Keep it raw, keep it simple

We speak to Kate Dawidowska, director at InsideOrganics Ltd, about why raw food is the answer.

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Every season, a new superfood or health fad seems to hit the papers – only to be ditched a few weeks later in favour of a trendier sibling. It’s not easy to spot which products could really improve your health and give you maximum nutrition with minimal effort. We speak to Kate Dawidowska, director at InsideOrganics Ltd, about why raw food is the answer.

Kate used to work in offshore investment banking in Jersey; it was a demanding role and, after having children, she decided that she wanted a job with more flexibility. For many people, starting an organic food business might not be the most obvious next step, but being married to a chef with 20 years’ experience certainly can’t have hurt. In a far cry from her previous role, Kate is now at the helm of a brand that creates artisan products from the highest quality natural ingredients, drawing on a wealth of knowledge to transform everyday flavours into nutritious raw food products.

‘Initially we wanted to create a one-stop shop for organic and healthy living’, Kate told PQ. ‘But, when opportunities came our way, we decided to create our own brand of products. We’re both foodies and we identified a niche in the market, so we decided to create a line of dehydrated products that are healthy and taste great. We always want to offer something different, and our customers appreciate that.’

InsideOrganic’s rawlicious products are dehydrated in a temperature-controlled environment; it’s a very slow process – one batch can take up to 20 hours – but the end product is bursting with its original nutrients. The kale chips are a great example; at £2.49 per 40g bag they cost about as much as a sandwich and are just as filling – but they’re also extremely nutritious. The chips taste delicious, sell in high volumes and are packed full of the iron, calcium and vitamins A, B, C and K for which kale is adored by health buffs across the globe. Seeds, nuts, fresh herbs, vegetables and fruit all make their way into hand-made and hand-packed rawlicious products; where possible they’re sourced from local suppliers, but issues around seasonality mean that’s not always possible.

To Kate, the switch to a healthy, organic diet is a no-brainer. ‘It reduces our exposure to potentially harmful substances in pesticides and chemical fertilisers’, she explains. ‘The latest study shows that organic products are more nutritionally dense than their more common counterparts.’ Beyond the benefits of eating organic, Kate believes raw is the way forward for optimum health. It all comes down to processing: the less the food is processed, the better.

The range of healthy products available in today’s supermarkets is still pretty limited, but Kate is pleased to see that’s slowly changing. She believes consumers are becoming increasingly conscious and that there’s a growing demand for healthy products. Over time, she believes we’ll see more of them in mainstream distribution.

At the same time, Kate’s also aware of the new ‘superfoods’ that seem to go out of fashion as quickly as they come in. She puts this down to the human need for improvement; ‘People have always looked – and continue to look – for foods that will make them look younger and feel better’, she says. ‘There’s always new research to celebrate the unknown benefits of “new” foods.’ Kate’s advice is to keep it raw and keep it simple. ‘Living a fast-paced life means that we do end up eating more highly processed foods’, she says. ‘The easiest solution is to introduce more fresh fruit and vegetables into your diet and to prepare as many meals as possible at home. You can boost your intake of nutrients massively by switching a snack like crisps, which are high in salt, carbohydrates and saturated fats, with unprocessed foods like carrots and hummus.’