• a Whitley Bay-based brand of edible seaweed products has found success overseas after encountering strong global demand for its unique products
• founded by marine biologist and wild-seaweed harvester Dr Craig Rose in 2014, Seaweed & Co. harvests and mills Hebridean seaweed for the industrial food and drink sector
• it also produces a range of seaweed-infused cooking oils and nutritional supplements, under its ‘Weed & Wonderful’ brand

Its products have also been a success in celebrity circles, with Kaiser Chiefs frontman Ricky Wilson using Seaweed & Co.’s PureSea smoked Scottish seaweed in his savoury scones on this year’s The Great Celebrity Bake Off.

Since it started exporting three years ago, the company’s overseas sales now account for 15% of its turnover, and it sells its milled seaweed ingredients to customers as far afield as South Korea, Australia, Canada, Israel and the United States, as well as across the European Union. Most recently, the company secured a £10,000 order for its ‘PureSea’ brand milled seaweed from a food manufacturer in Spain.

The business is now working with International Trade Advisers from the Department for International Trade (DIT) to boost its presence in the Scandinavian and US markets.

Ongoing support for the company comes as part of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) and DIT’s Food is GREAT campaign, which aims to get more food and drink producers into key overseas markets.

Later this month, the business will be showcasing its Weed & Wonderful range to Danish buyers as part of a DIT-sponsored trade ’Meet the buyer’ mission to Copenhagen, Denmark.

Dr Craig Rose, Founder and CEO, Seaweed & Co., said:

Exporting has been part of our business strategy from the very beginning. There is a huge market out there, and by working with distributors and partners overseas we’ve been able to increase our profitability and boost our resilience.

There is an increasing awareness of the health benefits from eating seaweed, and there’s a growing demand for our products as a direct result. Although people still raise their eyebrows when they find out we sell seaweed, markets such as Scandinavia, where consumers are relatively health conscious, hold potential for serious growth. Although exporting has been a huge boost to the business, it’s not without its challenges. Thankfully DIT has been on hand to help with guidance in completing the right export paperwork and navigating international regulations. They even were able to help us avoid being scammed after we were contacted by what looked like a genuine overseas customer.

I’d encourage anyone thinking about exporting to get in touch with DIT at the earliest possibility. David Coppock, DIT North East Regional Head, said: “Seaweed & Co. is an example of a local firm that has been quick to capitalise on a growing international trend with health-conscious consumers, with its highly versatile product.

We know that exporting can sometimes present hurdles, which is why DIT is on hand to offer our support. Our network of International Trade Advisers based on the ground across the North East can offer firms of all sizes advice on everything from logistics and tax to language and intellectual property, as well as help businesses access funding for missions abroad. I’d encourage anyone interested in exporting to get in touch.

The UK’s Minister for Women and Equalities, the Rt Hon Penny Mordaunt MP, and Founder of Bloomberg L.P. and Bloomberg Philanthropies, Michael R. Bloomberg, today announced a new partnership between the UK Government and Bloomberg L.P. to improve reporting and transparency around gender equality in the workplace.

Speaking at the Bloomberg Global Business Forum in New York, Mordaunt and Bloomberg outlined a shared commitment to incorporate six data points from the UK Government’s gender pay gap metrics into the global reporting framework of the Bloomberg Gender-Equality Index (GEI).

UK Minister for Women and Equalities, Penny Mordaunt said:

This partnership with Bloomberg shows the growing global commitment to transparency and gender equality at work. Some of our biggest UK companies like Barclays, BT, Deloitte and Sky have already taken action, showing that gender equality is not just a moral imperative, it is good business.

Every human endeavour depends upon inclusion. So that we can all thrive in the workplace, no matter who we are.

Founder of Bloomberg L.P. and Bloomberg Philanthropies, Michael R. Bloomberg said:

I want to thank the U.K. for its partnership and great work ensuring women and men have equal opportunities. This index highlights companies that are leading the way in addressing gender disparities – and what steps they are taking to do that – which can set an example for others.

Since 2016, the Bloomberg Gender-Equality Index has provided investors with standardized, comparable data on a range of social factors related to gender equality in the workplace. The 2018 GEI includes 104 companies headquartered in 24 countries and regions.

Companies that have demonstrated their support of the GEI and a commitment to disclosure include: Anheuser-Busch InBev, Bank of America, Barclays, BNP Paribas, Ford Motor Company, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase & Co., Mastercard, Pearson and Unilever.

Eligible companies are scored based on data available in public filings and additional information collected through 67 questions as part of the GEI survey, a comprehensive overview of company statistics, employee policies, external engagement and gender-conscious product offerings.

Beginning in 2019, the GEI survey will incorporate six data points from the UK Government’s pay gap methodology, including the percentage of men and women in each quartile of payroll, and median and mean gender pay gap. First implemented in 2017, the introduction of new rules mandated organizations of a certain size to disclose employee pay statistics. Initial results illustrate the scale of the challenge, with 3 in 4 company reports indicating men are paid more than women.

