Halen Môn devises a finer salt crystal

Feb 28 2008 by Sion Barry, Western Mail

HALEN MÔN has devised a new finer flake sea salt that is ideal for sprinkling on food.

Like Halen Môn’s existing range of pure white and flavoured salts, the new product is harvested from the clear Atlantic waters around the Isle of Anglesey.

The company worked in conjunction with Manufacturing Advisory Service Wales to develop its new salt product.

Since its launch ten years ago, Halen Môn has gained an international reputation for the calibre of its products.

Halen Môn is now used by five of the world’s top 50 restaurants, including the global number one El Bulli in Spain, where there is a two-year waiting list for a table, and Heston Blumenthal’s Fat Duck – which holds the world’s number two rating.

It is also stocked by Harvey Nichols, Marks & Spencer and Waitrose.

Co-founder David Lea-Wilson said, “All companies need to innovate if they are to remain competitive, which is why we called in MAS Wales expertise to help us devise an efficient method of crystalising our new salt.

“The finer sea salt is in demand from commercial customers who wish to incorporate it in food products such as cheese and crisps, and will also be on sale in delis and food stores, along with our existing range.”

Halen Môn has already worked with MAS Wales on a number of other successful projects – for example, resolving a production bottleneck and upping productivity by 10% as a consequence.

“MAS Wales made a fairly simple yet fundamental adjustment to the way we operate – improving our production levels by 10%,” said Mr Lea-Wilson.

“Such improvements are hard to make without the clear-sightedness of an impartial observer.”

MAS Wales also provided support to project manage the company’s move to larger premises – minimising disruption and ensuring that production could continue.

“We had envisaged a production gap of four-six weeks,” says Mr Lea-Wilson. “That was a very worrying prospect, as it could have jeopardised the whole business. Losing 10% of our year’s production could have resulted in our customers going elsewhere.”

MAS Wales chief executive Paul Byard said, “We are delighted that our support has helped Halen Môn to produce another addition to its product line.

“Companies need to evolve constantly in order to meet customers’ demands,” he added.

“Fine tuning production processes is also essential in keeping a business profitable – companies are frequently unaware that fairly simple adjustments can significantly improve profit margins.”

The company said the salt is taken from very pure water under a sandbank in the sea, which has already been filtered by mussels.

The company boasts its product is fully traceable, with the initials of the person who picked the salt even printed at the bottom of the containers.

Exporting currently accounts for 50% of Halen Môn’s business and it is active in more than 20 markets worldwide, with Spanish chefs appreciating it the most outside the UK.