There’s something instantly grounding about talking to Raglan naturopath Emma Gibson. Maybe it’s the way she describes food like an old friend, or how she makes wellness feel less like a checklist and more like an exhale. Either way, her influence is rippling through homes across New Zealand – from the families she supports in her clinic to the national shelves now carrying the food brand she helps steer.
As the in-house naturopath and marketing lead at Mitchells Nutrition, Emma sits at a unique intersection of heart and strategy. It’s a blend that has helped guide the Mount Maunganui company to a major milestone: Mitchells Beef Tallow – a traditional cooking fat born from the brand’s beloved bone broths – is now stocked in more than 100 Woolworths stores across New Zealand.
For many in marketing, this would be the champagne-popping moment. But Emma? She’s more likely to celebrate with a shared meal, good conversation, and the kind of laughter that lingers. For her, the real win isn’t the shelf count – it’s what that number represents: people choosing real ingredients, real nourishment, and real food again.
A childhood where nourishment was the norm
Emma grew up in a home where “healthy eating” wasn’t a trend! Her parents cooked confidently, shared meals were non-negotiable, and the kitchen was always full of colour, warmth and the clatter of something delicious happening.
That early connection to food didn’t just shape her palate; it shaped her purpose. She learned that food could be joyful and grounding, and that the simplest ingredients often make the biggest difference to how we feel.
Today, Emma still eats that way: plates full of colour, plants, rich flavours, and good fats; meals that taste as good as they make you feel. She’s evangelical about sleep (“the body’s greatest repair tool”), ruthless about hydration, and treats movement as something that nurtures her emotional resilience just as much as her muscles. And, perhaps most importantly, she surrounds herself with people who lift her higher – because connection, she says, is a form of medicine too.
“It’s easy to complicate things and get lost in the noise,” Emma says. “But most of what truly supports the body has always been quite simple.”
Bringing nutrition back to basics – and back to community
Emma’s work at Mitchells Nutrition is a natural extension of her life philosophy. The brand is rooted in making traditional nutrition easy, accessible, and genuinely delicious – something Emma helps bring to life across both product development and marketing.
The arrival of Mitchells Beef Tallow in Woolworths feels especially meaningful to her. Yes, it represents growth for the business. But more than that, it hints at a gentle cultural shift – people trading complicated ingredient lists for real, whole, honest food.
“Food doesn’t need to be confusing,” she says. “We’re coming back to the basics, and that’s something worth celebrating.”
Beyond her work with the brand, Emma still runs sessions with clients and small groups where she brings these principles to life in the most tangible way: through food. Her event meals are seasonal, unfussy, and prepared with intention – the kind of dishes that nourish before you even take a bite.
Because for Emma, food is more than fuel. It’s information. It’s medicine. And it’s one of the simplest, most powerful tools we have to feel well – body, mind, and everything in between.
Emma’s tips on how to use tallow
Our ancestors understood the power of good quality fats for health and flavour. Tallow can be used just like butter or oil in most recipes. Here are some ways to incorporate it into your home & kitchen:
- Cooking & frying: Perfect for high-heat cooking due to its stability.
- BBQ essential: smear on your favourite cut of steak, mix melted beef tallow into your favourite marinade, prep the grill. Anything BBQ, tallow can be used.
- Baking & pastry making: Adds a rich, buttery flavour to baked goods.
- Rich, Buttery Roasted Root Vegetables: beef tallow isn’t just for meat. Toss your tray of roast veggies in melted tallow before roasting.
- To care for kitchen utensils