90 on the Clock: Rawxies’ vegan treats
September 23, 2015 | Bobby Burch
90 on the Clock: Rawxies’ vegan treats
By John McGrath, KCPT, and Bobby Burch, Startland News
Ed’s Note: Flatland and Startland News have partnered to highlight Kansas City’s innovators and entrepreneurs, all in 90 seconds. This is the second episode in the five-part series.
Rawxies founder Callie England may best be defined by her tenacity.
England, who serves as CEO of the Kansas City-based vegan snack company, worked tirelessly in recent months to raise local funds — to the tune of $512,000 — that will accelerate her business. She moved her company from Petaluma, Calif. to Kansas City in 2013 and promised herself to build Rawxies with local support.
The company’s recent funding will boost manufacturing of its snacks by roughly 400 percent.
A Jefferson City native, England said when she was 20-years-old she grew tired of taking a cocktail of medications for her health. Even with the medications, she still felt ill and eventually sought out the help of a naturopathic doctor who put her on a plant-based, vegan diet. After noticing an improvement in her health, England’s dietary change eventually gave rise to Rawxies.
Rawxies now offers a variety of different flavors of vegan, soy- and gluten-free snacks that ship around the nation. Shaped as hearts, the low-sugar food bars are not heated above 105 degrees, preserving the ingredients’ natural enzymes to ease digestion.
Here are a few more nuggets from her conversation with Startland News and FlatlandKC.
On the challenges that led her to start Rawxies …
I was on about nine prescription pills when I was 20-years-old. I was fed up living a life based on my medication schedule so I sought out the help of a naturopath (doctor) and she put me on a vegan diet. Within two months I was off every single prescription medication.
On raising capital in Kansas City …
Raising capital in Kansas City is more about connections than it is your brand. It’s still your brand and it’s still your company, but it’s really about building a connection with somebody and the relationship that goes along with that.
On what the funding will go toward …
The funds that we’ve raised are going to be used towards building the back end of business. In order to meet the demands and the growth, we’re really investing in machinery that increases our output.
2015 Startups to Watch
stats here
Related Posts on Startland News
KC innovator’s anti-itch spray so natural it was discovered on a front porch lab
Homindy founder Ronan Molloy discovered the benefits of his company’s itch relief spray somewhat by accident. During the summer of 2020, Molloy volunteered to participate in a clinical study for a tea with all-natural ingredients that was supposed to reduce inflammation in his right knee. At that time, he was president of the Innovation Stockyard,…
KC capital implants cattle tech startup with fuel to scale, expanding IVF labs, headcount
Livestock production has seen a remarkable transformation since Kerryann Kocher was growing up on her family’s sixth-generation farm in northeast Iowa, the Vytelle CEO said. Instead of just selecting the cow that looks best and bringing in the neighbor’s bull for breeding, as she remembers it, Kocher and Vytelle — a Kansas City-based precision livestock…
Venture experts: Getting your first check in KC is too difficult, but a record influx of coastal investors isn’t a bad substitute
A new report on Kansas City’s venture-backed companies showed year-over-year growth in multiple areas — impressing industry experts who identified key investment trends in the data. More companies with venture capital backing; higher employee counts; a 58 percent boost in fundraising. Yet growth was not universal. Despite gains in top-line figures, the number of Kansas City-based…
RX Savings Solutions sale would see the startup acquired for up to $875M in KC’s biggest-ever exit
The McKesson Corporation has agreed to purchase Overland Park-prescribed Rx Savings Solutions in a deal worth nearly $1 billion. McKesson announced Monday that it had entered into an agreement with the prescription pricing startup valued at up to $875 million — more than double the $425 million price tag for which Kansas City-built Backlot Cars…