Aja & Bianca from Liana Raine have been so kind to tell us a little about themselves. We are so lucky to have stolen a little time from them in between making delightful posicles to answer a few questions for us! Be sure to try their delicious mouth watering delights to gain the true feeling of what it's like to have one of the most yummiest ice creams in the WORLD! Too much? We think NOT! You can purchase the pops from the Sydney Opera House everyday over summer and also at a smattering of Sydney Food Markets and festivals such as Marrickville Market, Orangegrove Market, Frenchs Forest Market and many more! Yay!

What was the moment that you decided to go ahead and open up your own business, Liana Raine?

The EXACT moment was after a meeting we had with the owners of a fabulous chain of cafes, Pablo & Rusty's, whom we had just shown our brand new product to  and suggested they stock it in their café. Looking back it is one of those Sliding Door moments, where our lives could have gone either way, and it is incredible it went the way it did. We had brought a selection of  pops for them to try in a lunch style esky pack, and had them packaged (aka wrapped!) in lunch wrap with the different flavours were handwritten on the end of the stick! Within 10 hours following the meeting they had called to say they wanted us to stock their 5 cafes with our product. At that moment, we knew we had a product that we could sell. 

In just a few sentences what is Liana Raine and what do you love the most about it? 

We are makers of artisan gourmet fruit popsicles in flavours for people to fall madly in love with. We believe food should be memorable as well as good for you and we get excited about transforming traditional food products into new food experiences by adding a twist of sophistication and creativity. What we love most about Liana Raine is having our pops be the catalyst for people to remember a moment or  feeling forever. 

What is the very best thing about running your own business? 

Starting Liana Raine has given us a vehicle to realise and appreciate the incredible friends, family, neighbours and connections we have in our lives. We have leant on so many people in so many ways, and we are often find ourselves shaking our heads in disbelief at the lengths that people will go to help you see your project become a success. The most incredible thing as at the end of the day, if you have a great win or a terrible day when your expectations are left feeling a little disappointed,  the very same people are always there.  It has been such an incredible reminder on how lucky we are – and at the end of the day, to walk away with that knowledge will mean our lives are far more fulfilled then if we didn't do this. 

If you could put any three flavours together in an ice cream, what combination would you choose? 

Aja: Coconut (sweet and salty), pandan (yum!) and any other tropical fruit with a bit of bite (mango, passionfruit etc)

Bianca: peanut butter, raspberry and dark chocolate

We both LOVE ice cream, do you find yourselves coming up with random combinations that you think would be too crazy to produce?

Aja: all the time – but Bianca quickly screws up her face and shakes her head in disgust. The last one I thought of was a Devonshire Cream Tea Pop for when Charles and Camilla were here: Strawberry, and sweet creamy tea. Bianca said that I was mad. 

Bianca: yes, but we make them anyway!

Would you rather be able to fly or swim under water without having to come up for air? 

Aja: Fly for sure. There is something about being underwater full stop that freaks me out. Plus it is cold down there!

Bianca: Fly – because then you can spy on everyone else.