As retailers push for solutions that cut food waste and reduce plastic, a new edible coating made from sugar kelp may soon offer the produce industry a scalable, land-free alternative.
Atlas, a Connecticut-based startup co-founded by CEO Anuj Purohit, is developing a spray-applied seaweed coating designed to extend shelf life, reduce microbial spoilage and lighten the environmental footprint of postharvest handling.
Here is what Purohit says produce suppliers, retailers and packers should know now.
Edible Seaweed Coating
Atlas is developing a coating made from brown seaweed (sugar kelp), a crop abundant in New England and Alaska but still underutilized in the U.S., Purohit says.
“The primary ingredient is derived from sugar kelp.” Its benefits are two-fold, he says: “The edible coating can reduce loss, but we are also trying to grow a market for these brown seaweed growers.”
The coating is applied via a specialized spray system, forming an ultrathin film that Purohit says is often “less than one micron … 1,000 times thinner than human hair.”
This microlayer slows moisture loss and respiration, reduces surface degradation and may even block ethylene for climacteric fruits such as tomatoes or bananas, he says.
Atlas is also developing specialty sprayers that make coating more efficient than traditional dips or brush beds.
“We can actually fine-tune the property of this coating so that we could cater the film for Crop A versus Crop B,” Purohit says.
One differentiator is the supply chain: Seaweed requires no soil, freshwater, fertilizer or arable land, a point Purohit says is central to Atlas’ sustainability story.
“We are sourcing the primary ingredient from seaweed, which is absolutely independent of land. … It doesn’t need water, fertilizer, sunlight. Just leave it — let it grow,” he says.
Purohit adds that scaling demand for sugar kelp could bring new revenue opportunities to coastal growers.
“It’s abundantly available in our backyard … and could provide a major market for a crop which is fairly underutilized,” he explains.
A Different Approach: Green Biorefinery Plus Edible Coating
The coating is one output of Atlas’s larger “green biorefinery,” led by co-founder and University of Connecticut professor Mingyu Chao. The facility uses algae to produce multiple specialty chemicals via low-impact “green chemistry.”
“We have a patent filed for something called a green biorefinery … from algae, deriving multiple specialty chemicals from brown seaweed, and one of them is something we use in this edible coating,” Purohit says.
Benefits for Produce Suppliers and Retailers
1. Shelf-life extension — The core value remains reducing shrink. “It would increase shelf life by reducing food loss. Produce shrivels, loses weight, moisture and gases. Our technology slows that down,” Purohit says.
2. Antimicrobial and ethylene-blocking potential — Atlas has early evidence showing the coating slows spoilage organisms and may block ethylene in climacteric crops. “It won’t kill anything, but it will slow down the spoilage microorganisms. We have some early evidence that it can block ethylene,” he says.
3. Access to new categories, especially soft fruit — Current coating methods often exclude berries due to their delicate skin. The spray format could change that. “Soft-skinned produce like berries typically can’t go through a coating process. This spray technology could allow them to do that … even applied in the field, right before harvest,” says Matthew Cleaver, chief business officer for Atlas.
4. Lower energy use in coating lines — Traditional coating lines rely on high-energy wash, brush and drying systems. “The promise is that it would be much gentler on the fruit, less energy-intensive, and greatly simplify the coating process,” Purohit says.
Could it replace plastic packaging? In some categories, yes, Purohit says.
“That value proposition holds. … Cucumber is one example because they use single-use cling films,” he says. However, rigid clamshells will still be required for delicate items like strawberries or cut flowers, he adds.
Atlas aims for a commercial launch in late 2027, though timelines depend on regulatory clearance.
The coating uses ingredients already GRAS-recognized (Generally Recognized As Safe) by FDA and permitted under organic standards, but it still requires FDA and USDA review.
Instead of selling a coating ingredient alone, Atlas expects to offer a bundled service that includes both the coating and the application system.
Atlas says its seaweed-based edible coating introduces an alignment of sustainability, grower value, supply chain efficiency and reduced food waste. With a land-free raw material, a gentler spray-based application and flexible tuning for different crops, this platform could offer retailers and producers a new tool to reduce shrink and lower reliance on plastic while creating an entirely new market for American kelp growers.
