Meet The Makers Mini Interview: Rawmbas

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Rawmbas Mini Interview

Rawmbas has been a close neighbour of Pomme Nanaimo for a long time, and it’s been such a pleasure to see them grow, and to work with them over the years. Originally launched as a family run vegan takeout spot, they have honed their small business to focus on their star product: celiac-friendly, plant-based, incredibly healthy, tasty and filling muffins! They’ve just opened a brand new certified gluten-free baking facility to commercially produce their muffins, which means we’re really excited to be able to offer them at Pomme Port Coquitlam now, too—the only source on the mainland! Rawmbas muffins are available in three flavours, Apple Raspberry, Double Chocolate, and Bountiful Blueberry, and you can definitely appreciate the taste and nutrient benefits of them all no matter your dietary preferences. It was so nice to take some time to connect with the Rawmbas family for this interview, and we’re really pleased to be able to share their story with you.


Share your story with us in a 150 words or less.

Rawmbas Gluten Free, Vegan Foods, is owned and operated by the Bartlett family in Nanaimo, BC. We are three brothers: Mike, James and Biff, and we originally opened Rawmbas to serve high quality takeout meals. Our muffins were always a customer favourite. Over the years, the muffins started selling out daily and Pomme Natural Market Nanaimo, which was located across the street from Rawmbas, started selling them too. We soon knew we had something special to offer everyone—and not just to those who had specific dietary needs! Out of necessity, and with the encouragement of family and friends, we built a Certified Gluten Free Baking facility from the ground up to commercially produce our amazing muffins.

Getting from an idea to a small business is a lot of work! When did it first sink in for you that ‘this is really happening’?

The challenges and obstacles that came up while building their commercial Certified Gluten Free kitchen, especially during the pandemic, at times seemed impossible to overcome. But the day the equipment was in place and the first batch of yummy muffins came out of the ovens perfectly, we knew it was really happening! Such a proud day for the family!


Out of all your products, which is your personal favourite and why?

Rawmbas makes three flavours of muffins. And all flavors are loved by different members of the family. If we had to choose a favorite flavor, we would need to defer to the consensus of the buying public, which we have, and the results are in! The Apple Raspberry muffin is the favorite and both the Double Chocolate and Bountiful Blueberry tie for second place!

What’s your favourite thing about the town or city you live in?

The Bartlett family has lived in Nanaimo since 1972. Our mom, Noni, who works with us, has been a local since 1967. We have all seen the city grow and expand and have enjoyed taking part in its cultural annual events. Rawmbas has raised money for local charities, donated muffins to important causes like Cops for Cancer and has raised money and advocated for the Canadian Celiac Association. We have also won several awards for the Bite, an annual food fair and “Best of the City” an annual newspaper contest voted on by the community! In our spare time, we love to hang out together, especially when we are at our nearby mountain retreat.

What are your personal top three tips for feeling awesome?

Health and well-being are always at the top of priorities for us. Just like everybody else, there is always room to grow and improve! But today we can all confidently agree that the top three tips for feeling awesome are giving love, receiving love, lots of sleep and feeding your body good nutrition! Ok, so that was four but who’s counting!!