**1. Introduction**

Marine macroalgae i.e., seaweeds, have been well recognised for centuries by their importance in the diet of many Far Eastern countries, such as Japan and Korea [1,2]. They are nutritionally very wealthy, being claimed as a great source of complex polysaccharides, minerals, proteins and vitamins, as well as of several phycochemicals [3,4]. Actually, a regular seafood consumption, in which seaweeds are included, has been associated with a myriad of health benefits and a longer life expectancy [5,6] and these combined facts are leading to an increased interest in the manufacture and consumption of high-value macroalgae-derived products in Western cultures. Their consumption is also in line with the increasing awareness of consumers' perceptions towards organic products and of environmentally sustainable products. As a result, according to the Seafood Source report, the global seaweed market is expected to grow to USD 22.1 billion by 2024 [7].

Nowadays, amongst all three types of macroalgae (green, red and brown), brown algae are the most consumed species (66.5%), followed by red (33%) and green (5%) algae [8]. *Phaeophyceae* possess a high content of diverse phycochemicals and have been repeatedly claimed to exert important therapeutic properties, which turn them into great candidates to be used as bioactive agents in many industries, including the functional food market [9–11].

Europe has been recently highlighted as one of the most innovative regions regarding the use of seaweeds as a food ingredient with new products emerging on the European market increasing at exponential rates [12]. In fact, according to the Seafood Source report, the new products containing this new ingredient launched on the European market increased by 147% between 2011 and 2015, making Europe the most innovative region globally after Asia [13]. In this region, algae are considered as novel foods and a limited number of brown macroalgae species are considered to be safe for human consumption, namely *Fucus vesiculosus, Fucus serratus, Himanthalia elongata*, *Undaria pinnatifida*, *Ascophyllum nodosum*, *Laminaria digitata, Laminaria saccharina, Laminaria japonica* and *Alaria esculenta* [14]. The present manuscript reviews the current knowledge on the incorporation of these brown seaweed species and brown seaweed-derived high-value products in common food products.
