We present our Boardmembers: The Veganistas - Cecilia Havmöller und Susanna Paller

One of the first vegans in Austria

Cecilia Havmöller

In 2012 I founded Veganista together with my sister, Susanna Paller. Before that, I brought LUSH Cosmetics to Austria and established the brand here with 7 stores and an online business. I am a native of Burgenland, living in Vienna, but before that I lived in Toronto, Los Angeles and Stockholm. I love the vegan lifestyle and I am a passionate entrepreneur with a passion for retail design. I love building vegan, and stylish brands and to scale them.

Rauch's Healthy Lifestyle board is extremely exciting for me because I have been living vegan for 35 years and I can bring my knowledge and experience to the new product development. Veganism is my passion, my life, so this task is very important for me and I have the opportunity to support such a great company like Rauch with my passion and expertise.

Veganism is becoming easier and easier

I have been living the healthy lifestyle since I was 12 years old. Back then I became vegan overnight, which was not easy in Burgenland in the 80s. There were hardly any alternatives to meat and dairy products, and I had huge problems finding vegan food. Today it's completely different and I'm really happy about that. Veganism was and is my life and therefore it was also obvious that I will make something out of it professionally. In 2005 I brought the vegan cosmetics label from London "LUSH" to Austria and in 2012 I founded Veganista with my sister. Veganista was the first vegan ice cream parlor in Europe. Today we have 12 Veganista stores and sell our ice cream at SPAR all over Austria. We also opened two vegans take away places "The LALA" in Vienna.

Today it is very easy to eat vegan. There are vegan supermarkets, many vegan restaurants and lots of info and books about veganism. In 2012, when we started Veganista, it was not like that. Only 6 months later the "Vegan Boom" came, which stays until today and which is also not just a trend, but a whole lifestyle.

A Healthy Lifestyle, which will remain healthy and which I live already for over 35 years now. You don't have to be afraid of it, it's easy, healthy and fun! Vegan products are now marked with the V-label and that makes shopping much easier than before.

Veganism is anything but boring

I am happy to see that almost all Rauch products are vegan, and Rauch also labels these products as vegan.

I love fresh smoothies, especially the ones from Rauch Juice Bar in Vienna. They are healthy and taste really good! I often start the day with a Juice (Vitaminator) and during the day I treat myself to an Acai Bowl or a Porridge. There are many, extremely good vegan dishes that I often cook myself. Veganism is anything but boring.

"We used to be the crazy people"

As one of the first vegans in the country, I must say that it has been exciting to witness how veganism has evolved. Before, we were the crazy ones, the outsiders. Today we know that there are health benefits to this lifestyle, even if you only eat vegan once in a while. Apart from that, it's also about climate change, which it has been proven can be stopped if people ate less meat. Many of our customers are young and also often vegan people who will certainly change the world in the future.

Together with Rauch, we will help them to be able to implement their vegan lifestyle even more easily.

Don't worry be healthy!

Susanna Paller

I am Susanna Paller, 35 years old, Co-Founder of Veganista and The LaLa and I live in the 7th district in Vienna.
Together with my sister, I run 12 Veganista stores and 2 The LaLa stores with a total of about 160 employees in Vienna. Since 2021, our Veganista ice cream is also available in all Spar stores in Austria.

I grew up vegetarian, have been vegan for over 20 years and have been involved with the topics of nutrition and sustainability ever since. I am always on the lookout for new, cool products and trends that not only taste good, but also make the world a little bit better.

What is Healthy Lifestyle for me?

For me, a healthy lifestyle means on the one hand living in such a way that I feel good and can be the best and healthiest version of myself - but also thinking and acting sustainably so that the next generations will still have a world that is worth living in. The three most important aspects for me are nutrition, sports and mental health.

Like so many people, I grew up with Rauch and being part of the Rauch Healthy Lifestyle Board today is a great honor for me, but also a huge opportunity to be part of important changes. On the board I advise on topics that I have lived for decades: the vegan diet, sustainability, trends in F&B and many more.

A Healthy Lifestyle is a way of life

I think a healthy lifestyle is often associated with doing something without, but that is no longer the case. There are now so many products, whether in food, drink, skin care or even cars that prove that a healthy and sustainable lifestyle can be simply done and can even be fun.

For me, many healthy things are already so normal that I don't think about them at all. A healthy lifestyle is like almost everything else in life: the more you do it and try it, the easier it gets. So don't give up! In my opinion, the most important thing is not to try to be perfect. Healthy lifestyle is not a competition, but a way of life.

My Favorite food and drink?

I think the simplest things are often the best. If you have really good ingredients, you don't have to reinvent the wheel. At the moment, for example, I love to drink a glass of grapefruit juice in the morning. For dinner I often have a potato pan with eggplant, oxheart tomatoes, rosemary and pine nuts and a green salad, which is always a must for me.