Cheetham Salt
Cheetham Salt is Australia's largest producer and refiner of solar salt, manufacturing value-added salt products via natural solar evaporation across six solar fields and four refineries for food, industrial, stockfeed, pool, chemical, and hide customers domestically and internationally.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1888
- HeadquartersMelbourne, Australia
- Headcount251–500
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingHardware or Manufacturing
What Cheetham Salt does
Cheetham Salt is Australia's largest producer and refiner of solar salt, operating six solar fields and four refineries across South Australia, Queensland, and Victoria. The company manufactures salt using natural solar evaporation of seawater (from Antarctic and Pacific Ocean-fed sites at Price, Kevin, Bajool, and Port Alma) and lake brine (notably Lake Tyrrell in Victoria), producing sodium chloride products at purities above 99%. Its manufacturing footprint spans sea salt and lake salt harvesting, followed by crushing, washing, screening, and drying to deliver grain sizes from microfine (~0.08mm) to watersoftener (~7mm), plus recrystallised sea salt flakes for gourmet cooking.
The company sells across six horizontal industry segments: food manufacturing (primary), industrial, stockfeed, pool treatment, chemical (chlor-alkali and water treatment), and hide treatment. Its consumer brand portfolio includes Mermaid, Mermaid Finest, Sunray, R.A.M, Crown, Diamond, Unicorn, and Ocean, with packaging ranging from retail packs (10–25 kg) to bulk bags, tipper loads, and entire shiploads. The company holds an extensive set of international certifications — ISO 9001, ISO 14001, ISO 45001, CODEX HACCP, SQF, Halal, Kosher, Organic, and SEDEX membership — which underpin access to regulated food and export markets.
Cheetham Salt generates revenue through one-time product sales via direct B2B enterprise field sales, retail distribution through national grocery and hardware chains, and international export. Distribution is multi-modal (road, rail, ship via Port of Adelaide and Thevenard), and a dedicated export team manages container loading and international shipping. Pricing is quote-based and negotiated. The company is a wholly-owned subsidiary of CK Life Sciences International (Holdings) Inc., a Hong Kong-listed diversified conglomerate that also operates salt assets in Indonesia and New Zealand.
Cheetham Salt firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Cheetham Salt
- Legal name
- Cheetham Salt Limited
- Website
- https://cheethamsalt.com.au
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1888
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 251–500 employees
- Short description
- Cheetham Salt is Australia's largest producer and refiner of solar salt, manufacturing value-added salt products via natural solar evaporation across six solar fields and four refineries for food, industrial, stockfeed, pool, chemical, and hide customers domestically and internationally.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Cheetham Salt industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Solar Salt Production and Refining
- SIC
- Industrial Inorganic Chemicals (2810), Food And Kindred Products (2000)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Salt & Salt-Based Seasonings (Sea Salt, Flake, Seasoned Salts) (AFAJANAE)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Pool & Spa Chemicals (Chlorination, pH Control, Algaecides) (CRAJAKAL)
Keywords
Where Cheetham Salt is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Melbourne
- HQ country
- Australia
- HQ region
- Oceania
Offices7 records
Markets served
Cheetham Salt business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Hardware or Manufacturing
- Cost components
- Supply Chain, Operations, Personnel, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales
Revenue model
- Salt Product Sales: Cheetham Salt generates revenue primarily through the sale of solar salt products across multiple industries including food manufacturing, industrial applications, stockfeed, pool treatment, chemical manufacturing, and hide treatment. Products are sold in various packaging sizes from retail packs (10kg, 20kg, 25kg) to bulk bags and bulk tipper/truck loads, as well as entire shiploads for industrial customers.
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels2 records
Cheetham Salt product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Cheetham Salt harvests and refines solar salt from seawater (Antarctic and Pacific Ocean sources) and ancient lake brine (Lake Tyrrell) across six Australian solar fields and four refineries. The company produces, grades, and packages salt into multiple grain sizes from ~0.08mm (Microfine) to ~7mm (Watersoftener) and sells branded products under Mermaid, Mermaid Finest, Sunray, R.A.M, Crown, Diamond, Unicorn, and Ocean into food manufacturing, stockfeed, pool treatment, chemical, hide treatment, and industrial markets domestically and internationally.
Product overview
Cheetham Salt is Australia’s largest producer and refiner of solar salt, offering a diverse portfolio of salt products across multiple industries. The company operates six solar fields and four refineries across Australia, producing salt through natural solar evaporation of sea water and lake water. The product portfolio includes branded consumer and industrial products under names like Mermaid, Mermaid Finest, Sunray, R.A.M, Crown, Diamond, Unicorn, and Ocean. Products are categorized by industry application: Food (cooking, dairy, bakery, meat processing), Stockfeed (livestock mineral regulation), Pool Treatment (saltwater chlorinators), Chemical (chlor-alkali production, water treatment), Hide Treatment (tanning industry), and Industrial (paper, textiles, detergent, rubber, pharmaceuticals, oil and gas). The company also supplies various salt grain sizes from microfine (~0.08mm) to watersoftener (~7mm) for different applications.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Mermaid: The Mermaid brand offers a range of products that cater to the food and industrial markets. Mermaid naturally evaporated solar salt is manufactured to stringent specifications and has been designed to cover a broad range of uses.
