"Together Talks" feature #99: Rawmanticchocolate presented by KLS, freight company
Some Background on Rawmanticchocolate
For today's edition of "Together Talks" campaign, KLS had the opportunity to interview Rawmanticchocolate and Kasia Bosne, Founder. New York based chocolate & energy protein bar makers. If you are looking for some delicious nutritious treats you came to the right place. These chocolates are freshly handcrafted from the purest organic ingredients sourced from all over the world that are simple to pronounce. Fair-trade, dairy-free, lactose free, gluten free. No preservatives, no refined sugars, no artificial flavors, NON-GMO. Full of life, energy and love at the first bite.
They believe everyone deserves good quality life and best nutrition. Therefore it is about uncompromised quality, taste and well-being. Rawmanticchocolate is transparent, and they express that through their eco-friendly compostable clear package. They are compassionate, delightful and seductive.
Fashion to passion
In 2017 Kasia founded her company, but her background did not come in food. Kasia previously worked in the fashion industry. She modeled for some time before transitioning into sales for women's high luxury goods. She joked with us, "I didn't even know how to boil an egg!". But over time being around modeling and the fashion industry she always found a fascination with nutrition.
Kasia described to us her many experiences studying nutrition saying in jest, "I feel like I have a PhD in sugar", including learn this fine craft from masters like Matthew Kenny in Santa Monica, CA through his intensive chocolate course, Amy Levine from RawChef Academy in UK, Natural Gourmet Institute chocolate courses in NY, Institute of Culinary Education Artisanal Chocolate Workshop, and my Health Educator certificate, as well as Raw Food Chef Certificate Level 1, from Hippocrates Health Institute, West Palm Beach, FL
While she was studying she went to a Tony Robbins event. But it wasn't what she learned at the event that would change her life, but what she experienced after. After the event wrapped the event served hot dogs. Kasia had an idea, what if I created something that was better for the guests of his events. She went home and created the first version of her bars. Immediately after she contacted his team and they requested her bars at the very next event in Chicago.
The rest was history.
Kasia made the change from fashion to creating her company due to her determination. After the Tony Robbins event she said there was no hesitation, this is what she wanted to do. It was a huge change to educate herself and learn everything from the start. But as evidence of her determination she shared that she was going to work her hardest and see it through. While it has been the biggest challenge of her life, she shared how rewarding the journey has been.
It started with Kasia making 5,000 bars in her own kitchen and within two days everything was sold out. She took a leap of faith and compares starting a company to giving birth to a baby, "You get to watch it grow and develop". She said her goal is to create the best and most delicious nutritional bar on the market, even more impressive by just receiving USDA certified organic.
Almost the end...
Before the pandemic the company was rolling. Then an advisor got an idea to change recipe. Kasia listened to a few people instead of herself, she told us in her gut and heart she didn't agree with this recommendation. Ultimately she listened to people without experience and proceeded to change both the recipe and packaging.
What ensued was a huge fiasco. Suddenly she quit getting orders, while also not receiving good feedback. Customers were no longer interested, it was like a switch flipped. Kasia said at this point she almost lost her entire company. But rather than giving in, she relied on that determination and perseverance to correct the course of her company. She went back to the basics, focusing on simplicity and her original formula. She said she learned two things at this period of time, "Always listen to yourself and never make decisions out of fear. It is the worst decision you can make." Kasia explained that while this was the biggest mistake, she reflects on it as the biggest blessing.
Partner with KLS
KLS offers LTL and FTL for both dry and reefer transportation.
Our nationwide coverage provides companies a reliable, consistent, and dependable logistics partner to handle your trucking needs.
For more information on how we can help call our office today 708-980-0920 or reach us via our email quote request here!
Past experiences lead to belief
Relying on her past careers has allowed Kasia to make a seamless transition selling her bars. Starting with modeling she advised us how rejection is the norm, but learning to not take anything personal from it is a great life lesson. At those castings the client has a specific image or talent in their head and she didn't always fit that mold. She translates that to buyers interested in her product. A no isn't always final, sometimes it just means not right now.
With experience in this industry she now understands the importance of fit and alignment. She described it as, "Looking for the sunrise while walking in the wrong direction. It has to be the right time and right place." She reiterated the importance of keeping open lines of communication and growing relationships with potential buyers. Everyone at the end of the day is making business decisions, removing the personal emotion is critical but can be difficult.
Kasia explained how excited and grateful she is to have built a team at Rawmanticchocolate. Coming from the fashion industry it was imperative to create a safe and cultured environment, but also one of empowerment. Creating goals and having a vision for the company that everyone can rally around is what Kasia enjoys most. When everyone pulls in the same direction to advance and grow the company it is the ultimate satisfaction.
