From Rope to Lid: How Our Arctic Kelp Is Grown at Rødøy and Canned in Lofoten
Every can of our food begins as a rope in the sea at Rødøy, on the Helgeland coast of Arctic Northern Norway, and ends as a sealed lid in Lofoten. One company, PurSea, runs every step in between. That is the short answer to a question we get often: where does this kelp actually come from? Here is the longer one.
Where does the kelp actually grow?
Rødøy is a small island community on the Helgeland coast, sitting right at the Arctic Circle. Our kelp grows there on cultivation lines: ropes suspended in cold, clear seawater, not rooted in soil and not resting on the seabed.
Seeded lines go into the water in the darker months. The young kelp grows slowly through winter, then puts on most of its length in spring as the northern light returns. Nothing is planted in a field. Nothing is fed. The sea does the work.
Our kelp is grown on lines at Rødøy on the Helgeland coast, then cooked and canned in Lofoten, all through one company, PurSea, which owns the value chain from rope to lid.
Why grow it on ropes instead of cutting the wild coast?
Cultivated lines let us decide what we harvest and when. We take winged kelp (Alaria esculenta) while it is young, tender and mild, rather than pulling tough, older fronds off the shoreline.
Growing on lines also leaves the wild kelp forests standing, where they hold the coast and shelter fish and shellfish. The farm sits in open water and needs no fresh water, no fertiliser and no feed.
How long does rope to lid take?
A growing cycle runs across a single season. Lines are seeded in the colder, darker part of the year and harvested the following spring, so each can carries one winter of slow Arctic growth. Harvest is short and seasonal, which is why we cook and can the year's kelp rather than sell it fresh: canning holds that spring harvest steady on the shelf until you open it.
What happens between the sea and the can?
After harvest, the kelp is blanched and taken to the kitchen. The cooking and canning happen in Lofoten, the island chain further up the coast. There the kelp is folded into recipes you already know how to use: a green pesto, a hummus, and two curries.
Because PurSea holds every link, from the rope in the water to the lid on the can, there is no long broker chain and no dried, imported seaweed of uncertain origin. What goes in the can is one stretch of Arctic coast, handled start to finish by the same people.
Why does provenance change the taste?
Short chains protect flavour. Kelp cut young and cooked close to where it grew keeps the clean, savoury note that makes it worth eating in the first place. You are not tasting a commodity ingredient shipped halfway around the world and rehydrated. You are tasting one stretch of Rødøy coast.
Frequently asked questions
Where is the kelp grown? At Rødøy, on the Helgeland coast of Arctic Northern Norway, on cultivation lines in open seawater.
Where is the food cooked and canned? In Lofoten, further up the same coast.
Who runs the farming and the production? PurSea, the group's ocean-farming company, which owns the value chain from rope to lid.
What kind of kelp is it? Winged kelp, Alaria esculenta, harvested young while it is tender and mild.
Is it wild-harvested? No. It is cultivated on lines, which leaves the wild kelp forests standing.
Want to taste the whole coast in one box? Start with all four flavours.
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