Woman-led seaweed startup could boost crop yields and support smallholder farmers

As climate stresses threaten food systems and agricultural economies, researchers are exploring innovative methods for strengthening crop yields. One woman's goal to bolster struggling Indonesian farmers and coastal communities with sustainable solutions brought her to an ocean-based solution: seaweed. 

"I didn't start from a technology idea — I started from a mismatch in the system," AquaBloom Founder and Chief Executive Officer Michelle Arsjad told CG via WhatsApp. 

"In Indonesia, seaweed farmers are some of the lowest-income producers, while crop farmers are under increasing pressure from climate stress and declining productivity. Meanwhile, there was already research showing that tropical seaweed contains bioactive compounds that help plants cope with stress. So we asked a simple question: What if we could connect these two parts of the system?"

AquaBloom uses seaweed as a biostimulant, supporting both land-based farmers and coastal seaweed producers. The company first tested the product on crops like tomatoes, with strong early results: Plants were both more resilient and fruitful.

"What seaweed does, fundamentally, is strengthen the plant’s internal response to stress," Arsjad said. "It makes the plant more efficient at using what it already has, especially under increasingly unpredictable climate conditions."

AquaBloom's product may be set to support the production of healthier, more resilient crops while giving local seaweed producers more bargaining power in the commodity market.

Seaweed farming is an important source of livelihood and food security in Southeast Asia, with Indonesia being the world's second-largest producer, after China. Seaweed has become a part of numerous consumer goods, including food products, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, biopackaging, fertilizers, and animal feed. Its cultivation is also observed as relatively low-impact, with the potential to support biodiversity, marine health, and some amount of carbon sequestration.

Meanwhile, it's the results that farmers can see in their own fields that seem to interest them in using a product or trying a new method, Arsjad says. "Climate change is not abstract for them — they are already dealing with it every day. The question is whether a solution works in practice."

In October 2025, AgTechNavigator reported that AquaBloom was aiming "to reach profitability within the next 18 months." CG checked in with Arsjad about the company's path toward profitability. She said that demand is growing, and now the organization must address questions of scale in a sector where time and capital are required "to build production capacity and achieve efficient unit economics." The company is currently raising more capital to these ends.

"So while we remain optimistic about the timeline, our focus is on building a company that is structurally sound — not just fast-growing," she told CG.

As a woman entrepreneur, Arsjad has experienced biases while building her business in often male-dominated spaces. 

"I am still often the only woman in the room. There are networks I am not naturally part of. I cannot, for example, join the men for Friday prayers or easily hang out with the other farmers on a terrace. And yes, just a month ago, someone told me again to give me advice to 'lower your voice.'" 

Yet Arsjad has come to see her outsider position as an asset as well. "Being one of the few women in the space means people remember me. It creates a different kind of visibility. And it allows us to show up in a way that feels more authentic, rather than trying to fit into an existing mold," she said, concluding that there's room to redefine what leadership can look like in the sector. 

Participating in the U.N. Women Care and Climate Entrepreneurship Accelerator helped Arsjad design systems and communications that welcomed women farmers and scientists into the company's processes. As of October, AquaBloom worked with around 300 seaweed farmers, about half of whom were women, AgTechNaviator reported.

"What we've found is that when a solution is simple, low-risk, and shows visible results quickly, it becomes more accessible — including to women farmers who may not control large budgets or land," Arsjad told CG. 

"Because our products are easy to apply and don't require major changes to existing practices, they can be adopted without needing permission to overhaul the system. There is also a strong multiplier effect. When women farmers see results, they tend to share knowledge within their communities more actively. So while we don't position AquaBloom as a 'gender product,' we do see it as a practical tool that can help make access to productivity gains more equitable."

According to U.N. Women, as of February, AquaBloom had "tested its products across 27 crops, delivering 20-30% yield improvements and more than a 10-times return on investment for farmers within a single growing cycle." 

In a 2023 report, the World Bank projected that the seaweed-based biostimulants market could reach $1.8 billion by 2030. As the seaweed industry further expands and diversifies, Arsjad's model could offer a blueprint for agricultural resilience, healthier ecosystems, and sustainable livelihoods for communities on the frontlines of climate change and economic disparity.