Meet Sebi & James

Just like you, we try our best to be healthy everyday! But, it can be difficult when there are so many unhealthy snacks & bars everywhere. This is why we made Phytabar, a delicious seaweed-chocolate nutrition bar that is actually good for you.

After two years in development, we launched the "perfect" blend between taste and health in May of 2024.

We met at Northeastern University and pursued Phytabar through the campus' entrepreneurial ecosystem. More on that below.

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We met in class in 2022, where James pitched his idea for a course project. Sebi immediately saw the vision James had in mind, and joined the team then and there. The class ended a few months later, but we kept at it, pitching at campus venture competitions and raising our first funds.

Our Story

Meet the Team

James Sibley

Growing up in a Massachusetts farm town (Carlisle), James spent his summers working the farms. When he went off to college in 2018, he missed the fresh, healthy food from back home, so he decided to add a minor in entrepreneurial startups to his coursework.
Northeastern University alumni of '23, James studied biology & entrepreneurship during college. Throughout this time, he began to develop his TikTok channel @SibleyAqua, known for his educational content on aquaculture and seafood. He is recognized as an "Omega-3 Enthusiast" and "The Aquaculture Guy."

With his background in biology, James started his online channels to educate consumers about various seafoods, focusing on sustainability and health benefits. After finding out about the American Omega-3 deficiency, he began to look into the food chain itself for potential solutions.

Sebastian "Sebi" Sanchez

Born in Florida by the ocean, surfing waves around the globe, Sebi was immersed within the oceanic community and wellness from the start. With a passion for impactful ventures, Sebi headed to Northeastern University in 2021 to pursue entrepreneurial studies.

After hearing James pitch the idea that would become Phytabar in class, Sebi was intrigued by the concept of a novel seaweed-chocolate nutrition bar, but skeptical of the taste.

After tasting one of the early bar prototypes, he was hooked! Sebi and James began working further on the idea from a group project in class to then pitching the idea around Northeastern. After receiving grants, designing, & developing the prototype with a manufacturer, they got to work bringing bars to Boston.