Co-founder of Raglan Food Co, Tesh Randall, has had a passion for food and all it encompasses, since childhood.
“I've always loved the food. Making it, eating it, admiring the packaging surrounding it ... one of my favourite things is wandering around grocery stores and checking out all the different brands. I can happily do this for hours, and as a teenager living in Auckland, I spent all my extra money trying new products that interested me,” revealed Randall.
This passion informed her future. As a young adult, she approached gourmet yoghurt brands of her liking asking for the opportunity to work for them, her payment request being the products they created themselves.
With her established plant-based gourmet yoghurt brand, Randall will never have to bargain for her beloved treat again.
Her entry into the industry was anything but ordinary. Randall was homeschooled and showed her talent for business at the ripe age of 12, buying and selling phones through Trade Me.
The entrepreneur began working full-time at 16, with a self-dubbed ‘wiggly’ and diverse career history setting up the foundation of skills that continues to serve her today as co-founder of her sought-after product and brand.
“Before starting Raglan Food Co, I had done many things. Including working at an accounting firm, an event management agency, a radio station, running my own copywriting company, being a travel magazine editor, publishing books, being a professional house-sitter, running glamping accommodation, and many more random projects.”
Randall explains that her chosen industry is a community of the most hard-working, humble and caring people she knows. This propelled in to start a ‘Foodie Friends’ network in 2015. The network aimed to create an environment where industry members could connect and exchange ideas, focusing on sustainability and the environment.
The ‘Foodie’ community helped Randall understand the importance of doing and taking each step as they came.
“It takes time to build something, but you don't need to start with everything figured out. That will come along the way. Just get stuck in and take each next best step.”
The co-founder also expresses the importance of celebrating milestones and moments. Randall stated that she tended to always be on the go, asking what was next instead of taking the time to absorb her achievements fully. This introspection led to what Randall calls the ‘gong ceremony’, which she and the Raglan Food Co team utilise to ensure they pause to celebrate their wins.
For the future, Randall maintains that connection and making a positive impact and difference are her two most significant motivating factors. These two motivators will be congruent themes for whatever she chooses to be involved in.
