Two Seasoned Travelers Find Business Success With Salt

The Salt Cellar, in Portsmouth. (Courtesy photo)

While salt may be one of the most prolific minerals on the planet, there’s more ways to use it than just sprinkling it on fries or icy roads. A couple’s desire to educate people about the benefits of this misunderstood mineral has led to two stores and a decade of success.

Salt Cellar, with locations in Portsmouth and Portland, Maine, offers bath and spa products including salt scrubs, hand cream and bath products. The home collection includes Himalayan salt blocks, lamps, shot glasses and swizzlers as well as a selection of refined, all-natural salts in a range of flavors to compliment any meal.

Don Tydeman says he and his wife Judit were inspired to start the shop after a trip to Budapest, Salzburg and the Berchtesgaden salt mines in the Bavarian Alps, determined to bring customers an array of unique products made from salt.

Gourmet salts and bath products might seem like a luxury, but the business actually grew during the pandemic as people became more focused on health and wellness. “The pandemic had a surprisingly positive effect on our business operations as we were able to reduce a lot of costs and shift to focus on our online customers. The Salt Cellar in-store customer tends to be a visitor or tourist,” he says. “So, we have a large customer list from all over the country, and online sales took off.”

Tydeman says salt is known for its healing properties and when the couple, who are seasoned global travelers, saw the devastation of the war in Ukraine, they wanted to do something to help. They raised nearly $5,000 through a promotion to donate a percentage of sales to UNICEF and its dedicated fund to help children and families displaced by war.

“We were pretty surprised that the UNICEF/Ukraine Children’s Fund was equally as successful as offering a discount,” he says. “We heard from many in-store shoppers that they were purchasing extra product because of the fundraising aspect.”

That success prompted them to establish a new charitable giving program called Saturday’s Child, an ongoing effort where they will select an organization, either local or global, for a fundraising campaign each quarter.

For more information, visit salt-cellar.com