When shoppers search for the best seaweed snacks, they’re looking for three things: taste, better-for-you ingredients, and a brand they can trust.
Ocean’s Halo has emerged as a leading seaweed snack brand in the U.S. by combining strong Walmart execution with measurable sustainability. The result is consistent growth in one of the fastest-evolving better-for-you categories.
This case study highlights how Ocean’s Halo strengthened its position through disciplined retail execution, digital acceleration, and operational sustainability — in partnership with 8th & Walton.
Ocean’s Halo is a better-for-you Asian brand known for its seaweed snacks and globally inspired pantry staples. The brand has focused on making Asian-inspired products more accessible while prioritizing packaging innovation and environmental responsibility.
At Walmart, Ocean’s Halo’s seaweed snacks are widely distributed in stores with an Asian aisle and continue to gain momentum.
Ocean’s Halo set out to:
The strategy was simple: align brand momentum with operational excellence.
Seaweed snacks continue to expand as a better-for-you option within the snack aisle. Ocean’s Halo focused on defending and growing share through:
8th & Walton supported this effort by helping translate performance data into clear buyer-facing narratives, preparing for line reviews and modular discussions, and ensuring that growth recommendations were grounded in velocity, category trends, and profitability.
Rather than relying on trend momentum alone, the brand consistently demonstrated how expanded assortment drove category growth.
The result: significant year-over-year sales increases across core seaweed snack items and multipacks.
In addition to strengthening core items, Ocean’s Halo has successfully launched five Walmart-exclusive flavors over the years — Bacon, Ginger Sesame, Red Hot Chili Crunch, Thai Sweet Chili, and Sea Salt & Vinegar. Four of those five innovations went on to become the fastest-growing flavors in the entire seaweed snack category. That level of hit rate is rare in any market and reflects disciplined innovation aligned to shopper demand and modular timing.
Growth only matters if product is available.
As demand increased, Ocean’s Halo prioritized forecast alignment and supply chain consistency to reduce lost sales risk and protect OTIF performance.
8th & Walton worked alongside the Ocean’s Halo team to monitor forecast variances, flag potential demand gaps early, and prepare clear communications that aligned expectations across supply, replenishment, and merchant teams.
Operational discipline helped ensure that velocity gains translated into sustained performance — not avoidable disruption.
Digital discovery is increasingly important in snack and better-for-you categories.
Ocean’s Halo strengthened its Walmart Connect and dotcom strategy by:
8th & Walton provided strategic guidance on campaign structure, competitive defense, and performance measurement — helping ensure that digital investment reinforced in-store growth rather than operating in isolation.
One example of this guidance was expanding digital visibility beyond the narrow “seaweed snacks” search category and into the broader “healthy snacks” space. By leveraging digital advertising to grow the shelf digitally, Ocean’s Halo increased exposure to new audiences, driving incremental trial, attracting new-to-seaweed customers, and strengthening overall brand awareness.
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Ocean’s Halo’s seaweed snacks are 100% trayless — eliminating plastic trays commonly used in the category.
This decision supports both environmental impact and logistics efficiency.
8th & Walton supported the brand in quantifying and articulating these sustainability outcomes in a way that resonated with retail stakeholders — ensuring the environmental story was both measurable and retailer-relevant.
Ocean’s Halo and 8th & Walton have worked together to align growth strategy, operational discipline, and retailer communication.
The focus has never been to replace the brand in the relationship — but to strengthen preparation, clarity, and follow-through. From assortment positioning to digital strategy to sustainability storytelling, the partnership helped ensure that momentum translated into measurable, retail-ready results.
Ocean’s Halo continues to strengthen its position as a leading seaweed snack brand at Walmart by combining:
As consumer demand for better-for-you snacks and sustainability transparency increases, Ocean’s Halo is positioned for continued growth — built on execution that retailers can trust.
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