternativeseaweed.com