Roar Living Cordials

Roar Living

Knowing there had to be an alternative to the chemical laden cordials in the big supermarkets, qualified cher Maria set about creating her own, 100% natural cordials.

Her unique flavours and passion for the freshest quality ingredients has meant Roar Living cordials has been a great success - including a 9th place in the world in Drinkpreneur category for new inventive drinks. This is Gold Coast brand we should all be ROARing about!

About Roar Living

Tell us a little bit about yourself, who is behind Roar Living?

I am a qualified chef and worked under Neil Perry, Damien Pignolet & the likes.
My love for quality ingredients coupled with fabulous food has enabled me to continue to work with food even after having two children.

What inspired you to start Roar Living?

Having two children, I refused to give them chemical laden “treats’ like jelly, cordial & iceblocks. I also have a husband who once loved branded cordial & one day it wasn’t on the shopping list however I did have the fresh provisions to make cordial.

I bought fresh lime & went into the garden & picked our fresh mint. From that day the seed was planted. From that bottle of cordial I made iceblocks for the kids as well as jelly. There was no reason for my children to miss out.

Tell us about your product range?

We worked closely with our microbiologist team who claimed that I could not nail the recipe to enable the range to be chemical free, I needed a preservative for long shelf life. I disagreed & was determined to prove the team wrong. Which i did!

Our entire range is made with real fruit, sourced from Queensland first then fresh ingredients like raspberries come from Victoria. Should we need to manufacture out of season then we choose the next best quality frozen raspberries.

We apply the ancient process of steeping & infusing for a specific amount of time to get maximum flavour out of each ingredient used, the liquid is strained several times to give clear liquid.
Our entire range is additive and preservative free.

What is the creative process when selecting and creating a cordial flavour?
Being a chef I am well versed with flavours that marry with each other. But our

products are not just ordinary drinks as we encourage our customers to make

other things too. We ensure we trial the flavours first in all aspects of edible goods

before we source our fresh provisions.

Where do you source your ingredients from?

We talk, talk, talk, talk, talk to everyone as well as our existing farmers who refer

us to other farmers. We look into our own state before approaching

reputable farmers nationwide. If an ingredient is out of season then we do choose

quality frozen products - which is only the raspberries.

What has been the highlight since starting Roar Living?

Probably, firstly is the manifestation of the thought, it IS real!
Meeting our audience from social media in person. To have our products in retail shelves nationwide as well as coming 9th in the world in Drinkpreneur category for new inventive drinks. Connecting with like minded businesses who have the same business ethics and who have supported us & believed in our vision.

If you could share a Roar living cordial with any celebrity, who would it be?
Moby, Richard Melville Hall. Like us, he lives with integrity, his core values are expressed in his line of work, he is grounded, he cares for our environment & active within his community....all of which plus more is what Roar is about.

A typical day for you involves?

Making calls to existing retailers & just have a general chat to see how things are going, not just about Roar products as I like to help them by encouraging our supporters to shop locally.
Calls to our growers to see what the availability is of fresh produce.

Making calls or emailing bloggers who are on the same page as us in regards to cutting out chemicals in our everyday diet.
Researching retailers to be future stockists for Roar...this we look indepth as we need to connect with like miinded retailers who will not only represent our product but equally our brand.

Preparation of manufacturing when need be.

What is the best part about working on Roar Living?

Getting incredibly amzing feedback, especially with customers whose children

have dietary requirements who have missed out on simple treats like jellies, cordial

& iceblocks...specifically those who are intolerant to additives & preservatives.

Working with quality ingredients, you cannot have an ahhhmazing product without

fresh quality ingredients.

.....and the hardest?

Media. Media saying how bad sugar is as well as conversations with people who

have totally elimated sugar and fruit from their diet including their childrens.

You are a regular at the markets, what do you love about selling at the markets?
Meeting my supporters who come from interstate or overseas looking for me.

Meeting those who have no idea of Roar and it’s products.

