Raw Living was founded in September 2002, before Wordpress, Google, Facebook, Shopify, YouTube or Instagram! A simple five page website, we sold juicers, tahini, and Kate's first book, Eat Smart, Eat Raw.
Over the years, we've continued to innovate, being among the first to introduce foods like Goji berries, Maca powder, Cacao products, Chia seeds and medicinal mushrooms to the UK and Europe. Kate's international travel as a raw food chef and educator meant that she was able to see what the raw food trends around the world were, and we brought over many new brands including Four Sigmatic, Living Libations, Dragon Herbs and Anima Mundi Herbals.
It hasn't all been plain sailing, however. Harsh European regulations around what we are permitted to say on the website were brought in in 2013, which meant we had to remove most of the information we had spent a decade building up on the wonders of super foods, and even remove many of our favourite products from sale completely. The challenges of importing organic foods from the USA often lead to long and frustrating delays at customs that mean products are out of stock for extended periods. Brexit in 2021 was a huge blow to our business, and meant that we could no longer serve our European customer base as we would wish. But we have survived it all, and it's a cliche to say it, but we couldn't have done it without you! So to celebrate our twentieth birthday, we talked to some of our oldest and best customers about why they love Raw Living: the products, the service and the ethos.
Our passion has always been to elevate the collective vibration through the wonder of magical plant foods. We love to seek out the best quality foods on the planet, and then bring them to you with love and integrity operating along every step of the chain.From the farmers that do the growing and the harvesting, to the delivery company that brings them to your door, every effort is made to ensure the optimum treatment of people and planet.
Listen back to this extra special episode here and congratulate yourself on making the choice to shop with a company that truly cares: this is not just about buying products that serve your individual and personal well-being, but the well-being of everyone involved. We appreciate you making that choice. Grab yourself a glass of kombucha and a square of raw chocolate, and toast with us to another twenty years!
