Sea Salt Business Thrives in the Mountains

This aricle appeared in the Asheville Citizen-Times Newspaper - January 2009

Selina DeLangre believes her company's primary product, Celtic Sea Salt® Brand, not only adds flavor to foods but also provides essential health benefits.

"Every human should only eat naturally-occurring sea salt with a balance of minerals. Because our salt is hand-harvested and contains mineral-rich sea brine, it's highly beneficial," said DeLangre, owner of Celtic Ocean International Inc.

To emphasize her assertion, DeLangre, 50, pointed to an office bookcase full of health books. "Every one of those books mentions Celtic Sea Salt," she said. "I have a network of more than 500 doctors, naturopaths, chiropractors and other health care professionals who recommend our salt."

The company does little advertising, instead relying on word of mouth. "Over 80 percent of our call-in customers are turning to natural health foods to work on combating health issues," said sales director Dianna Ramey. "We all try to stay informed about the natural health-food field." The company imports 580 tons of salt per year from salt ponds on the coast of the Brittany region of France. DeLangre says she keeps about a six-month supply stockpiled in her warehouse, and she takes two trips to Brittany each year.

The company was founded as The Grain & Salt Society® in 1976 in Chico, Calif., by Jacques DeLangre. Selina DeLangre married the founder's son, Philippe DeLangre, and started working for the company in 1979. After Jacques DeLangre died, the couple purchased the company, and in 1996 they moved both their family of five and the business to Asheville, because "there were doors opening here," Selina DeLangre said.

The couple divorced in 1999 and a battle for the company ensued. Ultimately, Selina DeLangre bought out her ex-husband with money borrowed from her father. She now serves as sole owner, CEO and president.

Initially, the business was located on Swannanoa River Road. Three weeks before undertaking a planned move to its current location in Arden, the business was swamped with five feet of water in the floods of 2000. Although equipment, inventory and new computers were destroyed, the business survived thorough "my determination to make it happen," DeLangre said.

DeLangre notes that while sales grew by four percent in 2008, the company's mail-order business decreased, forcing her to lay off some mail order staffers. The company now employs 32 people, up from seven in 1996.

"Our salt's now positioned as a necessity instead of a luxury. I'm grateful that in hard economic times, people can still afford our salt," DeLangre said.

DeLangre also has struggled to protect her brand, spending more than $300,000 over the past several years to fight brand infringement.

"Your brand is only as good as the money you have to protect it. I refuse to compromise on the quality of my brand, and I'll fight to protect that," she said. More than 1,800 retailers carry Celtic Sea Salt® Brand in the U.S., including Earth Fare, Green Life and, most recently, Ingles Markets. The company also has distributors in the U.K. and Canada.

Last year, DeLangre launched Selina Naturally, in order to create an umbrella brand for natural health products. New products include Hawaiian and Portuguese salts, herb blends, nuts and soaps, although Celtic Sea Salt® Brand still accounts for 70 percent of the company's sales. Theresa Green, owner of local company Ulimana, uses Celtic Sea Salt® Brand in her chocolate and truffles.

"Salt really makes a difference in the taste. Ours is a raw food product, and it increases confidence in our product to have it contain Celtic Sea Salt®," Green said.

Of note: Celtic Ocean International recently was named one of three runners-up in Business North Carolina magazine's 2008 small business of the year competition.

by Anne Fitten Glenn - Asheville Citizen-Times Newspaper

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