An interview with RawBite Founders

A tasty bite with a raw philosophy

Sometimes the simple things in life are the best. This is the view that led three Danes to create Rawbite, a 100 per cent natural, organic fruit and nut bar. The bar, which was awarded Health Food of the Year 2011 in Denmark, has become a staple within surprisingly diversified environments, including the military, health food and sports industries. 

As a part of the Danish defence’s individual field rations and distributed in more than 30 countries, Rawbite has travelled a long way since its modest beginning in 2009. The first specimen of the bar was chopped up and put together on a kitchen table by the three friends Morten Fullerton, Rolf Nolsøe Bau and Nikolaj Lehmann. All three founders are eager sportsmen, and Bau and Lehmann had worked in the fitness industry for years when the Rawbite idea surfaced. “One night, we were hanging around the grill discussing how the market was short of a product which was natural, healthy and tasty. There were plenty of energy bars on the market, but most were filled with sugar and additives,” explains Morten Fullerton. “We started chopping up ingredients and trying out different recipes; we wanted to create something simple, with a great taste and a high nutritious value.” The result was the organic fruit and nut bite Rawbite, which today comes in seven different variations, all organic, gluten and lactose-free with no preservatives or added sugar.

For high-performance tasks – or a movie Because of its natural composition Rawbite helps maintain a steady blood sugar level and provides a long-lasting source of energy. Accordingly, the bars are used by the Danish archery team as well as several top athletes and Olympic participants, covering activities such as triathlon, badminton and CrossFit. Rawbite has also, as the only food bar, been selected to be included in the Danish defence forces’ individual field rations. Before being selected the bars were tested by the Danish military in the Middle East and the Sirius Patrol, a small naval unit patrolling ice-covered northern Greenland by dog sledge. “One thing which was important to them was that the product did not change texture in hot or cold surroundings, and uniquely, because there is no added sugar in Rawbite, it does not melt or harden in these conditions,” explains Fullerton. “Another thing which the test showed was that the soldiers simply function better when they eat something natural.”  The bar has not only become a hit in endurance-demanding fields but also in the cinemas of the Danish capital. In some the bar even outsells regular chocolate bars. 

Simple, honest and healthy

The philosophy behind Rawbite is simple, or as the founders prefer to call it, “raw”. The ambition was plainly to create a simple, honest and healthy product. But the
fact that the idea was uncomplicated did not mean that its execution was. Ensuring that the natural ingredients remained fresh without adding preservatives took a
lot of testing and designing. “Because we wanted to use the ingredients fresh, not boiled or cooked beyond recognition, we had to work with some of the best researchers within natural food preservation,” explains Fullerton. Combining simple philosophy and advanced packaging technology allowed the founders to reach their goal: all variations of Rawbite contain only natural ingredients, but at the same time, the bar is handy and easy to bring along. “Rawbite is great when you feel peckish; you can have it in your sports bag, the car or include it in your lunch box,” says Fullerton. 

Source: Scan Magazine