Success no mere flake
A GEELONG boutique salt manufacturer is stepping up its retail strategy after temporarily losing its prime restaurant and hotel market to the COVID-19 lockdown.
Based in North Shore, the Australian Flake Salt Co. had also just started exporting to Malaysia after becoming hazard analysis and critical control points (HACCP) accredited when the coronavirus dramatically impacted the seven-year-old business.
The company has combined new technology with old methodology to produce distinct, high-quality salt flakes that it markets under the brand “South Salt”.
Co-founder Frank McManus said South Salt had distributors in every mainland Australian state and was selling directly to some leading restaurants and to customers online.
“With the closure of restaurants and hotels, we lost 80 per cent (of revenue); that was our key market,” he said.
Australian Flake Salt has used the COVID-19 downturn to install new equipment at its North Shore processing plant and to focus on its retail strategy — including the aim of gaining greater traction in Geelong, where it is sold by a handful of stockists.
Mr McManus, a mining engineer, and co-founder John Petrov are both former senior executives of Cheetham Salt, which was founded in Geelong in the 19th century.
When he was Cheetham’s sales and marketing manager, Mr McManus was involved in selling salt to Japan where it was mixed with sea water.
He said Australian Flake Salt was following a similar process, mixing salt from South Australia and water from the ocean at Point Roadknight to create a brine that was filtered using sand.
“As far as I know we are the first ones to do it in Australia,” Mr McManus said.
He said the process, using an open pan salt grainer, meant the resultant salt flakes were free of impurities but “have all the minerals that the ocean has”.
“That comes up in the flavour, which is driving its popularity,” he said.
Some of the major distributors require HACCP certification, an international standard governing food safety control, and Australian Flake Salt Co obtained that earlier this year.
Australian Flake Salt has ridden the surge in Australia’s foodie culture and Mr McManus is confident it is placed to service ongoing growth in the market once the COVID-19 lockdown is over.
He said that the company was producing about 50 tonnes a year pre-pandemic but has the capacity to grow to about 250 tonnes. It had developed the product, improved production capacity, built its marketing collateral and was trading profitably.
“We have done all the steps the right way,” Mr McManus said. “My expectation is that the growth of the market will continue on way past this.
“People want to make good food … and they are going to move towards high-quality flake salt.”
To purchase South Salt, or to become a stockist, go to southsalt.com.au for more information.