South Pacific Mozuku growing seaweed for health and beauty products [1]
Tuesday, January 2, 2024 - 15:25. Updated on Thursday, January 4, 2024 - 17:20.
By Tupou Vaipulu Jr.
Harvesting and exporting Tongan seaweed for over 20 years, South Pacific Mozuku Tonga Ltd (SPM), a local aqua-culture industry in Nuku'alofa, is set to expand its product range into the health and beauty industries.
They are starting to develop new products locally, using their farmed mozukus.
“We want to focus on developing new and different products, that’s the direction I want for my company in the future,” the Managing Director of SPM, Masatada Kawaguchi said.
“We should be there within the next six to 12 months.”
SPM has started the development, trials and testing of a new line of health and beauty care products, including supplements and lotions.
“Doing this I believe will add more value to our mozukus,” he said.
Known in Tonga as Limu Tanga'u [2] or Angel's hair, the seaweed or mozuku is a type of Japanese brown algae from the family Chordariaceae, which are used as food.
Currently, SPM is exporting its mozukus to overseas customers that utilize the product for pharmaceutical, nutraceutical and cosmetic purposes.The seaweed is sought after for its different nutrients and minerals that benefit the human body in many ways.
Family company since 1998
South Pacific Mozuku is a family-owned company, initially known as Tangle Nano, founded in 1998 by Masa’s father, the late Masanori Kawaguchi.
In 2015, Tangle Nano was rebranded and renamed South Pacific Mozuku, also shifting from harvesting wild mozuku to farming their own mozuku.
“Due to a huge decrease in wild mozukus over the years, we had to grow and farm our own.”
Masa said that farming the mozuku does not change anything about the end product. He said farming the Mozuku is best because it allows them to move and grow the mozuku in areas that lack it.
Masa's father, Masanori, first came to Tonga in the 1970s as a volunteer with Japan's International Cooperation Agency (JICA). He went back to Japan and returned in the 1990s to Nuku'alofa and established various business ventures.
Masanori died [3] in Tonga at the age of 63 on 21 February 2016.
Like many other businesses in Tonga, SPM was largely impacted by the HTHH volcanic eruption in January 2022, and the COVID-19 Pandemic.
However, they are making a comeback, and supported with a GGGI seed grant [4] of USD $50,000 (approximately TOP $119,000) - a zero-interest repayable grant that was awarded to the venture in November 2023.
Limu Tanga’u
Known in Tonga as Limu Tanga'u [2] or Angel's hair, it is a type of Japanese brown algae from the family Chordariaceae, which are used as food.
Hot or cold, it can be eaten raw to preserve its health benefits, deep fried or in soups. However, traditionally in Japan it's eaten simply with a dressing of sweet vinegar or soy sauce.
It is believed that mozuku boosts the immune system and also detoxifies the body due to its insoluble dietary fiber content, which stimulates the digestive tract and helps to flush out excess waste.
It also contains fucoidan, which (is mostly found in brown seaweeds) has anti-oxidant, anti-tumor, anti-coagulant, anti-thrombotic, immunoregulatory, anti-viral and anti-inflammatory effects on the body.
According to the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology (OIST), Scientists have decoded the genome of Okinawa mozuku, as a seaweed with healthy properties that plays a key economic and ecological role.
It is scientifically known as Cladosiphon okamuranus and has been farmed for more than 40 years in Okinawa, Japan.
Seaweed exports have been trialled over the years [2] in Tonga, and much has been learned.
Source: Tonga National Marine Seaweed (Limu Tanga'u) Fisheries Management and Development Plan (2012 – 2013) [5]