If you were thrown in a time machine and forced back ten years (no money, no connections, no lotto numbers) just the knowledge, instincts and attitude you have today… what would you do differently? Would you play it safer? Or swing harder?

Sarah doesn’t have a time machine and hypothetical thought experiments are for losers. But in today’s episode, we have a chat with Sarah Leung, founder of Alg Seaweed and the soon-to-launch Umei. She’s swinging for the fences on her second time at launching a food biz and she’s a world of wisdom for any student of the game.

Buckle up and grab an onigiri, we’re on…

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Back with unfinished business

Sarah Leung thought she could convince Australia to fall in love with seaweed.

And to an extent, she did. Her brand Alg Seaweed got picked up by MasterChef, landed a double-page spread in the Sunday papers and stocked in 200 Woolworths stores. That’s a win by any measure.

Eventually, the listing ended. The brand survived (barely) but Sarah was burnt out. Not just from the logistics but from the emotional weight of building a business around an ingredient that most Australians didn’t understand, let alone crave.

But it’s far from over. Sarah’s back, and this time, she’s bringing mayo.

Her new brand, Umei, is a Japanese-inspired mayonnaise range that’s already turning heads - not just because the flavours slap (think yuzu, korean chilli and a killer seaweed version), but because it feels like a founder brand done right.

Here are five things Sarah’s doing differently this time around.

1. She’s building a brand, not just a product

“With Alg, I made the product the brand. Seaweed was the identity. I thought, ‘If I just push hard enough, I’ll get people to love it.’”

Umei is a love letter to asian convenience store culture - fun, accessible, a bit cheeky. Her launch activation includes a gacha machine, the toy capsule game you twist at arcades. It’s not just a gimmick. It’s the whole point.

2. She’s not leading with health claims (even though she could)

Sarah’s a trained dietitian. She could fill a label with health claims if she wanted to. But this time, she’s choosing restraint.

It’s a subtle but important shift. Health is still baked in - Umei’s made with clean ingredients, and yes, it’s egg-free. But it doesn’t shout about it.

“This is just a really good mayo that happens to be plant-based. That’s it.”

3. She’s done trying to fit in

When Sarah first launched Alg, she sourced her seaweed from Europe. Not Japan. She tried to make it work in pasta dishes. Not asian dishes. She didn’t lean into the culture - she softened it.

“I came to Australia when I was 15. I couldn’t speak English. I just wanted to fit in. For years, I think I was still doing that through my business.”

It wasn’t until a flight from Melbourne to Hobart that things started to shift.

“I’d done this big brand workshop and walked out more confused than ever. So on the plane, I just wrote down - what really matters to me?”

She scribbled on the back of a sick bag: connection, flavour, fun, family, culture.

“Seaweed wasn’t even on the list.”

That was the moment Umei was born.

4. She’s planning to scale, but not rushing it

Umei looks slick. The branding’s tight (shoutout Pip), the recipe is commercial-ready, and Sarah’s been in talks with majors. But she’s not jumping straight back into the deep end.

“With Alg, I didn’t realise how much investment you need to really make Woolies or Coles work. We were about to submit to a range review - then found out we’d need $50–60K just in marketing.”

This time, she’s doing it differently. Launching DTC first. Lining up premium independents. Building a community. Slowly.

“We’ll scale. But we’re not going zero to 100. I want to prove it first. Then earn it.”

5. She’s more experienced (and more anxious)

Here’s the twist: knowing more doesn’t always make it easier.

“Everyone keeps saying, ‘Oh, second time around, you’ll nail it!’ But that’s the pressure. It’s like… I should know better. So I can’t fuck it up.”

Sarah admits that launching Umei has been more stressful than launching Alg - not because she’s less confident, but because she cares more about doing it right.

“With Alg, I didn’t know what I didn’t know. This time, I know exactly how hard it is - and I want to do it better.”

She’s hired a content strategist. Brought in consultants. Built an outsourced team around her - branding, marketing, manufacturing, and more. But it’s still lonely.

“Sometimes I wish I had a co-founder. But I also like calling the shots. So I just write to-do lists for everything and tick them off one by one.”

Founder life.

What happens next?

Sarah’s aiming big. She wants Umei in major supermarkets eventually. But she’s not banking on one listing to define the business. She’s building slowly, across channels - ecomm, indies, foodservice and beyond.

There’s more in the pipeline too - Umei is designed to stretch into other categories.

“Mayo was one of three ideas I had. We just happened to start here because the product tasted amazing.”

She’s bootstrapping for now, but preparing for a raise - quietly building a deck in the background.

“We’ll want angel investors eventually. Not just money - people who’ve built something, who get the grind, who love the brand and want to be part of it.”

If you’re one of those people (or just want to try the mayo) - follow @umeifoods and head to umeifoods.com.au. The first 50 bottles are free.

Just don’t call it a vegan mayo.