5 Questions with Rosa Dixon, Co-Founder & CEO of Raised Gluten Free
Founded by childhood best friends, Rosa Dixon and Milia Lando, Raised Gluten Free produces unique-to-market sweet and savory pies that are both certified gluten free and vegan. Inspired by a child with celiac disease and personal dietary restrictions, the two moms decided to start cooking for the masses in an effort to make finding delicious, gluten-free, nut-free, dairy-free, and egg-free products easier. In 2011, Dixon was a chef and owner of a dessert catering company, so the duo used her small commercial kitchen to make pies one day a week for local farmer’s markets. Within a year, they had negotiated a distribution deal with Whole Foods Markets’ northern California region.
Today, Raised Gluten Free produces about 2,000 pies each day in 12 varieties. Their six-inch apple and berry peach pies are sold at nearly all Whole Foods Market locations, plus other retailers nationwide, with seasonal flavors including pumpkin and blueberry bliss. In 2019, the company introduced a savory quiche and pot pie at Kroger locations. Lando handles the bakery operations and bringing recipes to scale, while Dixon is at the helm of marketing, sales and product innovation.