We source Hawaiian salt, which has natural electrolytes and trace minerals.
The ocean around the island of Molokai is uniquely pristine. Surrounded by wide-open water with minimal industrial activity and far from large urban centers, the seawater around Molokai is among the purest on earth. This isolation — combined with traditional harvesting and modern purification techniques — makes Molokai sea salt a standout for both quality and mineral content.
While many commercial salts are nearly pure sodium chloride (about 99%), the Molokai sea salt contains a richer balance of minerals — closer to 81% sodium chloride and 19% made up of trace minerals and naturally occurring electrolytes that contribute to both flavor and function.
This spectrum of trace minerals — including potassium, magnesium, and calcium — supports hydration in a way that’s closer to how our ancestors actually received their electrolytes.
Why Hawaiian Salt?
When people talk about Hawaiian sea salt, authenticity matters. Not all salts labeled “Hawaiian” are truly sourced from local waters — and some brands rely on sea salt imported from elsewhere, then packaged within Hawai‘i. That’s not what we use.
To be truly Hawaiian, salt should be:
-
Harvested from Hawaiian waters
-
Produced and evaporated locally
-
Free from misleading “made in Hawai‘i” claims when the salt itself isn’t grown or collected here
Kona Deep Sea Salt: Ancient Water from Below the Surface
We also incorporate Kona deep sea salt, another premium Hawaiian salt source with its own story. Kona salt comes from deep ocean water drawn 2,000 feet below the surface, where mineral-rich water has spent centuries circulating far from surface contaminants.
What makes Kona deep sea salt exceptional:
-
It is harvested from waters around 2,200 feet deep, untouched by runoff and surface pollution.
-
The slow evaporation process — powered by the Hawaiian sun — forms delicate, snow-flake-like crystals prized for pure flavor and balanced mineral content.
-
It contains essential electrolytes and trace minerals, naturally supporting the body’s hydration and electrolyte balance better than ordinary table salt.
Table Salt vs. Sea Salt
Where most table salt comes from
The majority of the world’s table salt is produced through industrial mining, primarily from underground rock salt deposits (halite), in China, India and Pakistan. After extraction, table salt is heavily refined to remove impurities and trace minerals, then typically fortified with additives such as anti-caking agents and iodine to improve shelf life and consistency.
Why sea salt is better than table salt
Sea salt is made by evaporating seawater, which allows it to retain naturally occurring trace minerals like magnesium, potassium, and calcium that are stripped away during table salt refinement. Because it is less processed, sea salt offers a more complex mineral profile and cleaner taste, and it typically contains no anti-caking chemicals. For hydration and electrolyte balance, sea salt more closely resembles the mineral composition your body uses—making it a more functional choice than highly refined table salt.
Other Electrolyte Brands:
When you read the ingredient label of your electrolyte powder and it says "salt" or "sodium chloride," it is often cheap mountain-mined table salt, or lab-made sodium chloride.
It can be cheaper to make sodium-chloride in a lab, than it is to get real rock salt.
"Most conventional electrolyte powders and sports drinks use refined, industrial sodium chloride." (SUmmit Rx https://summitrxusa.com/blogs/blogs/inside-an-electrolyte-powder-manufacturer-s-process)
Lab-made or industrial sodium chloride typically comes from:
-
Mined rock salt (halite) that is purified and recrystallized
-
Inland brine that is chemically refined
-
Chemical synthesis to produce nearly pure NaCl
The result is:
-
~99.9% sodium chloride
-
Virtually zero trace minerals
-
Consistent, cheap, and easy to scale
This type of sodium chloride is chemically identical at the molecular level to sea salt, but nutritionally and functionally different due to the lack of accompanying minerals.
Electrolyte brands often choose lab-made sodium chloride because:
-
It is significantly cheaper
-
It offers exact sodium dosing
-
It is widely available at scale
-
It is easy to label simply as “salt” or “sodium”
Hawaiian Hydration Salt
The salt in all of our products are sourced 100% from the Hawaiian Islands. We never use lab-made or table-salt. We are proud to support local Hawaiian salt producers, to maintain the centuries-old process of salt-making, and to create a nutritious product.
Molokai Salt Workers rake dried salt from open-air beds.
One of Hawaii Kai’s “Solar Seal” salt farms on Molokai.