Meet Lillian Rowlatt | Co-founder

We had the good fortune of connecting with Lillian Rowlatt and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Lillian, can you talk to us a bit about the social impact of your business?
Kokoro Care Packages is on a mission to support local communities while having a broader positive impact on our world.

We believe that food plays an important role in nourishing our bodies and connecting people over a shared meal. It also tells the story of the land and people who created it. We partner with local farmer and producers in Japan to offer their authentic and artisanal foods to people around the world. In doing so, we connect these farmers and producers to an international market that would otherwise be unattainable due to language and custom barriers. Japan faces a real threat of losing their generational traditions and craftsmanship given the declining and aging population, especially in rural farming communities, Our aim is to support these communities by delivering their specialty products to people around the world.

On a global scale, we hope to introduce people to the healthy and mindful Japanese philosophies of eating. Our products are all natural and made without chemicals and we provide English translations and recipes to make them easy to enjoy. We also share the stories of our producers who use sustainable, agricultural techniques that have nurtured the land for centuries.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
Since our launch just over 3 years ago, Kokoro Care Packages has been delivering premium-quality, artisanal Japanese food straight from Japan to people around the world. Our small business is run by two female co-founders, one based in and the other based in Tokyo. We are proud of the global community we have built that connects people from all over the world with local Japanese farmers and producers. We provide English translations and recipes for all our products, making Japanese food, as well as the Japanese philosophies around eating and wellness, accessible to everyone. We also help to support local small batch Japanese farmers and producers while sharing their traditions and culture.

Every small business faces challenges, but ours were amplified having started a business just prior to the pandemic (making international shipping feel almost impossible!). We overcame these challenges by being nimble and flexible, finding alternative solutions, and focusing on our mission of supporting local farmers and their communities.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Los Angeles combines two of my favorite activities – eating healthy food and being active outdoors. I would take visitors to all the local farmers’ markets (Brentwood being at the top of my list and Tanaka Farms for a more hands on experience), on an eating spree through local neighborhoods (especially the ethnic neighborhoods such as Little Tokyo and Koreatown) and then on hikes outside the city with some time at the beach!

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Tomoko Imade Dyen (@turningoffjapanese) deserves a shoutout for her support of our company as well as her incredible effort to share her knowledge and love of Japanese food. She has built a wonderful community around this passion.

Website: www.kokorocares.com

Instagram: @kokorocares

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lillianrowlatt/

Twitter: @kokorocares

Facebook: @kokorocares

Youtube: @kokorocares

Other: Pinterest: @kokorocares