September is sometimes referred to as the New January as, like the latter, it’s a month of possibility and renewal. However, in my books, September is effectively the better version of January. Resolutions turn into best intentions, the thought of a break at Christmas allows us all to give the following months our very best and the dreaded January diet with no clear endpoint becomes ‘I want to eat healthily and look after myself ready for party season in December!’. On that note, I have been searching for healthy snacks ready for the office, in between lectures and before or after the gym but to no avail – all I have found are the standard energy/protein balls which are always, in my opinion, a bit of a let down both in terms of taste and appearance. However, after spotting Get Raw on Instagram, I knew I was truly onto something. Their offerings are very appealing in their millennial packaging and eye-catching design and, most importantly, delicious – after trying them, I knew I just had to chat to Carolina to ask her all about her small business and her thoughts on the Clean Eating movement. I hope you enjoy the interview – after a lot of planning, I am so glad that Carolina and Get Raw have been a part of our September features. How has it already been a month from our launch?
Tell us a little more about yourself and how the idea for Get Raw came about.
My name is Carolina, I am 33 years old and based in Sweden. While I have always loved natural food and stayed away from fake food with additives and preservatives, the real breakthrough moment for me came about in 2011. I had quit my job at the time and had a real ‘What am I going to do with my life?’ phase. While out in Costa Rica, I went to a Raw Food Retreat where I tried a Raw Chocolate Cake. This experience made me realise that you can make amazing sweet treats that make you feel good and that was the starting point for Get Raw. I came home, trained to become a Raw Food Chew and my mother and I, both in need of a chance, decided to set up Get Raw. My mum’s kitchen was effectively our office for the first four months.
We love the design of your website and products. How did you develop this?
Thanks! Last year, we did a complete rebranding together with a local creative agency from Stockholm. We wanted a more stylish, clean and edgy look. I personally find inspiration through book covers and skin care.
We love that you are a mother/daughter partnership (just like us!) – how do you find working together and what are the challenges?
We love it and complement each other perfectly – mum has the experience and I the drive. Most importantly we share the same vision! Hmmm … challenges, we don’t share the same office, which I think is good, we would probably have been tired of each other if we shared an office.
What does an average day look like for you?
I get to the office at around 8.30am, drink a big cup of coffee and basically sit in front of the computer all day. When I get bored of sitting down, you’ll find me in my kitchen experimenting trying to develop recipes for new products. Since my brother joined the company two years ago I am focusing on branding, marketing and new products.
And finally, we simply love the idea of knowing exactly what’s inside the food we eat. What do you think of the whole clean eating movement?
I am SO happy that clean eating has gone mainstream. I love the simplicity and I really hope that the shelves will be cleaner and cleaner… Our mission is to clean up the candy shelf!
We have fallen in love with the Get Raw concept and, as you can see from the pictures, we had a whale of a time trying out the snacks that Carolina kindly sent for us to try. If you want to get your Get Raw fix you can find their website right here and their Instagram here. As usual, do come say hi either on Twitter ( @SquigglesBlogs ) or Instagram (@rose_squiggles and @annamaria_sgueglia ) – we’d love to hear your thoughts on the first month of The Squiggles Edit!
Annamaria X
