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A few months after the DARK Act passed, which many in the industry called a massive betrayal of organic by the Organic Trade Association, the fallout continues.

As I shared the news on Facebook recently, Dr. Bronner’s, one of the leading and most vocal GMO-labeling advocates in the country, has quit the Organic Trade Association in protest.

For quite a while, I had been hearing all about the Common Ground Country Fair in Unity, Maine and decided to finally make the trip up north last week to see what the enthusiasm was all about.

Needless to say, the event exceeded all of my expectations, and it proved to be a truly special weekend. Not only is it rare that you can go to an event of this size and be able to eat organic food all day (there are no organic meal options at Expo West or Expo East), but you are surrounded by thousands of people who are also deeply committed to this way of life.

In its 40th year, the Common Ground Country Fair is an annual event put on by the Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association (MOFGA) and is a celebration of rural living. There are speakers, seminars, demonstrations, food and craft vendors, and a large farmers market.

Serial entrepreneur Sheryl O’Loughlin has just come out with a phenomenal new book called Killing It: An Entrepreneur’s Guide to Keeping Your Head Without Losing Your Heart, and it should be at the top of the reading list for all founders of organic food companies, regardless of whether you’re in start-up mode or well on your way to generating $100 million in revenues.

Aside from the fact that Sheryl O’Loughlin has some serious street cred in the organic food industry – CEO of Clif Bar, Co-Founder of Plum Organics and now CEO of REBBL – and has plenty of experience to draw upon as an entrepreneur, this book focuses on the most important aspect of building a company that rarely gets discussed – the human element.

Most seaweed snacks look the same on the shelf. Same green packaging, similar marketing claims, same plastic tray you’ll throw away thirty seconds after opening. But what’s actually inside, and what the brand behind it actually stands for, makes more of a difference than most people realize.If you’ve been grabbing whatever seaweed snack is on sale without thinking too hard about it, this guide is for you. Because once you know what separates a genuinely great roasted seaweed snack from one that just looks the part, you can’t unsee it.

The Word “Natural” Means Nothing. Here’s What Does.

Walk down any snack aisle, and you’ll see the word “natural” on half the packages. Here’s the thing: it’s completely unregulated. Any brand can print it on their packaging without meeting a single standard. It costs nothing and means nothing.

The only label that actually means something is the USDA organic seal. That’s a verified certification and not just a marketing decision. It means the seaweed was grown and processed without synthetic pesticides, artificial fertilizers, or chemical additives. It means someone checked.

The majority of seaweed snack brands don’t carry it. So when you find one that does, that’s already a meaningful filter.

Before You Read Anything Else, Read the Ingredient List

A great roasted seaweed snack has a short ingredient list. We’re talking three, maybe four main ingredients: organic seaweed, a light oil, and seasoning. That’s genuinely all you need for something that tastes good with a simple ingredient list.

If the list runs longer than that, if you’re spotting flavor enhancers, preservatives, or ingredients you’d need to Google, ask yourself why. A snack that needs that much help to taste good is telling you something.

This matters even more if you’re buying seaweed snacks for kids. Many parents prefer snacks with simple ingredient lists they can easily recognize.

The Plastic Tray Problem Nobody Talks About

Over 100 million single-use seaweed snack trays are disposed of each year, landing in landfills and potentially the ocean. (According to Nielsen IQ 2025 data)

That small plastic tray inside the bag, the one that holds the seaweed sheets in place and gets thrown away the moment you open it, is a source of unnecessary single-use packaging waste. It serves its purpose for about ten seconds and then exists as waste for decades.

A small number of brands have eliminated it entirely, the leader being Ocean’s Halo. Trayless packaging isn’t complicated or revolutionary. It reflects a different packaging approach focused on reducing single-use plastic in everyday snacking.

If sustainability factors into your buying decisions at all, this is one of the most concrete things you can look for on a seaweed snack package. Either the tray is there or it isn’t.

“Does It Taste Fishy?” The Question Every First-Timer Asks

It doesn’t. Or at least, it shouldn’t.

