North Coast Seafoods, a Boston-based, family-owned seafood supplier, has begun a partnership with Native Maine Produce & Specialty Foods, a New England wholesale food distributor serving food service businesses and educational institutions in Maine, New Hampshire and Massachusetts.
North Coast has been making waves in local K-12 school systems and higher education with its new innovation: The Kelp Meatball.
Kelp Meatballs are a plant-based product that are naturally vegan, gluten-free and dairy-free, with a clean label list of ingredients composed primarily of kelp, green chickpeas, brown rice and spices.
North Coast partners with Atlantic Sea Farms in Biddeford, Maine, to source its main ingredient, Sugar Kelp, which is sustainably rope-grown and hand-harvested by independent family farmers in the waters of the Gulf of Maine.
North Coast shares Native Maine’s commitment to supporting New England’s food system by providing locally grown and processed food items.
With this new partnership, Kelp Meatballs will be more accessible to consumers in the Northeast region through the restaurant, food service, K-12 and higher education customers that Native Maine services.
“At North Coast, we are not only focused on seafood sustainability but leaving our planet in a better state than we found it,” said Chef Andrew Wilkinson, North Coast’s chef director of research and development.
“Using kelp not only gets us closer to that goal every day but also fuels the creation of unique and innovative products, like the Kelp Meatballs and Sliders, that make a substantial positive impact on the community.”
Native Maine shared that it is excited to add North Coast Seafoods’ Kelp Meatballs to their portfolio.
“We are always looking for innovative and sustainable products to offer our customers, and North Coast Seafoods’ Kelp Meatballs align perfectly with our values,” said Melissa Motejunas, procurement and strategic accounts manager of Native Maine Produce & Specialty Foods.
“We are thrilled to partner with them and bring their products to our customers in Maine, New Hampshire and Massachusetts.”
By expanding the availability of kelp products, North Coast Seafoods and Native Maine Produce & Specialty Foods are providing consumers with a wider range of choices and supporting the growth of the Maine kelp farming industry.
Read more seafood news from The Shelby Report.
