“Make Seaweed Sexy”: Rootless Is Showing How Special Seaweed Can Be For Wellness And Sustainability

Before launching Rootless in 2022, Sachi Singh spent more than a decade focused on what she describes as “the doom and gloom of climate work.” One of the first times she felt hopeful was when she discovered seaweed.

“Seaweed is a zero-input, regenerative crop,” says Singh. “Unlike land-based agriculture, it doesn’t require freshwater, fertilizers, pesticides or even land to grow. If we replace 10% of the global diet with seaweed by 2050, we can quite literally transform the global food system by saving 110 million hectares of land, reducing global freshwater use, mitigating agricultural emissions and increasing land-based biodiversity.”

Seaweed isn’t only healthy for the earth, it’s healthy for humans. “The nutrition profile of seaweed is bonkers,” exclaims Singh. “The regular consumption of seaweed is linked with reduced rates of metabolic syndrome disease in communities in Korea and Japan, including in the blue zones, Okinawa. However, it is far from a mainstream food in the U.S.”

Singh has shifted course professionally to become something of a seaweed advocate in an attempt to make it mainstream. “I decided to quit my job in climate philanthropy to start Rootless as a way to get more people to eat and grow sustainable seaweed,” she says. In short, she says, “My goal with Rootless is to make seaweed sexy.”

Seaweed or marine algae doesn’t have roots, hence the name Rootless. It has holdfasts that fasten it to rocks. The brand’s signature offering is The Daily Bite, whole-food nutrition bites formulated to promote hormone balance, particularly in perimenopausal and menopausal women. With it, Singh was intent on delivering the benefits of seaweed, which has polyphenols for estrogen metabolism, fiber for gut health and iodine for thyroid support, in a product that tastes great.

The Daily Bite is made with dates, almonds and sunflower and sesame seeds as well as seaweed and come in five non-ocean-y flavors: Cinnamon Crunch, Coconut Chai, Orange Pistachio, Double Strawberry and Cacao Crunch. With 40-plus essential nutrients, Rootless highlights that seaweed has 10 times the nutrients of land plants and supplies 130% of the daily recommended dose of iodine.

“My goal with Rootless is to make seaweed sexy.”

“I wanted to help everyone access the health benefits of seaweed regardless of whether they like the taste,” says Singh. “You eat one a day like you would eat a supplement and get the potent hit of seaweed nutrition.”

Digitally native Rootless sells in direct-to-consumer distribution with a subscription-based business model. The Daily Bite retails for $44 for a bag of 30. Subscribers pay $39.60 monthly per bag.

Rootless conducted a consumer trial with 36 women aged 27 to 70 years old eating The Daily Bite for four weeks and tracking their hormonal symptoms, including acne and dry skin, hair and eyes. All the women experienced improvement in their symptoms and a subset reported they disappeared entirely.

“This is why, when we are able to get consumers into our funnel, retention and [lifetime value] is high,” says Singh, noting that, last year, half of Rootless’s revenues came from subscribers and repeat purchasers.

“All people with female biology would benefit from dosed, regular bioavailable seaweed consumption.”

Singh divulges that the brand’s sales increased 250% from 2022 to 2023. It’s just kicked off a crowdfunding campaign with the aim of raising $1.2 million. Singh says, “We want our community and our women to be shareholders in the company.”

In its investor pitch deck, Rootless discloses that its gross revenues as of February this year were $624,000 and gross margins were 51%. By the end of the year, it’s forecast to reach $1.24 million in gross sales with a customer lifetime value (LTV) to customer acquisition cost (CAC) ratio of three to one. By next year, gross sales are projected to hit $2.5 million.

Rootless concentrates on educating with its marketing. “When we’re able to explain to women why they need to be eating seaweed regularly and how to be intentional about building enjoyable rituals around their health, we see the most success,” says Singh. “My goal in three to five years is to create so much fluency around the health benefits of seaweed that, when you see a seaweed product, you immediately think, ah, that’s great for my hormones and thyroid in the same way that consumers think about gut health and kombucha, turmeric and immunity, etc.”

Rootless’s positioning in the perimenopause and menopause space is strategic. “We believe this is the most underserved, untapped opportunity for us to make the most impact,” says Singh. “By 2025, a billion women will be experiencing menopause and estimates suggest that this is a $600 billion market opportunity—and no one is talking to this woman. I believe with the right education and by working with the right, trustworthy experts, we can build trust with this woman and significantly impact her health.”

Future products will assist women in navigating hormonal transitions ranging from puberty to postpartum and menopause. A retail-ready product is slated for a 2025 release. Rootless shares that some 80% of women suffer from hormonal fluctuations during puberty, pre- and post- pregnancy and menopause.

Singh says, “I think all people with female biology would benefit from dosed, regular bioavailable seaweed consumption.”