Crab cooking pots and 5-gallon buckets
In a remote cabin 50 miles by boat from Sitka, Alaska, Jim and Darcy Michener accidentally left a crab cooking pot of sea water brewing on the stove. Overnight as the water boiled out, an enticing pattern of sea salt stuck to the rim of the pot.
“We recognized it for what it was,” Jim said.
This was in 2000. The Micheners took home the salt for kitchen use and continued to make it yearly at the cabin. Over the next five years, they developed a love for artisanal food and ingredients, as well as a fascination with sea salt.
They delved into the world of salt and discovered that fine salts are like a good microbrew or artisanal cheese — full of variety, flavors and textures.
“I thought salt was salt,” said Jim, who discovered that he and his wife were making flake salt, which is more reminiscent of a snowflake than of the hard, crunchy sea salt crystals from Hawaii.
In 2005, the Micheners decided to get serious about their passion and become the first U.S. commercial producers of flake sea salt.
Now, they own the successful Sitka-based business Alaska Pure Sea Salt Company.
“It took two full years of experimenting,” Jim said.
A charter fishing boat captain in the summer, Jim lugged many a 5-gallon water bucket, weighing in at about 42 pounds each, up the boat harbor ramp.
“I would play with the formulas, and empirically and systematically work out the formula,” he said. “It was almost like going back to school. I pulled out my old college chemistry book.”
The final product resulted in the desired pyramidal-shaped flake, or finishing salt as it’s called. It is used 
on food during the final steps of preparation.
“It has a really delicate crunch to it,” Jim said. “Pyramidal finishing salt has the texture of a rich cracker and a pleasing give in your teeth.”
The Micheners also started playing with salt flavors such as alder-smoked salt and blueberry salt.
“I’ve alder-smoked fish and cheese, so this was natural,” Jim said.
The blueberry salt is made with hand-picked wild blueberries but is labor-intensive and therefore a seasonal salt for fall. Jim says they also are working on spring and summer seasonal salts because people seem to be embracing more local and natural food, and are cooking seasonally.
Growing the Salt Biz
As of November 2011, the company finally grew enough to expand into a new facility. The Micheners also have a 1,100-gallon water truck and signed a contract with the Northwest branch of Whole Foods Market. It was an arduous process to get there.
Jim said he and Darcy had an original business plan painstakingly organized. Jim even went on sourcing trips to find custom manufacturing equipment. They were ready to go but did not have the necessary finances.
“We had to redo with the bootstrap approach,” Jim said. “Because of that, we are a leaner company. We got into this for 25 percent less than what we originally thought.”
Also, the Micheners had to do the red-tape dance with the Department of Environmental Conservation, Food and Drug Administration and the City of Sitka.
“There were an awful lot of hoops, but [our DEC agent] was very helpful,” Jim said. “Also, to have a food product in the USA, you have to register with the Bioterrorism Act with the FDA.”
Chef Marketing
Jim describes the business’ marketing as “a little bit of luck and shrewd planning on my wife’s part.”
The Micheners did not have a marketing budget, so Darcy created the labels and packing design. Then in 2008, they placed their product in the hands of talented chefs.
Jason Wilson of the Seattle restaurant CRUSH was the first. He recommended the salt to Holly Smith of Cafe Juanita in Kirkland, Wash. She took the product on “Iron Chef America” and won.
Jim calls it chef marketing.
“I think it’s a feather in their cap to discover a new product and be the first to use it,” Jim said.
Next, the Micheners tried retail sales, at Darcy’s insistence. The first store to carry the product was Silver Basin kitchen store in Sitka. The positive retail reception from locals and tourists blew them away.
Now, several Seattle restaurants use the sea salt, including the Space Needle’s famous revolving restaurant.
“The Space Needle was always the place with a really cool view and OK food,” Jim said. “But they have a new chef, and now the food is really, really good.”
The Micheners are expanding Alaska Pure Sea Salt throughout Alaska and the Lower 48, with samples pending in Texas, Connecticut and Las Vegas.
A Spice of Advice
“Be prepared for how difficult it’s going to be, and you have to persevere,” Jim said. “It’s been thousands and thousands of hours of labor.
“Be prepared for an incredible amount of work. … Be prepared when you’re finally financed to be really scared. Now you are responsible for making the dream happen.”
Alaska Pure Sea Salt Company:
PHONE: 907-747-SALT (7258)
ONLINE: www.AlaskaPureSeaSalt.com
PHOTOS: COURTESY OF JIM & DARCY MICHENER
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