Swapping her life at a dairy farm in Australia for a food-fuelled venture on the colourful streets of Notting Hill, Rose Hood’s story is a book we’d all read.
If you saw our Drinks issue of The Crumb last year, you might remember the iconic, Instagrammable Rose Latte and Butterfly Matcha Latte from Farm Girl… Well, that’s Rose’s brand and her team’s creations! But apart from growing this successful chain of health-focused Aussie cafes, she’s been pretty busy… Setting up her own niche Australian-Vietnamese grab-and-go brand, Roll Baby!
While checking out 2024 food trends in Notting Hill on our latest tour, we fell in love with Roll Baby’s Aussie-Vietnamese flavour collabs. So, we had to give Rose a buzz to find out more. We got the inside scoop on what inspires her menus, Roll Baby’s food marketing and branding, and where she thinks our food tour should head next…
After the success of Farm Girl Café what made you start Roll Baby?
Rose: “Where I grew up in Victoria, rice paper rolls are everywhere – in deli fridges, supermarkets and even little Vietnamese-run hole in the walls on nearly every street! They were my go-to lunch at university in Melbourne, because of how cheap, quick, and healthy they are. When I moved to England about 15 years ago, I didn’t realise that you’d only really get them at Vietnamese restaurants as a starter. So I thought, there’s two things missing in in England: rice paper rolls and sushi hand rolls – the way they do them in Australia.
“When we went into lockdown, I finally had time! We were living with friends outside the city, and I started making them rice paper rolls for lunch. Everybody loved them, but I found they’re not easy or quick for people to make!
“So, when my husband, Anthony, and I got back to London, we said we’ve got to put them on the Farm Girl menus! But after talking with our chefs, it would’ve been too difficult – from the speed of making them to costs and profit margins (and competing with our popular pancakes and egg dishes!).
“We started making and delivering them each day instead. They sold out, but we didn’t have a proper production kitchen or dedicated chefs. It even ended up being me some mornings! That’s when I thought it should be a brand on its own, which is when Roll Baby was born!”
What inspired the collaboration of Vietnamese rolls with Australian coffee?
Rose: “I know coffee so well, and London needs better coffee, so it’s a good add-on.
“I was a bit worried that because the brand and type of food is so new, it would be a bit of a hard sell in England. We’ve got a loyal following and customer base now, but if someone’s never been before, they often walk in thinking it’s a bread roll company, expecting to grab bacon bap on their way to work!
“But we have an amazing relationship with the roasting partner who supply Farm Girl, and the idea with Roll Baby is all grab and go. In Australia, you don’t have lunch without take-away coffee, so I wanted to offer that addition to the brand.”
You’ve got a strong visual identity. What was the journey you went on to create it?
Rose: “We hired an agency who were the original designers of some really cool, colourful and strong brands like Franco Manca and LEON.* I wanted a strong colour for the brand and some characters to go with it.
“So our characters are a water buffalo and a ridgeback (dog), and you mainly see them on the boxes. We have messaging like ‘High roller’ for our large box as well as ‘Roll model’ and ‘Roll up, roll up’ because I wanted really fun, memorable packaging.”
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*A shout out to our Art Director, Debs, who was previously at LEON, creating their iconic branding and visuals!
What are some of the biggest challenges or lessons you’ve faced when building your brand?
Rose: “With the weather in England, this type of brand has been a challenge! We do really well – our sales practically double in summer – we just pivot the business in winter. The rolls still sell but our soups and cheese toasties also make it work for the colder months.
“Also, England’s a funny place because everyone is so obsessed with wellness and the idea of eating well, people jump on all the bandwagons. But when it comes to it, most people in a hurry on their way to the office are just after a pain au chocolat!*
“So our challenges have been around relaying what the brand is and marketing it in an effective way. Compared to how everything blew up on socials with Farm Girl, it’s a totally different ball game these days!”
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* People have also piggybacked popular diets like veganism (with a quarter of all food products launched in 2019 labelled vegan). But actually, the recent fall in vegan product sales shows the same U-turn in their behaviour in the vegan category as Rose is seeing in health and wellness!
**With food and drink dominating some of the most viral online trends, social media holds immense potential for brands. It’s more unpredictable than traditional methods of marketing, but every day we’re seeing its sheer power as brands blow up on socials overnight!
Where do you get your culinary inspiration from for new flavours and products?
Rose: “So much from Australia – basically what Anthony and I see and what we’re craving!
“With the free trade deal between the UK and Australia, a lot of people are looking to try and sell their products in the UK.* So last month, the Western Australian government flew me out to speak to young business owners in Melbourne and Perth as someone who’s set up a business here. On the trip I went to a lot of different food spots like family-run supermarkets, rice paper roll and sushi concepts, and amazing cafés. I came back with a lot of inspiration!
“We’re introducing a sushi handroll and did the first testing yesterday. It’s incredible – completely inspired by one I ate in Perth. We also watch the market. Recently, we knew we needed a flavour-packed roll so we launched the Chicken Teriyaki roll – which is killing it at the moment.
“I would love to do more research trips for inspiration, but I’m always squeezed for time!”
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Could this mean we’ll be seeing even more Aussie flavours and concepts pop up across the UK? 👀 Bring it on!
What does the future look like for Roll Baby?
Rose: “It’s looking good – we’ve just signed a big catering contract in the city which will be an exciting one with some big offices this summer.*
“The idea with Roll Baby is to have many little sites in London, and we’ve got more launching soon. In October, we’re opening in Paddington Square, and at a new redevelopment for Fulham Football Club by Hammersmith riverside. It’s an exciting project because on non-match days there’ll be a new balcony walkway overlooking the river with a tonne of cool food brands in kiosks.”
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We love how Roll Baby’s also pivoting to cater to businesses – bringing a flavour-packed slice of Aussie-Vietnamese culture to office life!
Apart from Roll Baby’s Vietnamese-Australian mash-up, do you have a favourite fusion of cuisines that’s gaining momentum?
Rose: “I’m having a lot of sushi and Japanese food. I think that’s what sparked us to have our Japanese roll on the menu and the Chicken Teriyaki roll as well. So a Japanese-Vietnamese fusion! But it changes from week to week. I’ll get obsessed with one flavour or and want to put it on the menu, and then the week after, there’ll be another idea!”
And finally… who do you think we should visit on our next food tour?
Rose: “Definitely Happy Endings who do amazing ice cream sandwiches. Also, have you been to Towpath? Go there for their egg saffron dish, it’s just unbelievable. And in Notting Hill, there’s an amazing Japanese bakery called Kuro which opened last year!”
In 2024, food fusions are booming in popularity, and people are after convenient and healthy grab-and-go options. So, food entrepreneurs meeting this need with fun, bold concepts blending different cultural influences are onto an absolute winner. And Roll Baby’s definitely along for the ride!
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