We caught up with the brilliant and insightful GiGi Lawrence a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
GiGi, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today So let’s jump to your mission – what’s the backstory behind how you developed the mission that drives your brand?
Who am I? Well for one I am a mother and woman who loves her family dearly. This is one of the major reasons I began this journey. However, allow me to answer more clearly. I am Chef Gigi Lawrence. I was born in Queens New York and raised in Kingston Jamaica. My life is a beautiful convoluted journey. I’ve experience extreme poverty and high-end wealth living in Jamaica.
Who am I? Well I am partly my grandmother; this is where my hustle comes from. She was poor but found creative ways to earn income.
Who am I? I am also my father who I get my drive, entrepreneurial spirit and never give in to failure from. He rose to prominence from very humble beginnings and very little help from anyone.
Who am I? I am Gigi Lawrence, mother, wife, chef, dreamer, entrepreneur, owner, and founder of RastaRant- a Caribbean infused vegan cuisine provisioning wonderful eating experiences to all who dare.
My business… My mission… is providing unexpected experiences with vegan food.
What do I sell? I sell veganism-
I sell the experience of the unexpected.
When most people hear “Vegan” they think bland, people think nasty, odorless and simply unappealing vegetable options.
I sell flipping these stereotypes of vegan on their head. I sell aroma, taste, and the authentic Caribbean spice.
RastaRant is here to change the narrative around vegan cuisine. Not only are we helping people on a journey to healthier lifestyles; we are showing them how delicious “vegan” can be.
… Like our Signature Dish “Our cold Rasta Pasta Salad”. I created this meal on a hot summer day while pregnant on the day of my gender reveal….16 months later its now a customer favorite and I have that beautiful baby boy “Michael Tre”.
Simple statement
Our product helps change the world… Literally! Did you know!!? Eating a vegan diet could be the “single biggest way” to reduce our impact on the earth. Going vegan reduces deforestation and greenhouse gas emission associated with meat production. Going Vegan slows climate change and improve our global food supply. RastaRant is vegan and vegan is good!
One sentence explanation
RastaRant Plant based food doing good for people and the planet
I want you to think about this… What’s more important than your health and the health of your planet!?
Eating RastaRant … you get
*Time back (freedom to do other things besides cook)
*Better food choices
*Overall improvement to metabolic Health
* You reduce your carbon footprint and lower your impact on the planet
*Delicious plant-based meat alternatives
RastaRant provides delicious vegan food for catered events, meal prep, festivals, farmers markets, pick up and delivery and professional sporting events, yes RastaRant is a featured vendor for Hartford’s professional soccer team the Hartford Athletic.
Our Instagram account @rastaRantexperience
has over 1100 followers and many of those followers are customers who have enjoyed the RastaRant experience.
We are growing and going into more cities, states and markets
When people say vegan food is too expensive, we like to respectfully remind them that there are somethings more costly
like Doctors’ visits, Blood Pressure Meds and Insulin among other things.
What you eat will affect you in a positive way or a negative way. RastaRant wants to help you find food that is great tasting and has positive impact.
One of the leading causes of chronic disease is processed food in the modern diet that is filled with sugars and is high in carbohydrates.
Veg-an be kind to yourself and the Planet by eating RastaRant
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
I am Chef Gigi Lawrence, owner and founder of RastaRant- a Caribbean infused vegan cuisine provisioning wonderful eating experiences to all who dare. My mission is providing unexpected experiences of vegan food with aroma, taste, and the authentic Caribbean spice, while helping people on a journey to healthier lifestyles
We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?
Two words : Stay Present! I started my business page not knowing what to do or post but had a vision for where I wanted to end up! You have to keep posting about your products, projects and upcoming events. Eventually your followers will organically grow as you build especially if you provide a service they love. I went from 2 followers to now over 2K in less than 2 years. Just start and stay consistent!
We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.
Whew Resilience is definitely something that you have to have in this industry. Starting out you will be tested to see how bad you really want it! I started out building my company from scratch with a brand new baby on my hip. I had no idea where or how I was going to get it going but had a Big Vision of building generations of wealth and freedom for my family. As you grow you will lose touch with friends, family & even sleep. You will get a lot of “No’s” & doors closed in your face. You have to show up everyday with the same enthusiasm as the day before and keep going until you get your “Yes” & reap your Harvest Season 
Contact Info:
- Website: Www.rastarantexperience.com
- Instagram: @rastrantexperience
- Facebook: @rastarantexperience