In addition, Bloomberg L.P and the UK Government will work together to:

• Improve transparency on a global scale and build consensus with companies around the key metrics and drivers of gender equality in an organization;
• Create a clear measure for investors, consumers and employees to evaluate gender equality;
• Improve transparency of gender equality data on a global scale;
• Promote and expand membership of the Gender-Equality Index as an instrumental tool to transform economic gender equality.

Kiersten Barnet, Manager, Bloomberg Gender-Equality Index, said:

This partnership is an encouraging step towards higher levels of gender equality disclosure and accountability. While gender pay is just one of the issues to overcome in the fight for parity, offering employers a standardized framework to measure their progress reduces the burden of reporting and creates a common global language for discussing gender equality.

Jean-Laurent Bonnafé, Director and Chief Executive Officer of BNP Paribas, said:

Gender equality is at the heart of BNP Paribas’ company engagement strategy. All the management team at BNP Paribas is fully committed to fighting gender bias. Large companies can contribute to a better world by taking HR decisions that push the boundaries. They can also have a strong influence through their business decisions. Data is essential to help them measure and accelerate their progress in gender equality.

David Solomon, President and COO of Goldman Sachs, said:

A diverse workforce across all dimensions is essential to our ability to best serve our clients. We are committed to increasing the representation of women at every level of the firm and are pleased to support the UK Government and Bloomberg’s joint mission to encourage greater transparency around gender equality in the workplace, and to help us measure our progress.

Notes to Editors

Contacts

Veronika Henze, Bloomberg: +1-646-324-1596; vhenze@bloomberg.net

Jill Watanabe, Bloomberg: +1-212-617-1610; jwatanabe11@bloomberg.net

Natalie Harland, Bloomberg UK: +44-20-35258820; nharland1@bloomberg.net

Alice Booth, Government Equalities Office Press Office: +44 7384 521 405; Alice.booth@geo.gov.uk

About Bloomberg

Bloomberg, the global business and financial information and news leader, gives influential decision makers a critical edge by connecting them to a dynamic network of information, people and ideas. The company’s strength – delivering data, news and analytics through innovative technology, quickly and accurately – is at the core of the Bloomberg Terminal. Bloomberg’s enterprise solutions build on the company’s core strength: leveraging technology to allow customers to access, integrate, distribute and manage data and information across organizations more efficiently and effectively.

About Mandatory UK Gender Pay Gap Reporting

The UK Government introduced world leading, mandatory gender pay gap reporting for large employers in 2017. The requirements provide an unparalleled level of transparency. Organisations with 250 or more employees need to publish 14 separate data points on gender pay differences each year. The first year of reporting saw an unprecedented level of compliance and 100% of organisations in scope have reported. Reporting on such a wide range of measures helps employers to understand the causes of the gender pay differences in their own workforces and encourages them to take action.

Live gender pay gap data, for the more than 10,000 employers that have reported, is easily accessible via the Government’s gender pay gap reporting website. The reporting website has been highly acclaimed for the transparency it provides and has attracted interest from across the globe.

• During her visit, she will appear in front of the Scottish Parliament’s Finance and Constitution Committee to discuss devolved finance powers and hold talks with the Scottish Government Finance Secretary Derek Mackay on their shared interest in growing the Scottish economy

• She will also tour businesses and outline the next steps in the Moray Growth Deal Chief Secretary to the Treasury Liz Truss will visit Edinburgh, Aberdeen and Peterhead this week (26 – 28 September) to meet businesses and discuss Scotland’s thriving economy.

Liz Truss said:

Scotland’s brilliant enterprise and entrepreneurship is helping to transform the Scottish economy.

For example, I’ll see for myself the maritime services revamping the oil and gas industry in Aberdeen, learn how technology is making Scottish whisky production in Moray even better, and visit Codebase, the UKs largest tech incubator to see the work they helping start-up businesses.

The UK government is committed to supporting Scotland’s growth and helping unleash its talent by giving Holyrood more powers and Scottish cities and regions more freedom to run their local economies.

While in Scotland, Liz Truss will:

• Tour Codebase in Edinburgh, the UKs largest technology incubator hosting 100 tech firms

• Visit Aberdeen and Peterhead, where she will meet businesses from diverse industries such as food and drink exporting and energy logistics

The Chief Secretary will complete the visit in Moray, where she will outline the next steps in the Moray Growth Deal by inviting local councils and businesses the chance to submit plans to government on their priorities for boosting economic growth and productivity.

This deal forms part of the government’s City and Growth Deals, through which more than £1 billion has been invested directly into Scotland.

Every city in Scotland either has a city deal or is in negotiations for a deal that gives local areas the tools and resources they need to kick-start growth and regeneration.

The UK government is helping Scottish families keep more money in their pocket for the things that matter to them. For example, we have cut income tax for 2.4 million people and our fuel duty freeze is saving the average motorist £130 each year.

Scottish companies are also being supported expand and reach new markets across the world through UK government new Foreign Direct Investment projects. In 2017/18 these projects created more than 4,000 jobs in Scotland.