Artisan sea salt company wins Telus small business award

Toronto, Ont. – Vancouver Island Salt Co., based in Cobble Hill, B.C., has won $100,000 in TELUS’ The Challenge, an annual contest designed to help a small Canadian business overcome its greatest challenge.

Vancouver Island Salt Co. is Canada’s leading producer of artisan sea salt. The company hand harvests its salt from Vancouver Island shores and uses recycled cooking oil to fuel its dehydration process, making it a very green process.

According to the company, the award money will go towards marketing efforts and production expansion – particularly for international markets like the U.S. and Asia – in an environmentally sustainable manner.

This year’s contest drew more than 1,000 entries from across the country. “The entries submitted this year by small businesses across Canada were exceptional and demonstrated tremendous innovation across a number of industries,” says Suzanne Trusdale, vice-president of TELUS Small Business Solutions. “The four finalists all made very compelling cases; however Vancouver Island Salt Co. rose to the top with a proven product, a sustainable approach, and a thoughtful national and ultimately global strategy.”