Shortly after Maggie Gray had her son, she found herself lamenting the lack of healthy food and drink options at public events and parks, especially for kids. So, she started one herself.
“There was no other mobile vendor offering solely organic, dairy free and vegan smoothies and I thought it was an opportunity to pursue,” Gray told Restaurant & Café. She started RAWE as an online venture, initially just sharing tips and recipes with her followers. In late August 2016 they launched the trailer at their first event. “We’ve had an incredible first six months with so many laughs and lessons learned!”
Based on the North Shore of Auckland but, of course, mobile, RAWE has operated around the city and has even made it as far south as Taupo for yoga festival Wanderlust. Gray enjoys working health and wellness events – “My products are really appreciated and a great hit!”
RAWE serves fresh organic vegan smoothies that don’t compromise on taste. One of their more popular offerings, the ‘Blue Nutta,’ is a combination of blueberries, cinnamon and peanut butter with almond milk. “Customers are always curious about the peanut butter element,” Gray explained, “but always pleasantly surprised!” Another popular option, and a recent bestseller, is the upgraded Chocolate Mylk smoothie – a date, banana, cashew cacao and almond milk mix with a shot of Cold Brew Harpoon Coffee.
Gray describes the RAWE trailer as “small and cute,” and while it does mean they are often restricted on space, “we do love the option of moving the trailer around and attending lots of events.” ‘We’ in this case is Gray, her business partner and husband Lee and ‘smoothie queen’ Rika, currently travelling from Germany.
At the moment Gray is looking at diversifying the menu in time for next summer, which she described as “a work in progress.” More immediately, Gray plans to launch smoothie and wellness workshops for public and corporate audiences later in the year.
