Shorea robusta
Sal is the quiet giant of Indian lipids. The tree dominates central-Indian forests for reasons that have nothing to do with cosmetics — its timber is the most widely used hardwood on the subcontinent. But the seed, gathered every April by tribal co-operatives, contains a fat that solidifies at room temperature and melts cleanly on skin.
We offer sal in two grades. The refined grade is decolourised and deodorised for formulators who need a white, neutral butter that fits a pharmacy or clinical positioning. The green grade — our preferred offering — retains the faint tea-leaf aroma and pale ivory colour of the original press, and is the grade we use in our own CBE pipeline.
The economic case for sal is as important as the sensorial one. It remains among the most affordable structured butters available. The forest yield across Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh averages 200,000 tonnes of seed per year, of which a small fraction currently reaches international cosmetic buyers. The rest goes into confectionery CBEs or is rendered for soap.
Sal is what keeps palm out of the ingredient deck.
Formulators use sal the way a chef uses butter in French sauces — structurally, quietly, in the background. It blends without complaint. It crystallises cleanly. It holds stability through an Indian summer when softer lipids collapse. Our non-palm CBE uses sal stearin fractionated from the base butter, blended with kokum and, for certain premium applications, fractionated mango kernel.
| Fatty acid | Notation | Typical range |
|---|---|---|
| Stearic | C18:0 | 35–48% |
| Oleic | C18:1 | 35–42% |
| Arachidic | C20:0 | 6–12% |
| Palmitic | C16:0 | 4–8% |
| Linoleic | C18:2 | 1–3% |
Applications where this lipid is generally used, drawn from published formulation practice.
Sal stearin + kokum yields a non-palm cocoa butter equivalent.
Firm, stable, non-tacky afterfeel.
Contributes hardness and clean lather.
Economic alternative to shea in high-volume SKUs.
Low reactivity, wide thermal window.
Structural fat for container candles.
Stearin replaces palm stearin 1:1 in confectionery-adjacent CBE applications. Unfractionated sal substitutes for shea in economic positioning but demands slightly lower inclusion (18–22% vs. 25%).
Every specification on this page is a published typical value for the botanical species, compiled from supplier technical data sheets and the peer-reviewed literature. Real ranges shift with origin, season, kernel quality and refining route: treat these as indicative, and always specify against your supplier’s own CoA.
Register interest and we will write to you personally when there is validated pilot material.
Anchor
Garcinia indica
≥70% stearic. Melts at body temperature. Comedogenicity essentially zero.
Read dossier →
Upcycled
Mangifera indica
Balanced oleic–stearic profile. Pressed from kernels that would otherwise be burned.
Read dossier →
Vitellaria paradoxa
Burkina Faso and Ghana co-operatives. Traceable West African supply chains, where the paperwork genuinely exists.
Read dossier →The backbone of our non-palm CBE.
From Konkan with love.