Oryx Desert Salt expands the salt category as interest grows in unrefined and traceable sources

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The market opportunity Samantha Skyring identified

The global salt aisle has been a remarkably static place for decades, and if you’ve walked through one recently, you’ve seen the same familiar trio: bright white table salt on one shelf, sea salt in its many grinders and flakes on another, and the rose-coloured glow of Himalayan pink salt holding the wellness corner. That triangle has shaped consumer expectations for a long time, leaving relatively little room for other varieties.

Some shoppers are now paying closer attention to labels, product origins, and processing methods. Oryx Desert Salt is positioned within this market as an unrefined desert salt harvested in the Kalahari Desert of Southern Africa. The company was founded by Samantha Skyring.

How Oryx Desert Salt began

Skyring’s path into salt wasn’t the polished story of a CPG founder with a pitch deck. In 2007, freshly out of an abusive marriage and dealing with the closure of the NGO she had been running during the financial crisis, she sold her house and bought 34 tonnes of Kalahari desert salt, roughly eleven elephants’ worth, and started packing grinders on her dining room table.

Skyring describes the business as having begun out of necessity, one step at a time. Over the years, the operation has grown into a team of more than 35 people serving customers in over 23 countries. Its products are available through retailers including Whole Foods Market, World Market, Natural Grocers, and Amazon, and have also been served by JetBlue Airways and Amtrak.

According to the company, Skyring’s aim over the past 16 years has been to make sustainably sourced desert salt more widely accessible.

Inside Oryx Desert Salt’s source

Unlike many salts found in a modern kitchen, Oryx doesn’t come from the ocean. Its source is a remote salt pan in the Kalahari Desert, reached by traveling approximately 175 miles from the nearest town.

According to geological testing, the underground aquifer feeding the pan has existed for approximately 280 million years. Mineral-saturated water passes through layers of Dwyka rock and sediment before reaching the surface. During the African summer, when temperatures can reach 115 degrees Fahrenheit, the brine crystallizes in approximately four weeks. The resulting salt is harvested and sun-dried without being refined.

How desert salt differs from sea salt

Concerns about pollution and microplastics in marine environments have prompted some consumers to examine how and where sea salt is produced. Oryx Desert Salt comes instead from underground brine in the Kalahari Desert. The company presents this source and the salt’s traceable origin as points of distinction from ocean-derived varieties.

The salt’s mineral composition

Oryx Desert Salt contains naturally occurring minerals associated with its geological source, including magnesium, calcium, and potassium. According to the company, these minerals are present in the salt naturally rather than being added during manufacturing. This composition and the product’s unrefined processing distinguish it from refined table salt, although it remains a dietary salt and should be consumed in accordance with individual dietary guidance.

Why Chefs use Oryx Desert Salt

Oryx Desert Salt has also gained a place in some professional kitchens. The company describes it as having a clean, rounded flavor suitable for everyday cooking and as a finishing salt.

Chef Jan Hendrik van der Westhuizen uses it at his restaurant, while Craig Cormack of SALT restaurant at Waterford Wine Estate has described it as both his everyday and finishing salt. Its use by chefs has contributed to the brand’s visibility as it has expanded into 23 countries and onto selected airline and rail services.

How Oryx approaches packaging and community partnerships

In a market dominated by multinational commodity producers, Oryx Desert Salt has chosen a different packaging approach, using ceramic grinder heads instead of plastic. The company says ceramic components are intended to withstand the abrasive qualities of salt and allow the grinders to be reused. Customers can purchase Oryx Desert Salt refill boxes along with the grinder, an approach Skyring describes as “refill, reuse, real value.” According to company figures, refilling its grinders prevented 1,224,900 additional bottles from entering landfill or recycling streams in 2025.

Oryx says a percentage of each sale supports the Khomani San and Mier First Peoples of the Kalahari through its partnership with the Transfrontier Parks Destinations Foundation. Another portion supports Project Biome, an initiative associated with Rachel Kearl and Zach Bush that focuses on connections between communities and their environments.

What Oryx Desert Salt’s growth suggests about the market

Oryx Desert Salt entered Whole Foods Market stores five years ago, extending the company’s reach in the US. The brand emphasizes provenance, limited processing, and the history of its Kalahari source as central parts of its identity.

Its growth reflects broader consumer interest in traceable sourcing, less-refined food products, and packaging designed for repeated use. Within a category traditionally dominated by table salt, sea salt, and Himalayan pink salt, desert-derived salt offers consumers another option based primarily on its origin and production method.

Oryx Desert Salt grinders and refill boxes are available at Whole Foods Market and Natural Grocers, while travel shakers and grinders are sold at World Market stores across the US. According to the company, each grinder’s ceramic head allows it to be refilled 20 times or more.