What are your dreams for Roar Living? Where would you like to see Roar Living in 12 months/ 5 years?
I’d love to see Roar products readily available on most retail shelves. The end consumer is our focus not profits so we only connect with prospective like minded businesses. I would love to build the brand to be bigger and the talk of the town like other ‘branded’ cordials’. We would like to get that big where we can employ parents who need to work in school hours, the eldery who want to contribute to society & the disabled who need a job & where we can give appropriate tasks.

Ideally...bigger vision to purchase land & grow as much as we can & use the produce as well as keep the current growers.
We would like to see our products in the global market place. We have been approached from several countries in Europe but freight is the killer.

What advice do you have for others who are dreaming about starting their own small business?
If you have an idea just go with it. See what direction it takes you but have an open mind to doing things a little differently to reach your goal. Have your core values & everyday make your decisions based on your businesses core values.
Stay grounded and remember your grassroots.

Most importantly, how can people get their hands on your products?

Products can be purchased from our secure online store at www.roarliving.com.au
We are at the Art and Craft Markets, Coolangatta and Broadbeach on Sundays.

Our retailer contact list needs to be updated as some do not have the entire range.

Social Media is so important these days, how can people connect with Roar Living?
Website: www.roarliving.com.au
Facebook: Roarliving

Instagram: Roarliving

Twitter: RoarLiving

About you

Every small business owner is driven by their ‘WHY’, will you share your ‘why’ with us?
Big businesses do not care about people, they are all about money. This is no secret as we have our manifesto on our recycled and reusable bags.Our manifesto is
“We’re for the little people for the small & thoughtful gestures, for the details that make things better, in the face of the big picture, big brother & big business. We’re the mouse that ROARED”

What is your favourite way to enjoy a Roar Cordial?

Chilled sparkling mineral water!

What is your work/life background?
I am married, a mother of two inspiring children who are my teachers as well as students to life. Qualified chef as well as a practicing Pilates instrustor.

What is your favourite thing about being a mum?
Being a role model. My life is an example to my children, to face your challenges

& nothing is impossible even the timestables!

How do you manage family time/work time and time for yourself?

Oooh I run a very tight ship. Super organised. Menu planning is essential. Dinner

preparation done the night before. Routine is crucial. Time for myself...uuummmm I

am just getting used to half an hour a week to do my nails but again routine and set

a certain time, on the most appropriate day of the week, for just nurturing you.

When your working what music do you love listening to?

A list of artists - I can listen to Jack Johnson, Moby and Tony Joe White anytime. I

have a complilation dedicated to just housecleaning. I am not fond of any genre of

music that is extreme and hard on my ears.

What did you want to be when you grew up?

Managing hotels, I did do my Diploma in Hospitality Management and Tourism but knew it wasn’t enough. So in 1995 I became an apprentice chef. I knew at the age of four that I wanted to work with food as this is my earliest recollection of helping mum in the kitchen.

Who do you look up to? Who inspires you?

Inspiration everywhere. I love Eagar Cayce, Dr John Demartini, Abraham Hicks, Wayne Dyer at that level.
Businesses like Innocent drinks, Gold And Green chocolate who all started from home. I LOVE reading about start ups and where they are now and how they got there. My children and husband are my inspiration. Leading life and setting an example. Matt and I are ying and yang.

When your not working on Roar Living where would we find you?

In the garden! We grow most of what we eat, the miricle of a seed. The garden is where I can switch off.

Where is your favourite place to visit on the Gold Coast?

Coolangatta, Snapper Rocks. LOVE Mount Tambourine, the trees are so healing and

calming

Favourite place to eat on the Gold Coast?

Really? AT HOME. Coming from Sydney all my favourite restaurants are down there.

We have given lots of restaurants a go but they disappoint. Commune in Burleigh

does outstanding Eggs Benedict!

Favourite cafe/restaurant on the Gold Coast?

Communue for Eggs Benedict and QT for buffet

What are your favourite Gold Coast made businesses?