How a husband and wife team took organic Sligo seaweed and made a global luxury brand

The Waltons founded Voya almost 20 years ago

Mark Walton of Voya at the company HQ in Sligo. Photo: James Connolly

Sean Pollock

In the boardroom of Voya, the luxury skincare brand, co-founder Mark Walton points to a black and white photograph on the wall that he believes signifies something that his competitors can’t buy.

In the photo, Walton’s late father, Michael – one of the early pioneers of the organic farming movement in Ireland – is seen holding aloft a clump of organic seaweed taken from the rugged coast of Co Sligo.