Purpose Beyond Potency

Mark Provost is the visionary behind Saltbush & Clay, a brand born from two decades of pioneering work in ethical commerce and sustainable enterprise across Australia and the South Pacific. His life’s work has centered on creating profound, enduring worth for community partners and customers alike.

In every project, Mark’s driving philosophy has remained consistent: "True value cannot be scaled for volume. It must be scaled for integrity”.

This ethos, rather than a lab, is where Saltbush & Clay was conceived. Mark’s journey into botanical science began while creating and managing a pioneering tourism partnership with an Aboriginal Community in the vast Simpson Desert, where he forged a profound, life-changing bond.

He held the privilege of regularly sharing time with the last known traditional medicine man of the region. Almost every evening, they would walk the red sand dunes, where Johnny would share the knowledge of the land and its ancient protocols. Their bond deepened through regular expeditions that took them deep into the untamed parts of the Simpson Desert—journeys often surrounded by the elemental landscape of clay pans and resilient saltbush.

This ethical mentorship continued across the South Pacific. Mark’s work extended to the remote islands of Vanuatu, where he applied the same transparent business model, developing respectful partnerships that gave village chiefs equity in the enterprise. This relationship granted him further rare, direct insight into the region’s profound natural secrets.

For Mark, Saltbush & Clay serves a dual purpose: to provide skincare of unparalleled potency, and to act as a catalyst for sustainable, remote industry. By establishing a premium, transparent market for rare botanicals like Kakadu Plum—ingredients primarily wild-grown on Aboriginal land—the brand actively helps create vital, sustainable economic opportunity in these remote locations.