From rebuilding an island to rebuilding a blue economy
2026-07-20
On the small Estonian island of Ruhnu, life moves at a different pace. During winter, around fifty people call the island home. There is a small harbour, an airfield, a school, two churches, two local shops and a restaurant, all serving a community surrounded by more than forty kilometers of Baltic Sea.
For most businesses, such a remote location would be seen as a limitation.
For Planet Ruhnu, it became the starting point of an entirely new vision.
Rather than asking how seaweed could become another product, founder Mihkel Urmet asked a different question. Could seaweed help build a future for an island whose history has always been connected to the sea?
"We wanted to create something that belongs here," he explains. "Not simply another business, but something that strengthens the island itself."
Continuing a centuries old relationship with the sea
The idea behind Planet Ruhnu reaches far beyond cultivation.
Historically, Ruhnu was home to a unique Swedish variety (called runska) speaking community whose livelihood depended on the Baltic Sea. Generations of seal hunters travelled across the water in wooden boats, while fishing and gathering seaweed formed part of everyday life. Even the coastline itself was divided between families, each responsible for collecting seaweed from their own stretch of beach. Traditional clothing even included garments specifically worn while harvesting seaweed.
Much of that culture disappeared during the Second World War when the island's population fled to Sweden before the Soviet occupation. Many never returned permanently.
Today, Urmet sees Planet Ruhnu as an opportunity to reconnect with that maritime heritage.
"We are rebuilding the culture, but in a modern way," he says. "Instead of seal hunting, we see seaweed farming as the next chapter. The connection with the sea remains exactly the same."
Building a future where almost nothing exists
Ruhnu is Estonia's most remote inhabited island and operates off grid. Electricity is generated through solar panels, wind energy and a backup biodiesel plant. Tourism provides an important source of income during the short summer season, but the island needs economic activity throughout the year.
That is where seaweed enters the picture.
Planet Ruhnu currently consists of just Mihkel and his wife Eeva, who also runs the island's restaurant in the port. Together they combine tourism, fishing, product development and seaweed cultivation while gradually building what they hope will become a new blue economy for the island.
"The goal has never been for only the two of us," says Urmet. "We want to create new jobs and opportunities for people living here."
Designing cultivation for the Baltic Sea
Instead of relying solely on wild harvesting, Planet Ruhnu has started developing its own cultivation system specifically designed for local conditions.
The team grows seaweed inside floating structures inspired by offshore fish farming, lifting the crop away from the seabed to produce a cleaner and more food grade product.
Developing these systems, however, is anything but straightforward.
Unlike many coastal regions struggling with nutrient pollution, the waters around Ruhnu are exceptionally clean. While this benefits the environment, it also means certain seaweed species simply do not receive enough nutrients to grow efficiently.
At the same time, the open Baltic Sea regularly tests every piece of equipment they deploy.
"Sometimes the sea simply decides it does not like what you have built," Urmet says with a smile. "After a storm, we have found parts of our cultivation systems washed ashore."
Those harsh conditions have become an advantage in their own right. If a cultivation system survives around Ruhnu, it is likely to withstand other offshore environments as well.
Innovation driven by necessity
Local Seaweed balm.
Many of Planet Ruhnu's first products were never developed as commercial concepts.
They were created because the founders simply needed them.
After long days fishing and working outdoors, they produced a seaweed hand cream. A seaweed inspired gin followed, together with locally inspired products that reflect life on the island rather than chasing market trends.
"It all started with things that we actually use ourselves," Urmet explains.
Looking ahead, the ambition is much bigger.
The team wants to develop shelf ready food products that introduce European consumers to locally produced seaweed while moving beyond the imported products that currently dominate supermarket shelves.
Inspiring chefs before consumers
Planet Ruhnu believes that changing eating habits starts in professional kitchens.
One of the company's long term ambitions is to establish a living laboratory where chefs, researchers and innovators can spend time on the island experimenting with seaweed applications, local ingredients and new recipes.
The restaurant would become both a testing ground and a showcase, allowing visitors to experience seaweed in fresh and unexpected ways before products eventually reach supermarket shelves.
"We need people to start dreaming about seaweed first," says Urmet. "Chefs can inspire that change."
Gin made from Seaweed by Planet Ruhnu
Nothing happens alone
Building an entirely new seaweed sector on an island of fifty residents requires collaboration.
Planet Ruhnu actively seeks partnerships with researchers, companies and other organisations that can help improve cultivation systems, product development and offshore applications. The team also sees opportunities to adapt their floating cultivation technology for offshore wind farms in the future.
Innovation extends beyond cultivation itself. The island's power station generates excess heat whenever backup electricity production is required. Rather than letting that energy disappear, Planet Ruhnu is exploring how it can be used to dry harvested seaweed, making better use of existing infrastructure while reducing production costs.
More than a seaweed company
Planet Ruhnu may be one of the smallest members of the European Seaweed Association, but its ambitions reach well beyond its twelve square kilometer island.
The company is building more than cultivation systems or consumer products. It is exploring how seaweed can strengthen remote communities, preserve cultural heritage and create entirely new economic opportunities for places that have often been overlooked.
For Urmet, success will not be measured solely by tonnes harvested.
It will be measured by whether future generations can continue living on Ruhnu while remaining connected to the sea that has shaped the island for centuries.
"Our hope," he says, "is that what we build here can eventually inspire other islands and coastal communities to create their own future through seaweed."