Exploring opportunities for continued growth
The future of her company is centered around one thing, customers. Kasia wants to continue to meet customer demands by innovating current products and brining new products to market. She explained that any company can uses the best and cleanest ingredients, but if it doesn't taste good no one will care. She explained how organic growth was the catalyst, "Once the bars were created I started approaching retail stores. Within a week of being on their shelves we were sold out. Then clients started coming by themselves due to the demand."
Kasia believes that it took 5 years to perfect the recipe, she credits that the amazing taste is backed by the cleanest, highest possible organic ingredients. Being always fresh and still crafted by hand shows the level of care they pour into their products. While the CPG space is extremely difficult to penetrate, Kasia gives credit to their customer base for helping grow the brand. The feedback received from customers is and always will be the best for of feedback in her opinion. The goals for the upcoming year are to be in every Whole Foods, nationwide. She also advised that they landed one great distributor recently and are in negotiations with another. Kasia understands that distribution is the key to take Rawmanticchocolate to the next level.
Piece of Advice
Our conversation with Kasia ended with her sharing her pieces of advice.
"Everything is a lesson. Even from negative experiences we can learn. Don't have a pity party. When you are angry or sad, things are actually happening, remember that. A profound moment and good ideas are born out of strength within yourself to keep moving forward. Be very optimistic about the future possibilities.
Today’s world possesses many great opportunities. Those who want to pursue their dreams should go for it. Don’t be so serious and make sure to enjoy the journey. Always be learning lessons, they are abundant. Last, it is very lonely at the top I always questioned this and didn't understand what it meant or how it could be true.
Going through the process, be very careful with people you surround yourself with. Choose wisely to protect your heart. Listen to yourself and your voice. Almost live in your own bubble to not let anyone burst your progress. Preserve what is very special to you and take good care of it in order to build it. Creating fantastic products and building a community, can be lonely but there is a reason for it. In loneliness you have to find knowledge and strength to get there, all that noise around you is meaningless. I'm in the game of making a difference. It is a game because I want to have fun, enjoy it, provide for people, and her family, and is determined to win.
Interested in being featured with "Together Talks"?
KLS is booking our upcoming schedule now!
Contact us as we would love to learn your story and share it amongst our audience.
Weekly we provide 2 companies our platform to expand their reach courtesy of our campaign. Let's collaborate!!!
In Closing
KLS wants to thank Kasia Bosne, Founder, of Rawmanticchocolate for today's "Together Talks" feature. Follow along for the Rawmanticchocolate journey with their social handles below!
Klimson Logistics Solutions - Together Talks with Rawmanticchocolate feature #99
*Klimson Logistics Solutions is an Industry Leading Customer Service 3PL. Our focus and commitment to our clients has us striving to be the BEST customer service 3PL for LTL, FTL, Reefer, and Drayage in the country. KLS, freight company, is a 3PL providing nationwide logistics solutions. KLS shipping services include: LTL freight, FTL freight, Reefer LTL freight, Reefer FTL freight, and Drayage. Klimson Logistics Solutions thanks you for viewing our marketing campaign, "Together Talks". If you have any interest in being featured or questions regarding your freight operations please contact us today!
Why KLS?
Our precise and reliable effort.
We handle every shipment with the exact same process. It does not matter if you move one shipment a year or ten per day, you will receive the same level of customer service from us. When we started this company, we had one goal in mind, treat every shipment like it was our own. With our vast knowledge of the industry, we understood what a customer would want from a communication standpoint. We applied that process to be the standard here at KLS. Our reliability and being able to depend on our consistency is why we have such long-standing relationships with our clients.
Our Process?
Every shipment in our industry starts with a quote. We are firm believers that time is money, thus we strive to have quotes back in a 5-10 minute reply time for LTL and FTL, any FCL quotes are at the mercy of the carriers getting back to us. For LTL we have the flexibility to quote both off of NMFC and also Density depending on the carrier. Utilizing our services, you’re allowing us to use our expertise to class your freight accordingly to ensure we are providing the best rate we possibly can.
Once a quote has been submitted and a client chooses to proceed with KLS handling the arrangement of the shipment our full process begins. We create the BOL that will be used for the shipment. If it is a new location for our system, we will obtain all the important/special details (reference numbers, contact details, shipping hours, closed for lunch, dock/doors, etc.). We meticulously build every detail into our software for all future shipments involving that location. After we have both locations built and necessary reference numbers have been applied we will tender the shipment to the carrier. We use this method because it provides us a real time pickup number from the carrier to obtain updates prior to pickup. Our staff will either email the BOL directly to you or to the shipper (at your request) the minute after the tender has been accepted by the carrier. LTL carriers require a 2 hour window prior to close time in order to schedule it for a same-day pickup attempt.