- Mermaid Finest
- Sunray
- R.A.M (Right Animal Mix)
- Crown
- Diamond
- Unicorn
- Ocean
Products and services
- Mermaid
Quantifiable outcome
- Sodium chloride content over 99% pure for lake salt products
- +1 more outcomes
Companies that use Cheetham Salt
Customer profileSegments6 records
Ideal customer profiles5 records
Cheetham Salt technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature3 records
Cheetham Salt partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
One partnership is on record.
- CK Life Sciences Int'l., (Holdings) Inc.Cheetham Salt is a wholly-owned subsidiary of CK Life Sciences International (Holdings) Inc. The parent company is listed in the footer of the website and owns multiple salt operations in Australia and Indonesia (Cheetham Salt Group).
Scale indicators4 records
Recent moves5 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Cheetham Salt competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- Cargill Salt: US-based agricultural commodities giant with a salt division serving food processing, water conditioning, and industrial markets. Comparable in food-grade salt supply but operates within Cargill's broader food ingredients and agribusiness portfolio.
- K+S Aktiengesellschaft: Germany-based global salt and fertilizer producer with extensive operations across Europe and North America (including the former Morton Salt). Broader incumbent serving overlapping food, industrial, and deicing end markets with diversified product portfolio.
- AkzoNobel Salt: Specialty chemicals major with a salt division producing industrial and food-grade salt for chlor-alkali and water treatment. Comparable in industrial-grade salt supply but operates as part of a much broader specialty chemicals portfolio.
Direct peers
- Morton Salt: North America's largest salt producer offering food-grade, industrial, and water conditioning salt. Directly comparable in product breadth, B2B/B2C distribution model, and end-market diversification across food, pool, and industrial customers.
- Salins Group: Leading European salt producer with solar evaporation and rock salt operations serving food, pharmaceutical, chemical, and animal nutrition markets. Comparable in vertically integrated production, broad grade offerings, and international certifications.
- Compass Minerals International: US-listed salt and plant nutrition company producing solar salt and rock salt for highway deicing, food, industrial, and consumer markets. Closely comparable in solar evaporation operations, diversified grade offerings, and food/industrial customer mix.
- Dampier Salt: Australia-based solar salt producer owned by Rio Tinto, operating large-scale evaporation ponds in Western Australia primarily for export to Asian chemical markets. Direct Australian peer with comparable solar evaporation technology and export focus.
Emerging players
- Tata Chemicals (Salt Division): Indian conglomerate with a salt business producing vacuum evaporated and solar salt for food and industrial customers. Comparable in food and industrial salt applications with growing presence in Asian markets relevant to Cheetham's export ambitions.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Cheetham Salt financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Cheetham Salt leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles8 records
Cheetham Salt subsidiaries and ownership
Company hierarchySubsidiaries5 records
Cheetham Salt funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Cheetham Salt M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Cheetham Salt
What does Cheetham Salt do?
Cheetham Salt harvests and refines solar salt from seawater (Antarctic and Pacific Ocean sources) and ancient lake brine (Lake Tyrrell) across six Australian solar fields and four refineries. The company produces, grades, and packages salt into multiple grain sizes from ~0.08mm (Microfine) to ~7mm (Watersoftener) and sells branded products under Mermaid, Mermaid Finest, Sunray, R.A.M, Crown, Diamond, Unicorn, and Ocean into food manufacturing, stockfeed, pool treatment, chemical, hide treatment, and industrial markets domestically and internationally.
Is Cheetham Salt a public or private company?
Cheetham Salt is a private company. It is classified as corporate owned and is currently operating.
When was Cheetham Salt founded?
Cheetham Salt was founded in 1888. It employs 251 to 500 people.
Where is Cheetham Salt based?
Cheetham Salt is headquartered in Melbourne, Australia, in the Oceania region.
How does Cheetham Salt make money?
One revenue line is on record: salt Product Sales.
Who are Cheetham Salt's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are Cargill Salt, K+S Aktiengesellschaft and AkzoNobel Salt. Direct peers are Morton Salt, Salins Group, Compass Minerals International and Dampier Salt. Tata Chemicals (Salt Division) is listed as an emerging player.
Does Cheetham Salt have an API?
No public API is recorded for Cheetham Salt.
What industry is Cheetham Salt in?
Cheetham Salt's product category is Solar Salt Production and Refining. Its primary akta.pro industry code is AFAJANAE, Salt & Salt-Based Seasonings (Sea Salt, Flake, Seasoned Salts), with a secondary code of CRAJAKAL, Pool & Spa Chemicals (Chlorination, pH Control, Algaecides). Its SIC code is 2810.