The story of VitaSal

In 1999, Ho Park traveled to India for the first time as a student of Indology at the University of Zurich. In the bazaar of Old Delhi he observed a cow licking a reddish giant crystal at an unguarded stall. The shopkeeper came running and drove the cow away. When asked what kind of crystal it was, he heard: "SENDA NAMAK!" Namak means salt in Hindi. He bought a few chunks the size of a fist from this Senda Namak. When he arrived in Switzerland, he let his friends try the rock salt and they all realized how tasty and digestible this Himalayan salt is - a gift from nature. So Ho decided to bring this wondrous Himalayan crystal salt to Switzerland. In Varanasi, India, he built the salt village in collaboration with locals - mainly women -: VitaSal was born.

From 2000, Jürg Horlacher, founder of the Aromalife company, sold the VitaSal. On a “salt trip” from Pakistan to Varanasi, he was convinced of the uniqueness of the salt and its processing. He was one of the first traders in Switzerland to sell crystal rock salt. Thanks to Horlacher's enthusiasm, VitaSal has found its way into many Swiss households for more than 20 years.

In 2019 VitaSal will be transferred to Nitya Unju Park, daughter of Ho Park. The next generation will start a new chapter in 2020 with a relaunch.

Nitya Unju Park and her father have shared a fascination for the people, culture and handicrafts of this country with her father since her first trip to India. She has her professional origins in the textile industry, where she worked as a designer at home and abroad for international companies. Now she is working with Raffael Cavegn on sales and the relaunch of VitaSal.