Today we’d like to introduce you to Mint Pattanan Ketthin.
Mint Pattanan, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I am originally from Bangkok, Thailand. I came to Boston for pursuing Master’s degree in Corporate Communications & Marketing at Boston College in 2014. My previous background is both in hospitality industry and marketing and public relations fields.
As I experienced myself and my colleagues working in the office being so busy and don’t have that much time to think of what I want to have for lunch. We often ended up grabbing something fast like sandwiches, instant noodles or burgers in order to come back to work within a short period of one hours lunch break.
I got a chance to present Rootastes as a final Marketing project at BC and got several overwhelming supportive feedbacks from both my classmates and the professor. I remember one feedback that my classmate wrote to me which said ‘I have no comment, Just make it happen!’. That is how Rootastes was born.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Being an immigrant, an international student, an English as a second language speaker are quite challenging to start the business in the US.
However, I have got a very good supportive from startup and business communities in Boston. I had volunteered with the Venture Cafe in Cambridge for several months to get to meet other experienced entrepreneurs and mentors.
I also met my advisors at co-working spaces for Food startups which are the Food Loft and BranchFood as well as the culinary workspace (commercial kitchen) for small businesses in Somerville called ‘Foundation Kitchen.
With these, all the opportunities and support I have received in starting my first business in Boston makes it much easier than I ever thought and I am glad that I get a chance to begin this journey.
Please tell us about Rootastes.
I am a co-founder and the CEO of Rootastes. I am in charge of overall business strategy, marketing, and operations.
Rootastes was born from a simple idea: create a curated lunchbox service with gourmet and conscientious ingredients serving the Greater Boston Corporate Offices.
Rootastes is designed for companies run by people who believe that taking good care of their team is smart business and the right thing to do. We believe a great lunch can create a more positive and productive environment for employees and deliver measurable results to a company’s bottom line.
Our mission is to create an exciting corporate lunch experience without compromise. We envision food that not only is authentic and tastes great – it’s also made with healthier, fresher ingredients. Good for people, our community, and the planet.
Our lunch menu/Build-Your-Own bowl lunch package is changed seasonally as we tend to select the best ingredients from each season while collaborating with local farms in New England as much as possible.
Rootastes got nominated to be one of the 100 Boston’s High Impact Startups by HubWeek presented by Bank of America in October 2017. We have served over 70 forward-thinking companies within 7 months in our first Operations in April.
Do you look back particularly fondly on any memories from childhood?
I have got the first prize in creative painting competition when I was 8 years old. I actually not recognize myself as an artist or art person but it’s a fun fact that It was my first competition back then.
Pricing:
- Build-Your-Own Bowl: Seasonal Lunch Catering Package – The Foundation $10 per person
- Build-Your-Own Bowl: Seasonal Lunch Catering Package – The Hustlers $12 per person
- Build-Your-Own Bowl: Seasonal Lunch Catering Package – The Unicorn $15 per person
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.therootastes.com
- Phone: 857-222-8237
- Email: mint@therootastes.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rootastes
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rootastes
- Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/rootastes
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/rootastes-somerville
- Other: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-rootastes/
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