Opito Bay Salt Co. co-founders Perry Cornish and Erin Mone.
When Erin Mone returned from a girls’ weekend, she bought partner Perry Cornish some artisan sea salt as a present.
A bottle of wine later, the Auckland couple decided to make sea salt the next time they were at Cornish’s bach in Coromandel’s Ōpito Bay.
What followed were the makings of an award-winning salt and seasoning business and the couple’s move from New Zealand’s biggest city to an “amazing” small community with 50 permanent residents.
Cornish said he and Mone were working in corporate finance for different companies in Auckland when the idea for the Opito Bay Salt Co was born.
“At that time, I was just starting to use Himalayan salt and was really excited by the concept of pure and natural sea salt that wasn’t processed in any way and wasn’t a rock salt, like Himalayan.”
Cornish said the reason behind having a bach and their subsequent move to the “stunningly beautiful” Ōpito Bay was its “wonderful beach and amazing fishing”.
“The Mercury Islands are a unique playground and the seawater is clean and clear ... but it’s a bit off the beaten track.”
The couple started their move to Ōpito Bay in February 2020, just a month before the first Covid-19 lockdown.
Their business plan then went on hold “as the world worked out what to do next”.
Cornish said the couple did some trials and made some sea salt.
“It was hit and miss initially, but we decided to bite the bullet and get a proper greenhouse and make some sea salt.
“It became, and still is, a learning process and we continue to hone the art of sea salt-making and get inspired with our meeting with other sea salt farmers from around the world.”
Starting any business was a risk, so they posted on Facebook to gauge interest within the Ōpito Bay community.
Their first 200 bags in January 2021 “sold out in a week”, he said.
“So that, and with a couple of retailers showing interest in the product, we got to work making more salt and building a few more greenhouses.”
Cornish said “everything” was a challenge when starting, from production to marketing, logistics, inventory, compliance, sales, growth, channel management and weather.
“They all need attention and mastery of some kind.”
At the beginning of their second summer, two cyclones hit during the key summer and Christmas period.
“We had to revise the business plan as, at that point, this was our biggest sales channel and half our revenue was made over a month.”
The couple pivoted to focus on farmers’ markets in Tauranga, Hamilton and Clevedon in the Auckland region.
Cornish said they had grown the production side of the business “massively” and sold 95% of what they made each year.
“We want to make our sea salt more affordable, and the only way to do that is to make more, more efficiently.
“I think we are getting known in NZ for what we do. And there’s an amazing cohort of customers that appreciate natural NZ sea [salt] for its taste, texture and mineral content.”
One of the most rewarding parts of his job was harvesting the seawater.
“It’s physical, hard work and long days, but it’s elemental and really connects you to what we are doing in the most direct way.”
Another was the “incredible” customer reactions when they first tasted “a real sea salt”.
“The ‘wow’ comments and ‘it tastes like the sea’ are really rewarding, as there’s nothing like it in NZ.”
Cornish said Auckland was a great city with a vibrant food scene.
“We’ve got some top chefs on our supply list and they have been very encouraging. We certainly miss that.
“However, we now have a vibrant community of passionate food producers around us from all across NZ that we see regularly at food shows and festivals.”
The “biggest wrench” leaving Auckland was that two of his children still lived there and seeing them regularly could be challenging.
“But with the Barrier Air link to Auckland Airport and a 25-minute flight, we have made it work.”
The couple have recently been in Europe, walking the ancient salt route from Menton in southern France to Cuneo, across the border in Italy.
Cornish said it was part of the “Routes Du Sel” or “Via Sale”, used by mule trains to carry sea salt into the mountains for food production and commerce.
They also met sea salt farmers in Gruissan and Agde in southern France to share and learn ideas.
Two years ago, the couple met solar salt farmers in Ireland, Washington state, Jersey, Sicily and Scotland.
“It’s great that we can transfer knowledge and experience across this very small, unique profession.”
Megan Wilson is a health and general news reporter for the Bay of Plenty Times and Rotorua Daily Post. She has been a journalist since 2021.