way to access the digestive health benefits of seaweed.  “I believe that food is medicine. We want to bring medicinal-like benefits to the people with Oomee.” Oomee officially launched onto the retail scene this May, with several SKUs, including single cans (US$3.50 each), 12-packs (US$34.99) and a 30-day supply of nutritional powder (US$60).  In addition to the brand’s thriving DTC site, Oomee’s products are stocked in almost 1,000 physical stores across the US through multiple local and national grocery chains, including Bristol Farms, Raley’s, and Sprouts Farmers Market.  But to get the full story about Miky’s lightbulb moment and journey to launching Oomee, we need to rewind a little. How Oomee’s brand journey was built on duality and difficulty  Oomee is just one of several brands Miky has launched throughout her professional career. At just 21, Miky launched a flower shop in Tokyo, then went on to become a newscaster for Nippon Television Network, and in 2019 launched a rather successful sweets brand, Misaky Tokyo. Similar to Oomee, Misaky Tokyo’s premium hand-made artisanal treats, made to look like crystals, incorporate the beneficial power of seaweed to provide consumers with a healthier yet tasty alternative. After learning that a friend wasn’t able to indulge in sweets, as many weren’t vegan or gluten-free and additive-free, Miky was determined to create a product that those with a sweet tooth, like her friend, could indulge in, while still having a yummy, sensorial experience with each bite.  Today, Misaky Tokyo boasts an impressive 1.4 million follower count on its TikTok account alone, with customers gushing over the brand’s satisfying crunch and colours.  While still running Misaky Tokyo, Miky, who grew up between New York and Tokyo, ended up moving back to the US and began experiencing one health issue after another.  Gaining 40 pounds in three months due to the unhealthy nature of American cuisine, Miky was also diagnosed with uterine cancer, which she was in treatment for up till last year. “At that point, my body, my mental and my soul were separating.” In moving back to Japan, Miky realised she had become accustomed to the healthy nature of her country’s diet, such as the incorporation of seaweed, which she hadn’t realised was a privilege in itself until residing in the States as an adult.  “Having some distance [from Japan] and coming back, I realised that as a Japanese-American, it was my dream to bring both cultures onto one page. So I was like, let me try this, and created the first American-based, red seaweed-powered company, Oomee.” Oomee has trademarked the term ‘seabiotics’ to describe the brand’s sustainability-focused, marine-derived prebiotic ingredients, primarily agar-agar, a natural, plant-based gelling agent derived from red seaweed, that supports gut health and helps provide a sense of fullness to curb unhealthy cravings.  Although the product is at a more premium price than your average canned beverage, at US$3.50 a pop, Miky plans to lower the price through further retail partnerships and continued brand expansion to make it as accessible as possible to consumers.  Oomee’s overarching retail goals  Without revealing exact figures, Miky disclosed that Oomee has already generated seven-figure revenue in its first year and has raised US$8 million in funding to date. While those are more-than-impressive figures for a brand in its first year of business, Miky stated that she plans to accelerate the brand’s growth over the next 4-5 years to hit US$400 million in revenue. While she said that some may view the figure as “crazy”, especially for a brand so new to the market and introducing a relatively unexplored beverage ingredient like seaweed, she explained she has full confidence in her team’s ability to build the bridge between food and tech. So far, working with natural-food retailers has been the key element in Oomee’s brick-and-mortar expansion. By next year, Miky stated that the company will partner with more well-known retailers, bit by bit, to make the brand as accessible as possible to as many consumers as possible.  Further reading: Von Dutch enters FMCG with launch of beverages and cafes