Filipinos gain more access to healthy snacks thanks to Raw Bites PH
Eating healthy food is essential, yet the World Food Program says that many Filipinos still suffer from poor diets. One reason for this is the limited supply of healthy options in local groceries or shops. This problem prompted Gail Go and Jane Dee to establish Raw Bites PH in 2017. It is a digital store dedicated to offering nourishing, wholesome meals, and beverages. Helping them break new ground is cloud logistics platform LOCAD, which ensures that items remain fresh, accessible, and delectable.
Making nutritious food options cheaper, more accessible
In launching Raw Bites PH four years ago, the owners’ main challenge was the widespread perception that nutritious food options are extremely expensive. “We try to offer healthy products and make them accessible to Filipinos. Before Raw Bites entered the industry, there were just a few shops in different malls. It felt like an exclusive club for the rich,” Go reminisces. This became the reason why Raw Bites made healthy foods accessible by putting them online. They desire that many Filipinos can see and order them conveniently without the need to go to the malls.
Raw Bites PH started as a snack subscription box business, sending their subscribers imported and healthy snacks monthly. Go and Dee did this approach for two years before they were able to assess what tickled people’s taste buds.
Known as a wholesome e-grocery, Raw Bites PH offers more than 90+ brands and 1000+ ethically-sourced products, including the UK-made oat drink brand, Rude Drink.
Previously, Raw Bites PH subscribers could only purchase from the shop. However, the launch of its website, along with its marketplaces, enabled more people to access its products.
Today, amid a roster of many healthy food alternatives, non-dairy beverages such as oat drink, almond drink, and barista oat serve as the store’s best-selling products. Living up to their commitment to “really offer healthy products only,” says Go, canned goods and products filled with refined sugar cannot be purchased at Raw Bites PH.
LOCAD helps advance healthy eating and living
Delivering to major grocery chains kept Raw Bites PH afloat, but digital selling catapulted them to growth. During the start of the pandemic, more people got more concerned about their health. This is why Raw Bites PH’s orders grew sevenfold. The owners were not able to keep up with the sudden surge of orders. This left them with a messy warehouse and an inventory that needed to be updated manually.
Raw Bites PH has a perfect mix of healthy snacks, wholesome breakfast choices, and staple pantry items.
It was at this juncture that Raw Bites PH enlisted LOCAD’s expertise in warehousing and logistics; since then, it has been helping the owners fulfill the increasing demands for their products.
LOCAD’s organized, efficient handling of their products has contributed to the increase of Raw Bites PH’s revenue. Streamlining Raw Bites PH’s operations through LOCAD’s immediate dashboard and fast end-to-end fulfillment services enables them to achieve roughly a million pesos in monthly sales across their multiple marketplaces.
Go describes this breakthrough, “I never imagined it to be like that because at first, I only felt that we could just make 100,000 (pesos) per month—which is fine. Now, it is like a million and we have never reached that milestone before.”
More nutritious, wholesome pantry staples
Sustainability serves as a growing consideration for e-commerce shoppers these days. This is shown by LOCAD’s research on key e-commerce trends for 2022. The report says that 92% of SEA customers are willing to pay more for brands with sustainable products. Raw Bites PH is prepared to respond to this trend because of its commitment to sustainability.
The owners envision working with wholesome food companies or those who follow ethical sourcing of safe, nutritious, and sustainable food supplies. Because many of these practices are not yet prevalent in the Philippines, Go says they do not ask their potential partners to follow the same standards. “But if you are wholesome, if you intend to do good with your products, then we will work with you,” Go explains.
Go shares the various reasons why they will continue working with LOCAD. This attributes their brand’s growth to its successful behind-the-scenes operations. First, working with the cloud logistics platform back then, as newbies in the digital marketplace, made them realize they needed to set up strict rules before delivering products. “LOCAD has enabled Raw Bites PH to follow business best practices, just like how they ensure that we indicate a best-before date on all our products,” Go details.
Transparency serves as the second reason why the owners of Raw Bites continue their partnership with LOCAD. “It is the tech behind LOCAD that enables and connects us to different warehouses,” she notes. Go also emphasizes their customers appreciate the fast delivery speed of their packages after Raw Bites engaged with LOCAD.
Moving forward, Raw Bites PH owners share their plans to grow their online presence even more. Right now, they are looking for the next big brand that they can introduce to the country. They want to bring a more accessible healthy meal and drink alternatives to the doorsteps of every Filipino.
