Coromandel Sea Salt can hold it’s head high

12 Sept

Opito Bay natural sea salt crystals

Opito Bay Salt Company at the 2025 IFE World Food Innovation Awards

When the IFE World Food Innovation Awards announced their results in London this year, our small corner of the Coromandel found itself standing tall among the world’s best. Opito Bay Salt Company, born on a remote stretch of New Zealand coastline, earned finalist status and commendations for three of our handcrafted salts.

For us, this isn’t just about trophies or ceremonies. It’s about honouring the sea, respecting our craft, and sharing with the world what happens when you let sun, wind, ocean and time work together.

The Flavours That Spoke for Us

We were proud to see three of our salts recognised on the international stage:

Each of these represents a different side of what we do. The Natural Sea Salt is our foundation — pure ocean naturally crystallised into translucent crystals with a soft crunch. The Black Garlic Sea Salt shows how flavour can be layered, bringing savoury depth that transforms even the simplest dish. And the Rare Dry Gin Sea Salt is about creativity and play, drawing on botanicals and distillation traditions to create something new yet grounded in authenticity.

What Makes Recognition Special

Our process is slow, deliberate, and stubbornly natural. We harvest seawater only when the swell is low, ensuring clarity and keeping sand on the seabed where it belongs. The water is carried into shallow pans inside tunnel houses, where sun and wind do their patient work. Weeks later, crystals begin to bloom across the surface. They are lifted by hand, dried naturally, and sorted with care.

There are easier ways to make salt. But there aren’t better ones. What these awards confirm is that patience and respect for nature create a taste and texture that can’t be replicated by speed or machinery.

The Taste of Place

One thing we hear again and again — from chefs, home cooks, and visitors alike — is that our salt “tastes like the sea.” Not the brash sharpness of brine, but something gentler, layered, and mineral-driven. A flavour that recalls summer on the beach, the smack of waves, and the sunbaked air of the Coromandel.

That’s why these commendations matter. They’re not just about us — they’re about this place. They prove that the remote Eastern Coromandel, with its clear waters and sun-blessed climate, can stand as one of the great salt-making regions of the world.

What It Means for Our Journey

Recognition at IFE London places us alongside some of the most innovative artisan producers in the world. For a small New Zealand company, it’s a powerful signal: that what we’re doing resonates beyond our shores.

It also opens doors. Buyers, chefs, and food writers who might never have discovered us now see what we’re capable of. That helps us grow in a way that sustains not only our business, but also the community we’re part of.

Looking Ahead

This recognition doesn’t change how we make salt. We’ll still be watching the tides, waiting on the weather, and harvesting crystals when they’re ready — not when a clock says so. What it does change is our confidence to keep going, to keep experimenting with new flavour partnerships, and to keep telling the story of this coast through the crystals we craft.

We’re deeply grateful — to those who taste, to those who share, and to those who believe that sea salt can be more than seasoning. It can be memory, landscape, and flavour in crystal form.

From the shores of Opito Bay to the world — thank you for celebrating this journey with us.

— Erin & Perry, Opito Bay Salt Company.

About the IFE World Food Innovation Awards

The IFE is one of the UK’s largest and most respected food awards. With over 1600 entrants from across the globe these awards symbolize innovation, quality and flavour at the very highest level. The IFE World Food Awards are regarded as a serious benchmark for any food brand or producer.