Annie Chun and Stephen Broad

Seaweed is a dark, leafy, ocean vegetable dense in calcium, protein, vitamins A and B12, and iodine. Dietitians say it contains the broadest range of minerals of any food on earth. It’s also a great source of fiber. So why have so many of us traditionally only had it at Asian restaurants? Annie Chun and Stephen Broad are changing that mindset, showing that seaweed can be an everyday snack with far more versatile uses than flavoring miso soup or wrapped around sushi.

The couple co-founded gimMe Snacks in 2012 and today it’s recognized as the leading seaweed snack brand, the catalyst behind the growth of the whole category. Chun was born and raised in Korea, where seaweed—“gim”—is a staple. Broad is from Northern California and shares his wife’s passion for roasted seaweed and creating healthy Asian convenience foods that both kids and adults love. Their San Rafael-based, family-owned company produces Seaweed Chips in flavors like Sesame Teriyaki and Wasabi Tamari, and Seaweed Thins, light, crispy sheets layered with Toasted Coconut or Sriracha Almond, for instance. GimMe was the first organic seaweed snack to enter the marketplace and is also non-GMO, gluten-free, and vegan. 

“One of the most amazing things for us is the fact that kids love seaweed,” Broad says. “A lot of times parents don’t recognize that, thinking it might be too fishy, but it’s just phenomenal how we get all kinds of photos and videos of kids stuffing it in their mouths.”

In the early 1990s, their first specialty food company, Annie Chun’s, reinvented gourmet, easy-to-prepare pan-Asian soups and boldly flavored noodles. They sold it in 2008 to CJ Foods, Korea’s largest food company, and it continues to be a leading Asian food brand in the U.S.

As for the growing gimMe brand, it’s sold in all 50 states at large grocers and natural foods stores. Watch out, kale. If Chun and Broad have their way, the superfood will keep turning up in all kinds of unexpected places.--Julie Besonen