July: Salt of the Earth Monthly Round-up
Door Roselle Peck
July at Salt of the Earth: Palaces, Team Lunches and One Very Important Squirrel Question
Welcome back to our monthly round-up, where we pull back the curtain on life at Salt of the Earth HQ, our little corner of Chandlers Ford, Hampshire, where we've been making natural deodorants as a family-owned, independent business since 1993. July was a proper mixed bag: one palace, one very good takeaway, a festival's worth of crystal deodorant, and a squirrel-related dilemma we still haven't resolved. Here's what we got up to.

A Royal Reception at St James' Palace
The month kicked off in style. Our Managing Director, Thomas Laird, swapped the factory floor for St James' Palace to represent us at the official King's Awards for Enterprise reception, marking our Sustainable Development 2026 win. He even met His Royal Highness The Duke of Gloucester, which is not a sentence we ever expected to write about a company that started in a spare bedroom. It's our second King's Award in two years, and every bit as surreal the second time round.
Team Lunch, Hampshire Style
Back on home turf, the team had lunch from Josie's, a local favourite here in Chandlers Ford. Just good food, plenty of laughs, and a reminder that being a small, independent team means we still all fit round the same table (even if it is a squeeze and a big table now!).
Festival Season, Crystal in Hand
July also meant festival season, and our crystal deodorants earned their keep. Solid, unscented, the crystal has become the go-to for anyone packing a rucksack instead of a suitcase this summer. We rounded up more tips in our festival packing hacks post, if you're still deciding what goes in the bag.


