Mara Seaweed, a UK supplier of seaweed-based seasonings, has entered administration.
Restructuring firm FRP Advisory said the company, based in Glenrothes in Scotland, suffered after funds earmarked for expansion were withdrawn.
“The administration was triggered by severe working capital issues following the withdrawal of funding for a committed expansion programme, in turn leading to unsustainable cash flow problems with administration being the only option,” FRP Advisory said in a statement.
Set up 12 years ago as Celtic Sea Spice Company, the business rebranded as Mara Seaweed in 2013. It supplied the wholesale and retail channels, as well as selling directly to consumers.
The administrators said they would look for buyers for “the brand and assets of the business”. Five staff are being retained for a short period to assist with the sale of stock but seven have been made redundant with immediate effect.
“Mara Seaweed had developed a very high profile and outstanding reputation within the food industry for its innovative approach to harvesting and for the quality of its products,“ Callum Carmichael, a partner with FRP Advisory, said.
Last week, UK meat-free business VFC Foods snapped up fellow alt-meat brand The Meatless Farm out of administration.
In May,
Tillery Valley Foods, a UK foodservice supplier, confirmed it had entered administration.
The food company, owned by UK company Joubere Food Group, closed its site in Abertillery in south Wales. Around 250 staff worked at the facility.
A month earlier, Scottish breadmaker Waas Bakery went into administration, partly as a result of “ongoing cost pressures”, administrator Interpath Advisory said.
