Edible Food Find: Cape Ann Sea Salt
Photos by Adam DeTour
Riding the wave of growing interest in the use of ocean resources for economic growth while protecting its ecosystem, Anna Baglaneas Eves launched Cape Ann Sea Salt in 2020. It’s been thriving ever since.
“Go get a bucket. I have an idea,” she announced to her husband at the beginning of the pandemic. Soon after, he was holding a bucket, thigh-deep in the frigid March waters off Cape Ann. Long fascinated by salt harvesting, and finding sudden downtime from the couple’s fine-art printing company, Eves decided to turn that fascination into a business. Cape Ann Sea Salt launched just a few months later at the Rockport Farmers Market.
Eves explains that they harvest water using a trailer-pulled 300 gallon caged tank, following carefully researched best practices for saltwater collection. It’s double filtered then solar evaporated on evaporator tables in greenhouses on her property. The resulting salt crystals are moved to screens for additional drying, then pulverized to a roughly uniform consistency. The salt is then transferred to eco-friendly packaging, some with herbs and spices to make flavored salts.
“We do not use any fossil fuels to make the salt, just sun and time,” Eves proudly notes. “This takes between three and 12 weeks, depending on the season. We are at the whim of Mother Nature, which is why I call my greenhouses the salt farm.”
Shortly after launching, Eves began working with the Center for Women and Enterprise (CWE), a New England–based nonprofit that provides education, coaching and resources to entrepreneurs. Through CWE she learned about Santander’s Cultivate Small Business program, taught by Babson College professors. While participating in that program she developed a business plan, honed her marketing and accounting skills, completed a pitch competition and networked.
Eves also participated in the Sam Adams Brewing the American Dream Bootcamp. That program connects food and beverage entrepreneurs with Sam Adams coaches who advise them in all aspects of running a successful business including branding, marketing, packaging and sales. Eves notes that once entrepreneurs complete the bootcamp they always have access to the Sam Adams resources, so she continues learning through them.
“Starting a business can seem overwhelming, but if you take it one step at a time and seek sources of help and information, it can be done,” Eves emphasizes. “Programs like the ones I participate in give you confidence and are incredible resources. You have to show up and do the work and not be afraid to pivot. It’s very rewarding to create a product that people enjoy.”
Cape Ann Sea Salt’s recent offerings include pure sea salt; lemon; black pepper and rosemary; dill, Herbes de Provence, rose and hibiscus, lavender; smoked; dipping blend; dried chili pepper; garlic and barbecue. Eves notes that she’s constantly brainstorming new flavor profiles.
Her main goal now is increasing production capacity. That includes building more greenhouses. Eves’s dream is to eventually own her own offsite salt farm. She also plans on increasing her wholesale business, sourcing even more local ingredients for the salts and collaborating with other entrepreneurs to use her salts in their products.
“As James Beard said, ‘Where would we be without salt?’ For me that encompasses the past, present and future of salt,” Eves says. “Historically, salt has played an important role in preserving food so that people could travel and store food before refrigeration. We still use salt today to preserve food. Whatever you ate today probably had salt in it or you added salt to it. Salt makes our food come alive. Beard’s quote encompasses the entire importance of salt—yesterday, today and tomorrow.”
Cape Ann Sea Salt is sold in stores, at pop-ups, farmers markets and online.
This story appeared in the Winter 2025 issue.
