Latesha Randall
Co-Founder, Raglan Food Co.
Latesha Randall is a New Zealand entrepreneur and the co-founder of Raglan Food Co (formerly Raglan Coconut Yoghurt), the plant-based dairy brand that grew from a home kitchen in Raglan into New Zealand’s market leader in non-dairy yoghurt.
Randall started experimenting with coconut-based yoghurt recipes after discovering her partner’s dairy allergies. What began as a kitchen project became a business when she co-founded the company with Seb Walter. The brand launched with a simple proposition: coconut yoghurt that tasted good, came in interesting flavours and was made locally. It found an audience immediately, growing to seven flavours available in more than 500 stores nationwide and exporting to Singapore, Hong Kong, the United Arab Emirates and the Pacific Islands.
The business now employs around 30 people in Raglan and leads New Zealand’s non-dairy yoghurt category by market share. Randall won the Gourmet and People’s Choice categories at the 2015 NZ Food Awards and the Micro Business category at the 2016 Westpac Waikato Business Awards. In 2020 she was named to the Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia list in the Art & Style, Food & Drink category, one of four Kiwis on the list that year.
Randall’s profile is noteworthy because she built New Zealand’s leading non-dairy yoghurt brand from a home kitchen in a small Waikato surf town, proving that a locally made, plant-based product can scale nationally and export internationally without losing its roots.
Sources: NZ Herald · Raglan Food Co · NZEDGE
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