At this year’s Naturally Good Awards, the People’s Choice Award winner went to Natures Farmer Sea for its boldly blue, Blue Tongue Wizard Sea Moss Gel. Founded by Jess Redman and Benji Dimitrioski, Kim Berry asked the pair about the brand, starting with, what is sea moss gel.
Natures Farmer Sea was founded about five years ago, when Jess Redman and Benji Dimitrioski ended up working together in the sales field.
“We knew it wasn’t for us, we both wanted to do something meaningful and in the health space. I’d had cancer and Benji had suffered a brain injury from boxing. We were both naturally drawn to healing,” Redman said.
While the pair explored various business options, Redman heard about the benefits of sea moss.
“For our Sea Moss Gels, we use Eucheuma Cottonii, and for our capsules, Chondrus Crispus. We found the specific properties of the sea moss worked best in those formats,” Redman said.
According to the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the UN (FAO), Eucheuma cottonii is a fast-growing and self-cleaning species that produces the quantity and quality of sea moss needed for profitable production.
“It has seen great success in Saint Lucia and other neighbouring islands that farm sea moss commercially,” FAO said.
A 2009 study in the Journal of Applied Phycology found E. cottonii was “an edible species of Pacific red seaweeds obtained from water resources of Kalimantan, Indonesia, which is a potential source of a variety of compounds such as dietary fibres, Vitamin C, α-tocopherol (one of the eight isoforms of vitamin E), minerals, fatty acids, and protein”.
Redman explains that there isn’t a clean and optimal source of sea moss near Australia, so they use naturally sun-dried sea moss from St Lucia in the Caribbean, which it processes at its facility on the Gold Coast in Queensland.
“Our manufacturing process is meticulous, involving a dedicated team of more than 15 people, each with specific responsibilities, and overseen by our production manager. We follow a six-step daily process to ensure freshness and quality: clean, soak, blend, fill and seal, and pack and distribute,” he says.
The company also conducts independent heavy metals and microbiological lab testing for every batch.
There are six products in the range, each made with a sea moss base and featuring different superfoods to target specific health areas.
The OG: Pure Sea Moss.
The Blue Tongue Wizard: With Blue Spirulina and Lemon Myrtle to support energy levels, tasting like lemon sherbet.
The Purple Butterfly: With pea butterfly flowers to support mood, skin, hair, and nails, offering a sweet floral taste.
The Ginger Ninja: With Ginger and Turmeric to support inflammation, perfect for those who love turmeric and ginger.
The Green Warrior: With an array of green superfoods to strengthen the immune system, featuring a mild green blend taste.
The Truffle Magic: With ceremonial cacao and medicinal mushrooms to support focus and brain health, tasting like a chocolate treat
To date, Natures Farmer Sea has delivered more than 100,000 Sea Moss Gels around Australia, with new products in the pipeline.
