Buxton-based VitaminSea will receive a $600,000 Small Business Innovation Research grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to further develop SeaKelp+, a kelp-based additive for bread.
The award was announced by U.S. Rep. Chellie Pingree, D-Maine District 1, a member of the House Appropriations Subcommittee for Agriculture, which oversees discretionary spending for the USDA. Pingree wrote a letter of support for VitaminSea's grant application.
VitaminSea received a $100,000 SBIR Phase I grant in 2017 to prove the feasibility of adding kelp to bread and find that the costs would be not be prohibitive to bakeries that sought to use it in their products. The Phase II grant will allow the company to develop a prototype and partner with bakeries to develop their own recipes, and conduct market testing.
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