Keep It Savory Salt Co. × Press Hook

Chapter 01 — Where they started

Where Keep It Savory Salt Co. started

Keep It Savory Salt Co was founded in 2013 by our salt maven and founder Johanna Thompson. A science and history teacher with a love of being creative in the kitchen, she’s always had a penchant for being salty in the best ways. After a magazine recipe inspired holiday gifts for friends and family, it became clear that a production plan would be needed a couple months later when those same friends indicated the were having a culinary emergency: "We're out of your salt!" Over the next couple years, she'd grow to develop new flavors on her own such as Lemon Thyme, Rosemary Sage, and Thai Ginger Lemongrass. Today the brand boasts eleven flavors, a holiday brine kit, and she's working on test batches for another, hoping to be released next year. Jo's background as a history teacher and investment in her historically disinvested neighborhood, however, was the inspiration for a savory business model. Starting with the idea that businesses should build communities, not extract from them, Keep It Savory Salt Co works to ensure that our ingredients support small urban farmers and vendors on Chicago's West Side.

Chapter 02 — What changed

What changed