THE WILD ONES, MEL + ROMANA - Interview by Auguste The Label.
Check out the original Interview here > Auguste The Label
New years resolutions... we all make them (well most of us) and, well, most of us also fail within a couple of weeks. With NYE slowly becoming a sparkler-studded memory, we've called on two of our gorgeous friends to give us some tips on the 2017 follow-through (because setting intentions is actually the easy part).
Who better to help us out than two humans who live and breathe a healthy lifestyle - Mel & Romana, the Co-Owners and creators of The Wild. Get to know them below!
Firstly, let's talk NY's resolutions:
(MEL)
To dance more often, not only on a dance floor.
To avoid to-do lists on weekends.
To complete an Integrative Nutrition Course (yay!)
(ROMANA)
To be more present and not get pulled into my head, which is an ever crazy world of activated buckwheat + inca berries.
To go on more road trips. I want to see more of Australia and would love to pack up my boy + my dog and do it that way. We have decided to start saving for a proper road trip, about a month or so long (haha, this is the first Mel has heard about this :)), get a great camper van and off we go. That will probably have to be in Jan 2018 truthfully but I need to organise this year, and would we will do mini weekend ones until then.
To be more sun smart. My mum will be so proud if she reads this. I LOVE the sun, but I’m finally now understanding that too much of it doesn’t love me. Don’t get me wrong I’ll still be beaching it, just putting sunscreen on instead of tanning oil, a wide brimmed hat + maybe a little shade tent for when I’ve had enough.
You two are best friends and business partners… how did you meet?
(MEL) Online - through a dating site. Kidding. Through mutual friends - they would tell me that I reminded them of their friend Romana…. so I was curious about my doppelgänger And safe to say she’s become the sister I always wanted. We always get asked if we’re sisters... and we've been known to say YES.
(ROMANA) It’s true, but we’re lucky we don’t fight like sisters. Not even when we travelled the world together for 6 months. Not one fight. I don’t know many business partners that work together all year round and still go away with each other at the end of the year. The only struggle here is not talking about work while on holiday…
Describe an average day in the office;
(MEL) My day always starts on my couch, sipping on a choc matcha latte and looking through social feeds and emails before I move to my desk... Working from home has its benefits. :)
But on days that I’m out at our factory I’m usually dusting myself in sweet smelling superfoods while blending, before I move over to packing - usually with a bunch of my favourite people to get the job done with a little too much laughter along the way. And music - there’s always music on while we’re in production.
(ROMANA) My day also starts on the couch with a big cuddle for my pooch. I also then move to my desk where I have my coconut mylk coffee, read my emails + go over the days never ending to do list. Then I go walk my dog, I feel like it really sets me up for the day ahead and gets my head in a good clear space. I’m generally out on the road, in and out of cafe’s seeing customers or taking prospective customers through the products. I’m either doing that at home in Melbourne on my own or with our distributors in other states. We’re quite lucky, I have to say, we have some incredible customers both in the cafe world + our amazing distributors. One of the perks about working for yourself is you get to choose who you work with.
Any tips for readers wanting to stick to their NYs resolutions this year;
(MEL) First up don’t make the same unrealistic resolutions that you made last year. Or instead of making any NY’s resolutions this year just focus on being a kinder version of yourself. Making small changes everyday, like laughing and smiling more often, and surrounding yourself with people and things that inspire you. If you do this you won’t have to try hard to become the best version of yourself - you will own it a little more everyday.
What’s in store for The Wild in 2017?
(ROMANA) Wow 2017. This will be a big year for The Wild. We’re just establishing ourselves as a national cereal manufacturer across both the food service + retail channels. We’ve got Melbourne covered, so now we have to do the same thing across the rest of Australia. Should be easy right ;) Once we can take our feet off the gas with regard to that, Mel and I can get back to doing what we love. Being creative and playing in the product development space. We’ve got a few ideas in the pipeline but nothing we can share at this point…
(MEL) I'll focus on setting some things up so I can join Romana on that 4 week Road Trip Downunder.