Some enterprising Icelanders have sealed a deal to sell Icelandic salt from the Westfjords to an American company for distribution there.
DV reports that the company in question, Saltverk Reykjanes, was formed only last year but has already closed their first export deal to the US. Mark Bitterman, the author of the book Salted, took an interest in the enterprise and ordered their salt, which is now for sale in New York and Portland.
Garðar Stefánsson, one of the owners of the company, said of the deal, “[Bitterman] asked for five hundred kilos but we came to the agreement that he could have twenty. I visited him, and offered our salt to be judged. It was really stressful waiting to hear what he thought, as he has 300 types of salt in his shop and knows his stuff. But he found our salt incredibly good and wanted to start selling it immediately, so it passed the test.”
Garðar, along with Björn Steinar Jónsson and Yngvi Eiríksson, founded the company in January 2011. What makes Saltverk Reykjanes special, they say, is that it is the only “green” salt production centre in the world. Historically, Iceland’s first salt production began in Reykjanes in the Westfjords, and so Saltverk Reykjanes is repeating history, Garðar said.
The company also has a Tumblr page, where you can see the salt production in action.
Buy subscriptions, t-shirts and more from our shop right here!
