Our Story So Far
Our story began in early 2020 when our co-founder and President, Penelope Wasserman had the idea of adding seaweed to bread as a way to make people healthier (especially their bones) and make growing seaweed an important part of the blue economy that would help keep our planet healthier.
It took several months of recipe development using Arlin Wasserman’s Changing Tastes consulting firm and recent research he had done prior to Covid when the Biden Administration was hoping to create a National Seafood Council and learned that there were a lot of people in the United States who already ate seaweed, and wanted to eat more of it. Adding it to bread seemed like a great idea to make that happen because Americans already were eating lots of bread!
Penelope’s passion for wellness and nutrition began in her teens when her father was diagnosed with brain cancer. She was 15 and he was 38. It was 1977, health food was not considered mainstream and wouldn’t be for decades. Her mother used food as a way to improve his health and although he passed away the following year, she saw the benefits of a new and improved diet and was instrumental in her understanding that our wellness begins at the end of our forks.
Her passion for using food as medicine and finding alignment from the inside out inspired the development of Sea & Flour. As the Head of Branding, Design, and Social Strategies at Changing Tastes, she creates campaigns, brands, and strategies to promote social and ecological restoration. Her work on aligning consumer understanding and market recognition for fair treatment of workers along with regenerative agriculture and aquaculture has been integrated into a host of social marketing efforts and her presentation at the African Leadership Institute in Rwanda.
She also serves as a leadership ambassador for the U.S. Bone Health and Osteoporosis Foundation and teaches workshops for teams and organizations of all ages. Her Million Dollar Bones program, dedicated to the prevention of osteoporosis at the time in life where it can be most impactful, our teenage years, is part of her inspiration for Sea & Flour bread. The safe movement modifications necessary for optimal posture and bone health are now part of a wellness program Penelope has brought to the Hyatt corporation’s beautiful Carmel Valley Ranch where she is teaching her unique bone mobility classes to members and guests.
Mike Faherty and Arlin’s paths had crossed over the years due to their extensive food industry experience. Mike's mission is to help people rebuild their connections to nature by inspiring sustainable ideas and solutions. A food industry veteran, Mike loves brands that combine sustainable sourcing and manufacturing with taste, culinary credentials, and positive nutrition. Mike has grown brands and business portfolios at corporate and private equity companies, including Unilever and Kraft Foods. Mike lives in the New York area with his family and Josie the dog.
Arlin’s passion for making the world and the people in it healthier via food as his media has brought significant positive change for over two decades through his company Changing Tastes.
Formerly a member of Sodexo’s executive team and its first head of sustainability as well as culinary and nutrition in the U.S., he is also the creator of the Menus of Change program for the Culinary Institute of America and Harvard and the now ubiquitous plant-forward culinary strategy. Arlin will have a significant responsibility for foodservice sales. Arlin and his wife Penelope live and work together in Philadelphia and Carmel, California.
Ilene Z. Cantor, MPS, is the Chief Marketing Officer at Sea & Flour. Ilene wanted to “tell the story” for as long as she can remember. A NYC native and former TV Anchor for 16 years in four U.S. markets where she had a rewarding TV career in Maine (Presque Isle and Bangor) and Michigan (Lansing and Flint), she was searching for a new challenge. Opportunity knocked while doing a LIVE news report from a hospital in Flint, Michigan, and she was approached by their head of Marketing. He asked if she ever considered going into Marketing, PR and Communications. The rest, as they say is history. Ilene resigned from TV news, and worked as VP and Chief Marketing and Communications Officer in Michigan and California health systems over the next 16 years. During the Flint, Michigan water crisis, Ilene was responsible for all global messaging which aired in 20 countries, totaling $100m in added media value for her hospital.
Ilene loves sharing the stories across all marketing and social media channels that improve and impact people’s lives for the better. She graduated with a BA degree in Broadcast Journalism from Northeastern University in Boston and has a Master’s Degree in Strategic Public Relations from The George Washington University in Washington, D.C.
Ilene resides in Carmel, California with her husband Neil and son Robby.