The best roasted seaweed snacks have a light, savory, umami flavor. The kind of satisfying saltiness that makes you reach back into the bag without really deciding to. The roasting process is what makes the difference: it brings out the natural depth of the seaweed without amplifying any of the oceanic notes that put people off.

If a seaweed snack tastes overwhelmingly of the sea, that’s a product issue, not a category issue. The right brand gets this right, and it’s why kids who’ve never eaten seaweed in their lives will finish a bag and ask for another one.

What to Look for if You’re Buying for Kids

Seaweed snacks are a convenient lunchbox option. Light, mess-free, and crunchy enough to compete with the stuff kids actually want to eat.

Single-serve packaging matters too. Not because kids can’t self-regulate, but because a portion-sized pack travels better, stays fresher, and makes lunchbox packing easier. Ocean’s Halo’s Trayless Seaweed Snack packages are super thin (no plastic tray!), making them an easy addition to any lunchbox!

Flavor matters more than parents sometimes admit. A healthy snack that comes home untouched is just packaging in the bin. Start with simple flavors, sea salt, ginger sesame, and let the crunch do the convincing.

Why the Brand Behind the Snack Matters

There’s a version of this conversation that stays purely nutritional: organic certification and clean label. And that’s a reasonable place to draw the line.

But some brands go further, and it’s worth knowing which ones.

Ocean’s Halo donates at least 1% of its annual revenue to ocean conservation every year, through partnerships with organizations like Conscious Alliance, Whole Foods Market Foundation, City Surf Project, Plastic Pollution Coalition, Ocean Alliance and more. They pioneered trayless seaweed snack packaging at a time when no one else in the category was doing it. Now you can feel guilt-free, no longer having to throw out that big, bulky plastic tray every time you want a seaweed snack, and knowing that 1% of your purchase goes to environmental causes!

So Which Roasted Seaweed Snack Actually Makes the Cut?

Run any seaweed snack on the shelf through the criteria above:

• USDA Organic certified?
• Short, clean ingredient list?
• Trayless packaging?
• Kid/Lunchbox-friendly?
• A brand with environmental commitment?

Ocean’s Halo is one of the few brands that combines these attributes.

USDA Organic across the range. Ingredient simplicity. Packaging that addresses the problem of millions of single-use plastic trays. Flavors that work for adults and kids alike. And a conservation mission that’s been built into the brand from the beginning, not bolted on afterward.

Ocean’s Halo Seaweed Snacks are available at Whole Foods, Walmart, Target, Amazon, and more!

The Bottom Line

The best roasted seaweed snack isn’t the one with the most flavors or the loudest packaging. It’s the one that holds up when you actually look closely: at the label, at the packaging, at what the brand does when nobody’s watching.

Try a bag of Ocean’s Halo Roasted Seaweed Snacks at Walmart.

(This post was written in partnership with Ocean’s Halo.)

While in St. Louis last week attending the National Organic Standards Board meeting, I spent an inordinate amount of time at Seedz Cafe, a plant-based organic restaurant located in Clayton’s DeMun neighborhood.

Founded by a former buyer at Whole Foods Market and built with many reclaimed and recycled materials, Seedz Cafe is dishing out some truly delicious cuisine.

For the second year in a row, Natural Products Expo East returned to Philadelphia, and I enjoyed my time in the city much more than I ever anticipated.

Not only was it great to see all of my friends again in the industry, but I ate incredibly well at two phenomenal restaurants — P.S. & Co. and Vedge.

I also saw some fantastic and innovative products at the show, with a few of them in the condiment category.

Last week in Costa Rica, I visited with some women entrepreneurs who are receiving microloans from the Whole Planet Foundation, a non-profit organization of Whole Foods.

I have written about the Whole Planet Foundation before and the amazing job that it is doing around the world but meeting the loan recipients in-person gave me a much greater appreciation for the impact that this program is having.

Women entrepreneurs from impoverished communities receive loans, starting at a few hundred dollars, to start businesses – baking, sewing, buying animals, running a small store, etc. With a 98% success rate (only 2% of the loans default), this incremental revenue plays an essential role in improving the well-being and welfare of thousands of families.