MicroSalt partners with Presty! Foods as it enters ready meals market

[source: MicroSalt]

Tekcapital (TEK Follow | TEK), an intellectual property investment group, updated markets this morning on its MicroSalt business (formerly known as Salarius).

MicroSalt is the developer and manufacturer of a proprietary low-sodium salt. Using a patented process of producing salt crystals, MicroSalt claims to achieve the same teste as regular table salt at half the sodium content. Tekcapital owns 97.2% of MicroSalt and 73% of its US subsidiary.

MicroSalt announced today a partnership with Presty! Foods for the development and rollout of low-sodium solutions across Presty's line of plate-ready meals.

The partnership is expected to have a notable impact on both companies, expanding their global customer base with healthy low-sodium options and positioning them as leaders in the low-sodium prepared foods market, the companies said.

Rick Guiney, CEO of MicroSalt, commented:

"We are proud to work with Presty! Foods in their efforts to offer low-sodium solutions to their customer base. We view Presty as a thought leader in offering lower sodium as an active option in its ingredient listing. Excess sodium consumption is a leading contributor to hypertension and cardiovascular disease, and partnerships like this are the best way to make a difference in our efforts to address the sodium crisis."

Maxime Gervaise Presty, founder of Presty! Foods, commented:

"Presty! Foods is looking forward to working with MicroSalt® to help with our low-sodium initiatives. Sodium is a worldwide concern in the food industry, and we believe Rick and his team are the industry leaders that can help propel Presty! Foods for future growth."

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This partnership marks another significant milestone for MicroSalt as it continues its global rollout, this time with an entrance into the plate-ready meals market. MicroSalt is already available as a standalone product in major US retail chains, and as the key ingredient in MicroSalt's SaltMe! brand of crisps, sold at Kroger in the US. MicroSalt executed its first bulk B2B order in the US in July.

The global ready meals market size was valued at US$138bn in 2021, and is expected to reach $408bn by 2031, with a CAGR of 11.9% during the forecast period.

What is interesting about MicroSalt's product is that it is not a substitute, but actual salt. The company's patented technology produces salt crystals that are 100 times smaller than normal table salt, so they deliver the same intensity of taste at 50% the sodium content. It is a potentially disruptive technology, and the company's aggressive rollout has proven the food industry is interested.

MicroSalt has now received commitments from UNFI, a premier North American food wholesaler, for placement in several of its distribution centers. MicroSalt said it is exploring product line extensions with sea salt and Himalayan salt as well as geographic expansion into the UK, Europe, and Canada in 2023.

Tekcapital has raised the possibility of a potential future listing of MicroSalt in London, although an official announcement has yet to be made.

The combined value of Tekcapital's four portfolio companies has grown steadily since initial investment in 2018, from £8.4m in 1H18 to £62.5m in FY21. Tekcapital most recently reported a 13% increase in net assets in 1H22 to a record US$76.9m, with NAV per share increasing 6% HoH to US$0.51. Previously, TEK had announced a 108% net asset increase and a 243% increase in income YoY for FY21.

TEK shares were up 4% on the news this morning.

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