Mara’s wild seaweeds are sustainably hand-harvested under license from the Crown Estate in Fife, on the East Coast of Scotland. Mara is also committed to working with other local harvesters around the coastlines of Scotland and Ireland. And of course, we must not forget our fearless leader Fiona, whose vision, ambition, and entrepreneurial drive is at the very heart of Mara’s mission to Nourish Body and Soul with incredible Scottish seaweed. Meet You At The Hippos examines the story behind the conception of Scotland's new towns – East Kilbride, Glenrothes, Cumbernauld, Livingston and Irvine – and how they set out to entice the overspill population of Glasgow. So many companies have come out with all sorts of different ways to use it as a material, from the lining for boxes through to ketchup sachets made from seaweed.” The Last Drop Distillers’ mission is to seek out parcels of fine and rare spirits from forgotten corners of the world.

Students at the Seaweed Academy at the Scottish Association for Marine Science in Dunstaffnage, near Oban. The actor's father is Stan Bonnar, the environmental artist responsible for creating the famed concrete hippo sculptures in Glenrothes and East Kilbride's landmark concrete elephants. A young Mark Bonnar spent part of his childhood living in both towns. On 6 December 1970, at the renowned Glenrothes distillery in Speyside, a rich, fruity single malt was distilled and put into three neighbouring casks. They were left undisturbed to mature for nearly 50 years before The Last Drop Distillers bottled them in January 2020, completing the trilogy of the Glenrothes Single Malt bottlings. Cask No 10586 yielded 103 bottles, Cask No 10588 produced 87 sets and Cask No 10589 filled 96 bottles, making a total of just 286 bottles – each accompanied by the signature TLD 50ml miniature – available worldwide.

Industry growing like a weed

Clare joined us from a career in the food industry to lead our brand and marketing! A passionate foodie with links across the food sector, she’s helping to make sure our delicious and nutritious seaweed is getting on more and more plates 🍽️ Tabi worked with us as part of her student project, helping with our biomass survey. This allowed us to get our Crown Estate License so that we can harvest seaweed sustainably along the coast of Fife 🌊 The Last Drop Distillers has announced the launch of its eighteenth release, the 1970 Glenrothes single malt Scotch whisky.

Mark Bonnar in Glenrothes with one of the concrete hippos made by his dad Stan in the 1970s. Picture: BBC/Objective Media Mara Seaweed is leading expertise in the seaweed industry, from sourcing and processing, to nutrition and taste. All of Mara's award winning products If we scale-up the processing facilities and the farms to ensure a quality supply, then we can start really going after export markets – there are exciting times ahead.” ‘Every single day, there seems to be a new use for seaweed’ The company already has around 23 members of staff and expects to double its headcount within a year, recruiting more production and research workers.

A new harvest is growing

Mara wouldn’t be where we are today without all of the amazing women who have worked with us over the years. It's International Women’s Day! As a female led business it’s important for us to celebrate the amazing women of Mara, past and present, and all they do for our business. Her enthusiasm is shared by Rhianna Rees, the coordinator at the Seaweed Academy in Dunstaffnage, near Oban, which was launched officially at the end of April. In addition to its use as a food and material, seaweed also absorbs carbon and nitrogen while it’s growing, helping to combat climate change. Industry growing like a weed As well as using it as a food, it can also be turned into animal feeds, fertilisers, medicines, and even alternatives to plastic.

These single casks were distilled in 1970 and complete the trilogy of Glenrothes Single Malts. The first, from 1968, was released in 2018, and the second from 1969 in 2019: alongside this final bottling from 1970, they collectively make up a unique trilogy of remarkable whiskies. It's a BBC Scotland documentary which sees Shetland and Guilt star Mark Bonnar embark upon an odyssey around Scotland's post-war new towns to shine a spotlight on their legacy of public art. The training facility is designed to harness the decades of seaweed expertise within the Scottish Association for Marine Science (Sams), an independent research institute. Mialgae is using a combination of whisky draff and algae to produce nutritious omega-3 NA. Photo by Chris Watt photography.Inga started working at Mara in the production team and has worked her way up to be our incredible Technical Manager! With unrivalled knowledge of seaweed from years of direct experience she’s a very important reason behind Mara’s success 🔬

Despite being neighbouring casks, the mysterious alchemy which happens between distillate, the surrounding air and the wood has resulted in three similar, but distinct whiskies. Mara established the UK’s first SALSA-accredited sea-to-shelf production facility for retail seaweed products in Edinburgh. Their locally sourced seaweeds sell as a range of flakes and powders throughout the UK, including nationwide in Ocado, Tesco and across Europe and America.

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Contribute to essential everyday nutrition; rich in iodine, high in fibre, full of essential minerals