Opito Bay Salt: Fresh packaging sparks a sea change

For Erin Mone and Perry Cornish, the founders of Opito Bay Salt, the idea for their business came like so many good ideas do – over a glass (or two).

“On a road trip with some friends I found some artisan sea salt and I brought some back as a present for Perry,” says Erin. “After a bottle of red wine, we decided – wouldn’t it be great if we could make sea salt in Opito Bay?”

The pair set about turning that idea into a thriving small business, eventually trading their full-time office jobs for the pristine waters of Opito Bay. Their premium, hand- crafted sea salt – packaged in environmentally sustainable materials – has since won a raft of awards, both in New Zealand and abroad.

No small feat, considering the brand’s humble beginnings.

“From the very beginning we’ve kind of bootstrapped the business,” Erin says. “What we wanted to be able to do is take our business to the next level.”

With Opito Bay Salt gaining traction, Erin and Perry saw export as a natural next step. But to make that leap, something fundamental had to change.

“What we needed to have is better packaging to be able to meet that channel demand,” says Erin.

While the brand’s packaging reflected its artisan roots, it wasn’t performing as well as it could in stores.

“The challenge is that when we put more than one of these packs together on a shelf… they look very samey,” explains Perry. “That made it hard for customers to discern the flavours of the different salts. We needed to fix that.”

Enter the ANZ Business Boost programme.

To Perry, the goal was clear: to “recraft the brand’s packaging and design to get rid of the sea of brown”.

At the same time, it was important for the new packaging to stay true to Opito Bay Salt’s story and values. “The artisan look to our brand and our packaging is kind of essential to who we are,” says Perry. He points to the brand’s use of kraft packaging (eco-friendly brown paper). “We wanted to retain that through the design process.”

Printing on kraft packaging is no easy feat, so Erin and Perry brought a specialist on board to work their magic.

“We engaged a designer that had experience printing and designing on kraft packaging,” Perry explains. “It allowed us to do some mockups and some tests.” Multiple rounds of design later, Opito Bay Salt’s new premium packaging was launched.

The results have been what Erin and Perry hoped for. “On the retail shelves, the packaging is doing exactly what we wanted it to do. It’s popping on the shelf and customers really can see what the different flavours are.”

In the end, the ANZ Business Boost programme didn’t just help to improve Opito Bay Salt’s artisan packaging. It’s fueled the brand’s growth plan.

“The ANZ Business Boost has turbo-charged our overall business plan,” says Perry. “We would possibly be waiting another 18 months to two years before we got to the point where we are now.”

The acceleration has expanded the pair’s horizons. They’re now looking at new export markets and even exploring new product ranges. According to Perry, “This new packaging, which is fit for purpose both for the New Zealand market [and] the international market, absolutely means that we can escalate and drive forward our plans.”

Erin agrees. “With the help of the ANZ Business Boost programme, we hope to be exporting much more of our product – maybe up to 50% over the next two to five years – and bringing our beautiful sea salt to the world.”

With fresh packaging, a growth plan in motion and the right support behind them, Erin and Perry are feeling confident about the future. Their advice to other business owners? Start with a strong foundation but be prepared to pivot.

“Make sure you’re adaptable and flexible, because things might not go the way you think” says Erin.

From a pinch of inspiration to a brand ready to take on the world, Opito Bay Salt is proof that with vision – and a bit of a boost – small businesses can make big waves.