New CMO Aims To Make Gimme Seaweed A Lifestyle Brand
Sarah Mahoney
Fri, July 24, 2026 at 9:08 PM GMT+5:30
3 min read
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Gimme Seaweed, the company that has madethe Korean-inspired salty snack a fan favorite, is ready to move on into new categories. The company has hired Sara Mendez Bermudez as new CMO. Previously, she had been global CMO at SC Johnson’sLifestyle Brands, including Method, Mrs. Meyer’s, and Ecover
She’s enjoying getting started on expanding Gimme’s appeal and appreciating the energy that comes from a categorypioneer. The company launched 14 years ago, bringing a Korean staple to American snackers, who have grown increasingly hungry for organic, better-for-you snacks, as well as the umami flavors Gen Z andmillennials love. It helps that  many of them started young, thanks to health-conscious parents who made Gimme a lunchbox snack
Gimme is sold through Amazon, Target and Walmart, andalready has some obsessively happy customers. Mendez Bermudez says the brand has 54% share of the seaweed snack category, with annual sales growth in the double digits. To her, that meansGimme is ready for its next big move: “The brand is ready to be turned into a lifestyle brand, because it already holds a meaningful place in consumers’ lives.”
And because 64% ofU.S. consumers still don’t know that seaweed can be a snack, there’s plenty of room for growth
That step requires an even deeper understanding of core audience’s values. “Weneed to show up where they need it, add value to those moments, and do it consistently and authentically,” says Mendez Bermudez
Method, she points out, “started as a cleaningbrand and has now moved into beauty.” People only give brands permission to play above their category, she tells CPG Insider, “because it plays a meaningful role in their lives.”
She’s not saying yet what thoseadjacent categories might be, but will stay well within the better-for-you lanes where it is already succeeding. “But I will say we are starting to think about our targets in terms ofcommunities with different passion points,” tapping into foodie and culinary networks, modern families, and people looking to try new things
“It’s also a playful brand, witha friendly turtle logo.”
Marketing relies on influencers, and eventually, she says the company will look for agency partners. For now, her key goals are increasing penetration, brandawareness and engagement
But the main shift she hopes to mine is the ongoing redefinition of what it means to snack. “It’s shifting from just being fuel, something that I need to eatbetween main meals, or even as a meal replacement, into more of an identity category.”
