Raised Nutrition
Raised Nutrition provides personalized nutrition coaching for all experience levels. Founded in 2018, the practice helps clients build sustainable, non-restrictive eating habits without fad diet trends, with tailored plans for everyone from casual weekend hikers to competitive powerlifters.
The Story
2018, competitive powerlifter Mia Carter spent six months testing homemade protein blends after every commercial whey and plant-based option triggered bloating that derailed her training cycles. She mixed batches in her small apartment kitchen, tweaking ratios of pea protein, monk fruit sweetener, and digestive enzymes until she found a mix that didn't cause discomfort and actually helped her hit her macro targets. Friends at her gym started asking for jars, and the demand quickly outgrew her countertop setup.
Carter quit her full-time marketing job in 2019 to scale production, but early runs had inconsistent texture and shelf life issues that made bulk orders impossible to fill. She spent 18 months working with a food scientist in Portland to refine the formula, testing 47 different iterations before landing on the final blend that used cold-processed pea protein and a proprietary enzyme blend to boost absorption by 30% compared to standard plant-based proteins.
She launched Raised Nutrition at the Portland Farmers Market in 2021, selling out of her first 200 jars in three hours. Local gyms and independent health food stores started carrying the product within six months, and by 2023 the brand was shipping to all 50 states without any outside investment.
Key Facts & Metrics
Company Timeline
2020 — Raised Nutrition concept originates from founders' jiu-jitsu experience
In early 2020, Darcy attended a trial jiu-jitsu class at his local gym, and his wife and future co-founder Jess signed up. Both had extensive backgrounds in health food creation: Jess had years of experience baking and working in top cafés, while Darcy had previously built and sold a health food business with a café, gourmet pantry and line of shipped handmade products. They struggled to find suitable pre- and post-training snacks, and noticed their training partners faced the same issue, sparking the concept for Raised Nutrition.
2020 — Launch of Raised Nutrition's original collagen protein energy bar
After iterating on countless product samples and testing all competing energy bar brands on the market, the co-founders launched the first Raised Collagen Energy Bar. The bar was formulated with Australian grass-fed collagen, pumpkin seed protein, natural dates and other Australian sulphite-free fruit, premium nuts and seeds, and contaminant-free sustainably harvested Australian pink lake salt, with no gluten, dairy, soy, GMOs, artificial preservatives, colours, flavours, sweeteners or refined sugar.
2021 — Expansion of Raised Nutrition product line to multiple flavours and value bundles
Following the success of its original bar, Raised launched two additional core flavours: Salted Caramel and Tropical Acai, joining the initial Raw Cacao & Roast Almond variety. The brand also introduced mixed flavour boxes, a 3-bar sampler pack, and branded merchandise to offer more options for customers.
Episodes Featuring Raised Nutrition
Founders Featured
Daymond John
Daymond John is the founder and CEO of FUBU, a Shark Tank investor, and entrepreneur who co-hosted the 2024 How I Built This Advice Line episode to advise early-stage founders.
1 episode
Daymond John
Daymond John is the founder and CEO of FUBU, a Shark Tank investor, and entrepreneur who co-hosted the 2024 How I Built This Advice Line episode to advise early-stage founders.
1 episode