Our Story

It started with a simple observation. Chef Joshua Fleagle wondered why, on an island surrounded by the ocean, there was no locally harvested sea salt available on restaurant tables or grocery store shelves? Josh was amazed that such an ample natural resource had not yet been tapped.

After a lot of research and a little trial and error, Josh learned that harvesting quality sea salt was far more complex than simply boiling sea water. On an island where energy can be scarce, undependable and expensive, Josh’s mission was to produce a high-quality organic sea salt relying solely on the island’s natural resources - deep blue seas, tropical sunshine  and balmy island breezes. 

Josh and his island friends built a solar greenhouse and he began perfecting his recipe for producing the finest sea salt with the lowest carbon footprint possible. In 2017, two category 5 hurricanes devastated the island of St. Thomas. The greenhouse lovingly referred to as “the salt farm” was just one of many of the storm’s casualties. 

Some things are worth waiting for. After helping rebuild their island and their community, Josh and his wife Ashley slowly began rebuilding their salt farm. In 2019, Virgin Islands Sea Salt was established. Today, Chef Josh and Ashley harvest their sea salt from their property on the Northside of St. Thomas, ensuring that every flake of salt in each bottle of Virgin Islands Sea Salt is of the highest and purest quality. Sourced locally from the pristine blue waters surrounding the US Virgin Islands, we hope you’ll enjoy our line of ocean fresh sea salts.