What I'm Made of: Rebel Kitchen
As part of our 'What I’m Made Of' campaign for Organic Beauty & Wellbeing Week, we’re asking some of the most inspirational organic brands we know what they’re made of. Meet Rebel Kitchen...
Rebel Kitchen was born out of a need to redefine health. Can you share with us your business philosophy?
Our passion for health, food and sustainability first manifested itself through our charity, the A Team Foundation. We realised relatively quickly that trying to effect change through charitable routes would be slow and difficult. We recognised that if we really wanted to shift the dial in a faster way, we needed to also approach these issues from the business side of the table – to make positive change from the inside…and Rebel Kitchen was born.
Our mission is to redefine health through food, business and beyond. Rebel Kitchen is here to change our approach to health – what constitutes health, the way food is made and how businesses operate within the food space. It’s a different kind of health message – one that doesn’t separate the individual from the whole and is based on actions instead of preaching.
How does this reflect the work you do with your coconut farmers in the Philippines?
We have a deep-rooted pledge to sustainable business practices. Our ambition is for Rebel Kitchen to operate in a way that is sustainable as possible, creating a positive feedback system within everything we do.
Part of that is maintaining close relationships with the smallholders that produce the coconuts we use to make our products – in both the Phillipines and Sri Lanka. We visit regularly to make sure we really know the people behind our supply chain.
This year, we became a Certified B Corporation so that we could stand up and be proudly measured against the highest standards of social and environmental performance, accountability and transparency. Oh, and it helps solve the worlds social and environmental problems, too, which we think is pretty awesome!
How important do you think it is for brands to have a purpose going beyond the creation of a product?
Rebel Kitchen was founded on the principles of sustainability. We are lucky that we have grown with that core founding intention so that we're always driving towards this. We really believe that in the not-too-distant future that all businesses will need to operate sustainably to be able to compete and survive.
It can be difficult for a lot of businesses to balance the drive to do good and also to make a profit – how do you manage to balance the two?
We always implement the best possible methods that we can afford. It can be a tricky balance, as sometimes what’s best for the planet doesn’t make good business sense. For example, in 2015 we decided to move to a completely organic product range without passing on the cost to our customers or the end consumer – some people might put profit first, but we wanted to do what was right.
Why do you think the ‘What I’m Made Of’ campaign is needed?
We think its hugely important for people get to know the companies they buy from and where the food they are consuming is sourced. There are so many wonderful stories from organic companies to be discovered.
What impact would you like to leave in the wellness industry?
We’re constantly trying to innovate in the dairy free space. We’ve just launched a product that’s like no other in the milk alternative category with the introduction of Mylk, a milk alternative that tastes just like real dairy. We hope that we’ll continue to be viewed as innovators and future thinkers that are leading the way in the food space.