Commercial property demand falls but investment enquiries for industrial space up – The Pembrokeshire Herald
WALES’ first regenerative ocean farm, Câr-Y-Môr, has purchased The Pembrokeshire Beach Food Company. The purchase, completed on July 4, 2024 and announced today, Wednesday July 24, at The Royal Welsh Show, will expand Câr-Y-Môr’s selection of seaweed and shellfish products with an exciting new range of seaweed deli produce.
The Pembrokeshire Beach Food Company was founded in 2012 by local entrepreneur Jonathan Williams, inspired by his love of food, the beach, and the sea. Its deli products grew from recipes created at Café Mor, the award-winning solar-powered mobile street food kitchen Jonathan set up in 2010.
Over the years, The Pembrokeshire Beach Food Company’s products have won several coveted Great Taste awards, and the range has grown to include dried seaweeds, seasonings and sauces, seaweed butters and pestos, and laverbread, a culinary staple of Welsh culture.
Its products will now enhance Câr-Y-Môr’s existing online and wholesale seaweed and shellfish offering, allowing customers to access a premium seafood and a deli range, directly from Câr-Y-Môr’s website and farm shop, as well as the existing Pembrokeshire Beach Foods site.
St Davids-based Câr-Y-Môr produces seaweed and shellfish in the Grade A waters of Ramsey Sound, on Pembrokeshire’s beautiful coast. It was formed as a Community Benefit Society in 2019, providing year-round employment opportunities and support to the local community, while advancing the regenerative ocean farming industry in Wales and beyond.
As a pioneer investor and early supporter of Câr-Y-Môr’s journey, ever-busy entrepreneur Jonathan Williams will be charting a course for new challenges, including a Blue Carbon project, running The Old Point House pub in Angle, and overseeing operations at Barti Rum, a seaweed infused spice rum.
Jonathan Williams said: “I’m proud to be passing The Pembrokeshire Beach Food Company into such safe hands. It’s been a wonderful journey building the company and showcasing the outstanding produce that comes from the seas off the Pembrokeshire Coast. Câr-Y-Môr shares the same commitment to championing Welsh delicacies through sustainable food production that benefits the people and communities of Pembrokeshire. I’m very pleased to see The Pembrokeshire Beach Food Company moving on to an exciting new chapter.”
The purchase will enhance Câr-Y-Môr’s food offering, but this is just one part of the ocean farm’s work. In addition to products for consumption, Câr-Y-Môr is collaborating with partners to develop products such as biostimulants and bioplastics, in a move to inspire other well-established industries—from agriculture to consumer packaging—to develop greener practices using abundant and sustainable resources from the sea.
Câr-Y-Môr founder Owen Haines said: “We’re very excited to have purchased The Pembrokeshire Beach Food Company, which is a perfect addition to Câr-Y-Môr’s food offering. As well as the existing website, its products will be available direct from Câr-Y-Môr for pick-up and home delivery, alongside our outstanding fish and seafood. Our mission is to improve the coastal environment and the well-being of the local community through regenerative ocean farming and sustainable job creation, and this new purchase will help us to further that aim.
“We are looking forward to developing The Pembrokeshire Beach Food Company’s offering while also continuing our important work to pioneer new ways to harness the sea’s sustainable resources in industries beyond the food sector.”
