Sarah Leung's Optimism helps Drive her Seaweed Business

"Even standing in the supermarket talking to new customers, you must be optimistic that people will come up to try your products, love them and put them in their shopping trolley."

Sarah Leung is the founder of Alg Seaweed . I met Sarah in the Port Melbourne Woolworths Supermarkets store, sharing samples of her products. I bought a packet of Sarah's Rainbow Seaweed Flakes and, as you can imagine, asked, "what makes you optimistic?"

Victor Perton :?Sarah, how did you come to develop a seaweed business?

Sarah Leung: "My profession is dietetics, and this journey started when I was a private practice dietitian. As much as I found private practice rewarding, I knew I needed a change of direction about seven years into the profession.

"As my career progressed, I realised I really love food, beautiful products and packaging and wanted to use food and my culinary nutrition skills to inspire others.?

"I thought hard and thought, "Okay, well, what food product can I create that can really make an impact?"?

"In private practice, I saw many people suffering from thyroid conditions. With iodine being a leading cause of these conditions, I want to create food products that increase people's dietary iodine.

"I have eaten seaweed all my life and understood its nutritional benefits, such as high in iodine, vitamin B12 and magnesium. Its umami flavour enhances any meal naturally and is good for the environment. These factors have led me to start Alg Seaweed in 2017."

Victor Perton:?"Fantastic, and how's it going?"

Sarah Leung: "It's going really well, actually. We started that in 2017; one year later, I had my first child, so I put the business on hold.?

"In 2019, we had two great opportunities. One was the 玛氏食品 Foods Seeds of Change Accelerator. We got into the top 12 finalists. I didn't progress into the program, but I thought, 'What a great first gig coming out from maternity leave!"

"We entered the Mondelēz International Snack Futures Competition at Global Table three months later and won. That gave me the momentum to refocus on the business and rebrand in 2020.?

"In 2021, we launched our Rainbow Seaweed range, a blend of seaweeds sourced from around the world, mainly from Europe and Australia. We created a seasoning range and sold it to distributors, and in less than a year, we started to supply the Double Bay Woolworths store as a trial. I kept learning ways to build the business, and as of the end of 2022, we are now supplying over 200 Woolworths stores around Australia. I still remember vividly when I got the phone call whilst holding my 2-week-old second son in my arms. I knew it would be challenging, but with optimism and positivity, we said yes and grabbed the opportunity. It has been a massive learning curve for us regarding distribution and scale, but it has also been the most significant event for our humble small business.?

Victor Perton:?"Sarah, You're obviously an optimist."

Sarah Leung:?"I think so! As a migrant who came to Australia at 15 without knowing much English and didn't feel like I fit in, I would have to be an optimist to push through those early years and keep being positive to build a life and career on my own terms eventually.

"Even standing in the supermarket talking to new customers, you must be optimistic that people will come up to try your products, love them and put them in their shopping trolley."

Victor Perton:?What makes you optimistic?

Sarah Leung: "Well, I am a very positive person. I like to try things out, hoping everything will work out! I always have a 'can do' attitude. I'd rather do it and fail than have 'what if' moments and regrets.?

"I believe in the process and trust that I've got good products. I'm very lucky to have great mentors and customers who support me along the way, as it is really important to have good people around you. The world needs better products, and the world needs to know about seaweed, and these thoughts have kept me going."

Victor Perton:?Do you draw any of that optimism from family, from faith?

Sarah Leung:?"Family, 100%. Owning a business is isolating and challenging. It's hard, especially in the last few years, with what happened globally, and it looks like it will be challenging in the next few years. I am an optimist, but it hasn't always been easy. I draw my optimism from my mum. She's not typical. Many people think that Asian parents don't like to show affection; my mom is the opposite. She always encourages me and says things like, "I know it's hard. Just keep going. Just give it a little bit more time. I believe in you. I'll support you in any way, help out with the kids and with cooking. Just do what you need to do. I believe in you.."

"Besides my mum, I am so lucky the rest of my family, my husband, and even my children are my massive supporters. They are the main ingredients of my optimism which keep me going."

Victor Perton:?"You're here selling a product on your own. Tell me, who have been those leaders who have inspired you and helped you along the way?"

Sarah Leung:?"I have so many mentors over the years who generously took their time, genuinely wanting to help. When I had my private practice, before I thought about starting a food company, I sought mentorship from a CEO of a hospitality chain in Australia on scaling the private practice (he was also a health professional).

"Rather than telling me how to scale the practice, he told me, "Hey Sarah, I think there's something more than private practice that you should be doing. Perhaps there's a different path to your career. Think about what it is and chase that."?

"It took me a while to figure out what he meant because I thought, "I've got my practice, I've got my clinic. This is it. This is my life; this is my career."

"However, I was open to what he said, and it took some time to realise, "My passion is inspiring people to cook, to bring joy to meal times and I think there's so much I can do to help people achieve that." Food is beyond nutrients. It's about connections, culture and everything! I can use this seaweed brand to help me get my message out.

"Slowly, I concluded that I wanted to give this seaweed business idea a go.?

"That's how I started Alg Seaweed .

"Over the years, I have had industry leaders who have 'been there, done that' and generously donated their time to share their learnings with me, which I am very grateful for. To pay it forward, I seek every opportunity to share my knowledge with up-and-coming dietitians, food producers and, of course, my community."

What makes you optimistic?