White table salt is so last year. This season, the colors are pink and grey, and even black. The upscaling of this pantry commodity is reminiscent of what's already happened to coffee and chocolate.
Specialty salts include sea salt, flake salt, rock salt, kosher salt and smoked salt, each with a different color and shape. There are also nuances in flavor and texture. Like wine, an individual salt is now known by region so consumers can choose between a peachy, flaked variety from Australia's Murray River; a young-crystal fleur de sel from the Guerande region of France; or the glassy pink pebbles that come from high up in the Himalayas.
While there are no sales data in the category currently available, the buzz around artisan salts on cooking shows and foodie websites has been enough to land them on many a shopping list.
Offering a choice selection of salts can also appeal to the whole health consumer. Most varieties are hand-harvested, while others are sustainably sourced and packaged. But perhaps most importantly, many of these salts retain naturally occurring minerals that are not found in conventional table salt, which is extracted by large processors from mines, and stripped of trace elements that can be resold to ingredients manufacturers.
Salt makes up 0.28% of the human body by weight, and medical science has shown the ionic pattern of blood serum is similar to the composition of the ocean. With artisan salt, consumers truly might be getting a taste of home.
