My personal Journey with råbowls: Growth, Struggles, and Friendship
I was born in Hamburg but raised between the Netherlands and Brazil, constantly navigating different cultures and languages. My Uruguayan father and German mother taught me resilience and adaptability, encouraging me to embrace the contrasts in my life. When I moved alone to Groningen to study business, I felt a growing desire to create something meaningful, something truly my own. After a soul-crushing internship at HelloFresh, I realized one thing for certain: I had to be self-employed. The alternative—a life without creativity or purpose—was simply not an option.
The Beginning: Founding rå in Groningen
I was lucky to have zoë. she and her family helped us build and run the store.
During my Master’s studies in Groningen, I began to develop an idea that aligned with my passion for health food and sustainability. Living as a student, I saw how hard it was to find convenient, healthy meals. That’s when I came up with the concept for “Rå – økologisk salatbar”.
Why Danish? Scandinavia has always inspired me with its approach to organic, healthy food, being pioneers in the field. On top of that, the word rå held a deeper significance. In ancient Scandinavian folklore, it referred to a warden, a protector of nature—a concept that resonated with my vision of sustainable, wholesome eating.
At just 21 years old, with no prior business or gastronomy experience, I decided to make this vision a reality. With a modest budget of €35,000, I signed a rental contract for a small space near my student apartment in Groningen and built the store from scratch. It was chaotic, exhausting, and far from perfect, but it felt right.
pure chaos and running out of cash
Two months in, we ran out of cash. We didn’t even have a menu ready when we first opened the doors. Yet, the media attention came fast, and people were excited to see something new in Groningen. Sales started off strong, but the operation itself was pure chaos. We couldn’t afford employees, didn’t know how to do accounting, and I had no clue about filing taxes. When the initial hype died down, reality hit hard—our bank account was empty, and our organic food supplier cut us off.
We were faced with a brutal choice: keep going or give up. So what did we do? We cashed in our deposit bottles at the supermarket to scrape together enough money to buy vegetables for the next day. It was survival mode, and it was relentless. We’d wake up at 7 a.m., cook all the food ourselves, then rush to the store by 11 a.m., serve customers until 8 p.m., close up, and finish the day by 9 p.m. The routine was grueling, and I was burning out fast. I lost weight—10 kilos less than I weighed during my student days. I’d forget to eat because I was always working, always moving. My life revolved around rå.
give up or keep going?
But as tough as it was, it worked, at least for a while. I was young, full of energy, and driven by pure passion. However, my body began to betray me. I started experiencing strange spasms, often while cooking or serving customers. It got worse, and eventually, I collapsed in the middle of the street. An ambulance was called, and that’s when I was diagnosed with temporal lobe epilepsy.
My mother was terrified. She drove all the way from Hamburg to Groningen to take me home for good. I’ll never forget how worried she looked: ‘Enough is enough. You’re coming with me now,’ she told me.
I was put on medication, saw neurologists, and underwent regular MRI scans. Slowly but surely, the medication began to manage my symptoms. I had to learn how to work with my condition, and as the days became more manageable, I knew I couldn’t give up. Despite the struggles, I decided to keep going. My parents weren’t thrilled. They wanted me to find a “real” job—something stable, something that didn’t take such a toll on my health. And deep down, I knew there was some truth to that. My life was anything but comfortable.
But there was a fire in me, a desire to keep pushing forward with rå, no matter how turbulent the journey had been so far.
The Hard Work and Expansion to Hamburg
After working tirelessly for two years in Groningen, I refined our business model and developed a plan to expand. I knew that rå needed to be in a modern, urban city with professionals looking for healthy lunch options. Hamburg, the city of my birth, felt like the perfect choice. I applied for a loan from a German bank, and despite the COVID-19 situation, they believed in my vision. It felt like a turning point—finally, a chance to scale the concept I had been pouring my heart into.
During the construction of the Gänsemarkt store, Godaddy invited us to a shoot.
I opened my first store at Gänsemarkt, full of excitement, but the reality hit hard. The German building authorities sued us for simply putting up store signage, and then they rejected our application for a change of use. It felt like every step we took was met with resistance rather than support. The bureaucracy was overwhelming, and instead of encouraging young entrepreneurs, it felt like the system was working against us—Germany has so much potential for innovation, but the hurdles discourage so many talented young people.
Struggles with Partners and the Rise of rå in Hamburg
During challenging periods Ahsan helped us with his entrepreneurial spirit.
I faced challenges beyond bureaucracy. I entered partnerships that seemed promising but ended up being costly mistakes. Some partners didn’t pay a single bill for services we provided, leaving us to cover expenses we couldn’t afford. It was a harsh lesson in trust and accountability, but we pushed on.
During this challenging period, I was fortunate enough to meet Ahsan. He initially applied as a driver for our Gänsemarkt store, but he quickly became so much more. Ahsan, originally from a small village in Pakistan, had left his family behind and traveled alone, even running his own businesses before joining rå. His hustle, dedication, and entrepreneurial spirit were evident from the start, and he became my strongest partner and a close friend. Ahsan ran the Gänsemarkt store for three years, helping it grow while I focused on other aspects of the business. Without him, I’m not sure how I would have managed.
Exploring Retail and the Challenges That Came with It
our shop-in-shop in edeka hafencity
To further expand our reach, we partnered with Gorillas and sold our bowls in premium EDEKA stores across Hamburg, including setting up a shop-in-shop in EDEKA Hafencity. At first, it seemed like a promising direction, and sales were good. But the reality of working with large retail chains set in—margins were too thin, operations were complex, and we became overly dependent on EDEKA, a partner with much more power and control. Ultimately, we had to pull back, realizing that maintaining independence and profitability were more important for long-term success.
A Turning Point: Going Solo at Rathaus
In 2022, my business partner and I decided to part ways. It was a difficult decision, and I was left with the burden of managing everything alone while carrying a significant loan. There were moments when I felt lost, unsure of whether to give up or continue the fight. But when summer sales took off, and customer feedback was overwhelmingly positive, I knew I had to keep going.
I opened råbowls® by myself at Rathaus, putting all my energy into making it work. Every decision felt like a risk, but it was a risk I was willing to take. I handled everything myself, from designing the store and taking promotional photos to managing the Instagram page and creating all our marketing materials. My life revolved around råbowls, and it was incredibly overwhelming.
Looking Back and Moving Forward
My journey with råbowls has been anything but easy. From facing legal battles and unreliable partners to navigating a new city and managing everything—from store design, food photography, to social media—mostly on my own, there have been countless moments of doubt and struggle. But I’ve also learned that these setbacks are part of the process, and they’ve shaped me into the entrepreneur I am today.
Ahsan’s support has been invaluable. His resilience and dedication inspire me, and having a trusted friend by my side has made the journey less lonely. Despite all the challenges, fighting for something you genuinely believe in is always worth it, even if it means facing failure head-on.
Whether råbowls succeeds or struggles, I’m proud of what we’ve built so far. It’s not just about business; it’s about inspiring other entrepreneurs to join our mission and create a healthier, more sustainable way of eating. And if this journey encourages even one person to pursue their passion, then it’s been worth every challenge.
