From The Salt Barons Desk - We are back!
Hi there my fellow salty fans.
I had been a little quiet during the whole lockdown, but figured you were probably already being bombarded enough with blogs and marketing emails so I resisted the temptation. But it is safe to say that The Taipa Salt Pig has reemerged with a bang and our little business has been overwhelmed with support since we reopened.
Firstly, I hope you are all doing well and that like me you have made the most of this unexpected break we have all been given. Personally, the grounds here at The Taipa Salt Pig haven’t looked better. Gardens nicely weeded, new areas of overgrown scrub dealt to and even new tracks and pathways started and nearly finished. The lawns look fantastic, even the neighbours Batch lawns look good mainly because when I get really bored, I head out and mow their lawns for them! Should be a nice surprise when they finally get back up here.
The last of this season’s salt pans are just about ready to harvest. Next week we should be able to lock away another sixty kilos of bright white salt ready to get us through winter. At this stage it looks like we will have a very nice stockpile of close to Two Hundred Kilos to get us through winter and allow us to be ready for a “full on” assault next September, when hopefully we can start getting back to Farmers Markets and other shows.
We took the decision to shut the entire operation down at the beginning of level 4, mainly because the Salt Baroness works in the health field and with her coming and going it made more sense to take a conservative approach in terms of production. However we have now re-opened the online store, with the approval of Council and MPI, so if you are running low you can head on over to the store at wwwthetaipasaltpig.com, and we will hook you up quicker than you can say “I’ve really gone off bubbles!!”
One truly wonderful and unexpected surprise was the overwhelming support we got from a post we put up on Facebook page set up by Sarah Colcord called New Zealand Made Products. Our little webstore hasn't seen so much action in quite a while. I have to say the Post Shop staff had a look of shock when I wheeled a supermarket trolley filled with parcels into their Post Shop. Thanks again to Sarah and her team for coming up with such a great idea and thanks to all you existing and new salt fiends who have really helped kick start our little business.
An unexpected advantage of the shut down is that it has also given us time to plan and prepare for the construction of more evaporators to boost our production capacity significantly. We are looking at an additional three smaller tunnel houses, with moon pools, and two additional terraced facilities similar in design to “Gertrude The Glorious”. This should at least double our capacity which then allows us to get into the wholesale supply of bigger food outlets and restaurants. It should also mean that with a bit of luck I can winkle the Baroness away from her job, and finally get a full time slave to help me out at the farm!
One of the hardest things for me has been the fact that I haven’t been able to get out to Puheke Beach. The road has been temporarily closed so it’s a no go unfortunately. Of course I'm hoping that next week me and Jorgi the salt dog can go out for a drive and a walk. This time of year, you can almost guarantee we will have the place to ourselves, which is just how we like it.
We have also been tinkering with a couple of new flavour ideas. My Dear sweet sister has brought me a dehydrator so I am hanging out for that to arrive so we can have a tinker with some native herbs, local seaweeds and other ideas. I had a suggestion from someone that I swap my Guinness salt for a Corona Beer salt, not the best idea I have ever been given, and I can confirm it’s not a goer!
Finally just before lockdown we received our first order of glass jars for our new jar swap project. With the help of the Kaitaia Eco Centre we will be trialling a recycling project as soon as they are back open. The basic idea is to sell the salt in Glass Jars rather than the cardboard and paper bags with their recyclable plastic bags inside. Each time you bring your empty jar back you get 50c off your next purchase as a recycling refund. Hopefully if that takes off we will roll it out at all of our stores and at the Farmers Markets next season.
Oh, and just before I go attached is a Drone Video shot by my son Aiden and his mate Chase around Christmas time. Whenever I miss Puheke I just stick this on my computer screen and marvel at just how lucky I am to have that beach as one of my workplaces. The salt farm looks pretty cool as well even if I do say so myself!
Stay safe and hopefully we will see you soon.
James
The Pig Says Cheers