The following morning you’ll receive an email from us. It will either provide the reason the pickup was missed (driver’s trailer filled up, driver missed the close time, truck broke down, shipper said no freight, etc.) or if the pickup was successful you will receive the PRO (tracking) number from us, along with the eta for delivery. Our staff will track it throughout the duration of transit and advise if anything happens that will alter the estimated delivery date. The day the shipment delivers we will email you with confirmation and the POD (Proof of Delivery), should you require it.
Your shipment has been quoted, scheduled, picked up, and delivered. The next step is waiting for the carrier to invoice us and make sure the rate matches up. If it does, we close out the invoice from the carrier in our system and automatically your invoice is created and sent to the requested party at your company. In the event the carrier has an additional charge on their invoice “Variance”, we will never send you an invoice with an additional charge without first identifying you of the charge.
Let us repeat, NEVER WILL WE JUST BILL OUT AN EXTRA CHARGE WITHOUT YOU BEING NOTIFIED.
You are our customer, we represent you. Should the carrier provide an extra charge on an invoice, “Lift gate, additional weight, reclass, detention, etc.) We notify you of the charge via email first. Second, within that email we identify what is required should you choose to dispute the charge. Again our goal is to honor your request, if you want to dispute, we will dispute. During a dispute we will provide you updates every step along the way. Once a dispute is closed out, whether it is approved or rejected, then we will invoice you as the invoice has been resolved.
For reference, our company only had 6.2% of all shipments go to dispute in 2022 and we successfully won 91% of those disputes on behalf of our customers.
This is our process for every single shipment you move with us. We don’t cut corners, we don’t hide from difficult situations. We believe in being available, honest, and transparent. We don’t ever want to tell you that a shipment is lost, damaged, misrouted, but it is our duty to notify you the second we find out something has gone wrong. We hate to present bad news, but it is part of the job. What you can guarantee is that we will work a shipment all the way through and turn over every stone until we get a resolution for our clients.
Services offered?
Our core business is LTL and FTL. Within these options we have options for both dry and refrigerated/frozen. We also offer FCL/Drayage options. Our company as a 3PL has nationwide options and services clients across the US.
Let’s breakdown our services more in-depth
LTL:
Standard and Guaranteed
CFS (Imports & Exports)
Tradeshows
Hazmat
Anything that is on a pallet can be moved LTL. Typically LTL is up to 10 pallets, but the sweet spot for a carrier is 6-8 pallets at most for an individual shipment. LTL quotes are good between 5-30 days depending on the carrier. LTL can be quoted either via NMFC or density to determine the class (we do this for you).
Volume:
Anything over 10-12’ of space in the truck is the technical rule for a volume shipment. When we run a quote for you we will determine if it qualifies for volume and provide you a rate if available. Volume moves allow you to get a reduced rate for larger shipments. The caveat to volume shipments it the quotes are only valid for 3-7 days and they move on capacity between terminals. If a terminal is backed up they will move their LTL freight first before the volume freight, which can lead to longer transit times for volume moves.
FTL/Dedicated/Expedited: 53’ Dry and Reefer 26’ Box trucks with lift gate Sprinter Van The main difference for FTL vs LTL is space and transit time. For standard pallets you can fit either 26 or 30 pallets in a 53’ dry van. The other main difference is transit time, for FTL each day counts in the transit time, whereas LTL does not count the day of pickup, weekends, or holidays in their transit time.
Reefer/Frozen:
LTL and FTL
We specialize working in the CPG space with food manufacturers. We regularly deliver to
the following locations:
Kehe
UNFI
Core Mark
DPI
Wegmans
Cugini
H.T. Hackney
Netrition
HEB
ALDI
Chambers and Owens
EBY Brown
Nassau Candy
Harris Teeter
Wakefern
NU INC
Long Distribution
What makes KLS different?
There are thousands of freight brokers and 3PL in our industry. Barrier to entry is rather easy and agents or owners will often hire sales people without any intention of properly training them. It results in high turnover for many freight companies and a forgettable experience for the client. We choose to operate differently through our consistency. We truly care about doing right by our clients and prospects too. While we would love to help provide our services to every company we speak with, that just isn’t realistic. We won’t always be the right fit for every company that moves freight and that is ok. Our authenticity as a shipping company sets us apart from the competition and that is backed up by our testimonials. We also run a marketing campaign bi-weekly called “Together Talks”. We interview, highlight, and promote two businesses every week. Our goal is to grow our network, make new connections, and learn something new with each collaboration. Check it out on our website and if you’re interested in being featured reach out.
Our company also runs a year long charity promotion. Book your first shipment through KLS and we donate to the charity of your choice in your name. Our way of thanking you for giving us an opportunity to show you the KLS way and what makes us one of a kind. This entire package is what we offer to every prospect and every client. Our goal is to help provide answers that customers may have when it comes to shipping. We want to always be available as a resource and will always offer a lending hand whenever we can.