SaltWorks, Inc. is an American company that imports, manufactures and supplies gourmet and artisanal sea salt.[1][2][3] SaltWorks is the largest gourmet salt company in the world.[4] Headquartered in Woodinville, Washington, United States, the company sells gourmet and artisanal sea salts and bath salts for retail and wholesale use.[5][6] SaltWorks was co-founded by CEO Mark Zoske and Naomi Novotny in 2001.[1][2]
 | |
| Industry | Gourmet salts |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2001 |
| Headquarters | Woodinville, WA , USA |
Area served | Worldwide |
Key people | Mark Zoske, CEO & Founder |
| Website | www |
The company sells gourmet specialty salts under the Artisan brand and all-natural flavored salts under the Fusion brand.[7]
History
editSaltWorks was founded in 2001 in Redmond, Washington by husband-wife team Mark Zoske and Naomi Novotny.[1][8] Zoske previously designed water skis and wakeboards and Novotny worked in business development for a software company.[6] The company was founded as an Internet-based business that sold gourmet salts.[1][9] The couple initially financed the company with $1500 in credit cards.[2][8] The company originally focused on individual consumers,[9] but expanded to sell to grocers in the US and Canada, food manufacturers and specialty retailers.[2]
In January 2006, SaltWorks launched its own gourmet brand, Artisan Salt Company.[2][7] In November 2006, Saltworks moved from its original facility based in Redmond, Washington to a larger facility in Woodinville, Washington.[6] The Woodinville headquarters holds the company's offices, and manufacturing and packaging facilities.[6] SaltWorks later moved to a larger 100,000 square-foot facility in December 2011.[10][11]
In 2014, Zoske received the EY Entrepreneur Of The Year 2014 Pacific Northwest Award.[12] As of 2015, the company has been included on Inc. Magazine's list of fastest growing companies consecutively since 2007.[13] SaltWorks' Seattle area salt processing facility received the Safe Quality Foods (SQF) Level 2 certification from NSF International in 2016. The certification ensures that food manufacturers abide by FDA guidelines and the Food Safety Modernization Act.[14]
Product
editThe company sells over 110 varieties of salts,[4] including pink Himalayan salt, smoked salts, black and white truffle salts, Fleur de sel, kosher salt and more.[15] The salts are imported from 14 countries, including Brazil, France and Italy. The company sells retail, bulk and wholesale volumes ranging from 5 ounces to 40,000 pounds.[2] SaltWorks uses a combination of sifters, aspirators, and rare-earth magnets to detect and filter unwanted materials from its salt.[1] SaltWorks fabricates most of its processing equipment on-site.[1] The company does not use anti-caking agents or artificial flavors.[1] All SaltWorks salts are certified kosher.[16]
In addition to selling culinary salt under SaltWorks' own brands, the company sells its products wholesale to food manufacturers.[2] The company also sells its salt as a private label brand to grocers and specialty retailers.[1] The company also sells bath and spa salts including Dead Sea and Epsom bath salts.[2]
References
edit- ^ a b c d e f g h "Woodinville's SaltWorks fine-tunes the salt we crave". The Seattle Times. Retrieved April 9, 2014.
- ^ a b c d e f g h "Naomi Novotny and Mark Zoske, SaltWorks' founders, have cooked a spicy tale". Pudget Sound Business Journal. Retrieved April 9, 2014.
- ^ "The Salts Of The Seas". Bloomberg Businessweek. Retrieved April 9, 2014.
- ^ a b Julia Anderson (August 2014). "SaltWorks Is at the Top of the Gourmet Trade". Seattle Business. Retrieved 18 September 2014.
- ^ "Forget Morton's Salt". TIME. Archived from the original on September 16, 2007. Retrieved April 9, 2014.
- ^ a b c d Wolfe, Anna (February 2007). "SaltWorks Triples Headquarters". Gourmet News. p. 18.
- ^ a b "425 Magazine". 425 Magazine. Winter 2007.
- ^ a b "Mineral Miracle". Entrepreneur. Retrieved April 9, 2014.
- ^ a b Lyons, Zachary D. (April 2007). "Salty Obsession". Seattle Business Monthly.
- ^ "Woodinville's SaltWorks fine-tunes the salt we crave". The Seattle Times. July 27, 2012. Retrieved July 22, 2016.
- ^ "We Have Moved!". SaltWorks. January 10, 2012. Retrieved July 22, 2016.
- ^ "SaltWorks CEO Receives Accolade". Gourmet News. 11 July 2014. Retrieved 18 September 2014.
- ^ "SaltWorks". Inc. Magazine. 2015. Retrieved May 25, 2016.
- ^ Crane, Michael (March 25, 2016). "SaltWorks Granted SQF Level 2 Certification by NSF International". Nutritional Outlook. Retrieved May 25, 2016.
- ^ Megan Hill (2016). "The Business of Salt". Willows Lodge Magazine. Vol. 3. Hawthrone Publications. pp. 20–25. Retrieved May 25, 2016.
- ^ "Foods in Focus: A New Look at Artisanal Salts". Specialty Foods. Retrieved May 25, 2016.
