The History of RAW

The History of RAW – How a Rolling Paper Brand Became a Global Icon

Few names in the world of rolling papers are as instantly recognizable as RAW. With its distinctive natural-brown papers, red logo and unmistakable packaging, RAW has grown from a relatively small idea into one of the best-known rolling paper brands worldwide.

But RAW's story is about much more than rolling papers. It is a story about innovation, natural materials, product design, counterculture and a founder who wanted to do things differently.

So, how did RAW become the brand we know today?

Before RAW: The Beginning of the Story

The story behind RAW begins with Josh Kesselman, an American entrepreneur with a lifelong fascination for rolling papers.

His interest started at a young age after his father showed him an unusual trick involving a rolling paper. That small moment sparked a fascination that would eventually become a career.

In the early 1990s, Kesselman opened a smoke shop in Gainesville, Florida, selling pipes, papers and smoking accessories.

The business initially performed well, but his first retail venture eventually came to an abrupt end after legal problems connected to the sale of smoking accessories.

Instead of leaving the industry, Kesselman started again.
This time, he focused increasingly on what fascinated him most:
rolling papers.

From Retailer to Rolling Paper Entrepreneur

Kesselman moved to Arizona and began developing a wholesale business supplying smoke shops with rolling papers and accessories.

During this period, he became increasingly interested in how papers were actually produced.

Traditional rolling papers were generally designed to look extremely clean and white. For generations, consumers had become accustomed to seeing white rolling papers as the normal choice.

Kesselman began questioning whether papers really needed to look that way. What if a rolling paper could be made with a more natural appearance instead?

That question would eventually lead to RAW.

RAW Is Born

RAW was officially launched in 2005.

Its appearance was immediately different.

Instead of producing another bright white rolling paper, RAW introduced papers with their characteristic natural light-brown colour.

The idea was simple but powerful: create a paper that was unbleached and less processed, allowing the natural characteristics of the paper fibres to remain visible.

At the time, this was unusual.

Today, natural brown rolling papers can be found almost everywhere, but when RAW appeared, the concept stood out dramatically from the traditional white papers dominating the market.

What initially looked different would eventually become one of RAW's greatest strengths.

Why Are RAW Papers Brown?

One of RAW's most recognizable characteristics is the colour of its papers.

RAW papers aren't brown because colouring has been added. Their appearance comes from the fact that the paper is unbleached. This gives RAW papers their characteristic natural appearance and also means that individual sheets can vary slightly in colour. Instead of hiding these natural variations, RAW made them part of the identity of the product.

The message was clear:

Natural doesn't have to look perfectly white.

That philosophy helped establish an entirely new visual language in the rolling-paper industry.

The Famous RAW CrissCross Watermark

Another important part of RAW's development was its distinctive CrissCross watermark. If you hold a RAW paper up to the light, you can see the pattern running through the sheet. The watermark isn't there simply for decoration. It is designed to help regulate how the paper burns by reducing the possibility of an uneven burn.

Combined with RAW's thin paper, this became one of the technical characteristics that helped distinguish the brand from many conventional rolling papers. It also became another recognizable part of RAW's identity.

Made in Spain

RAW papers have a strong connection with Alcoy, Spain, a region with a centuries-old tradition of paper manufacturing. The area has a long history of producing specialty papers, including rolling papers.

RAW built upon this European papermaking tradition while introducing its own approach to materials, manufacturing and branding. This combination of traditional craftsmanship and modern product development became an important part of the RAW story.

More Than Just Rolling Papers

RAW did not remain simply a rolling-paper company. Over time, the RAW universe expanded enormously.

Today, the brand is associated with a huge variety of smoking accessories, including:

• Rolling papers in different sizes
• Pre-rolled cones
• Rolling trays
• Tips and filters
• Rolling machines
• Storage products
• Grinders
• Cone loaders and filling accessories
• Ashtrays
• Accessories for preparing and organizing a smoking setup

Some RAW products are extremely practical. Others are deliberately unusual, playful or collectible. And that is an important part of understanding the brand.

RAW didn't simply create products. It created a culture around them.

The RAW Black Era

As the brand developed, RAW began creating papers aimed at increasingly experienced consumers.

One of the most important additions was RAW Black. RAW Black papers were designed to be exceptionally thin, creating a different experience from the original RAW Classic papers. The Black range was later expanded further, including products such as RAW Black Organic Hemp.

This helped RAW establish different paper families rather than relying on a single product. Consumers could choose between different materials, thicknesses, sizes and formats depending on their preferences.

The Rise of RAW Cones

Another major part of RAW's growth came from pre-rolled cones.

For people who don't want to roll a traditional paper themselves, cones provide a much easier alternative. RAW embraced this format and developed cones in an extraordinary variety of sizes. From small personal cones to enormous novelty versions, RAW helped turn the pre-rolled cone into a mainstream smoking accessory.

The popularity of cones also reflected a wider change in consumer habits. Rolling no longer necessarily meant learning the traditional hand-rolling technique. Instead, consumers could fill a ready-made cone and achieve a consistent shape much more easily.

Products That Became Collectibles

One of the cleverest aspects of RAW's strategy has been turning ordinary smoking accessories into products people actually want to collect.

Rolling trays are perhaps the best example.

Instead of treating a tray as a simple functional object, RAW created countless designs, colours, limited editions and collaborations. For dedicated RAW fans, finding an unusual tray or accessory can become part of the experience. This helped transform RAW from a manufacturer into a lifestyle brand.

Josh Kesselman and the Personality Behind RAW

Another unusual element of RAW is how closely the brand is connected with its founder.

Josh Kesselman has remained a highly visible personality behind the company. Rather than presenting RAW through traditional corporate advertising alone, he regularly explains products, demonstrates unusual accessories, discusses rolling-paper history and shares his enthusiasm for the industry.

His energetic and sometimes eccentric presentation style has become almost inseparable from the RAW identity. This gives RAW something many large brands lack:

a recognizable human personality.

Fans don't simply know the RAW logo. Many also know the person behind it.

RAW and Social Media

RAW also understood relatively early that its audience was perfectly suited to social media.

Instead of relying exclusively on conventional advertising, the brand built a large community around entertaining videos, unusual products, rolling demonstrations and educational content. That approach proved particularly effective because many mainstream advertising platforms place restrictions on smoking-related products.

RAW therefore developed something arguably more valuable than conventional advertising: a community of enthusiasts who actively share the brand.

Counterfeits and the Price of Success

Becoming one of the world's most recognizable rolling-paper brands also created a new problem: counterfeit RAW products.

Fake papers, trays and accessories have appeared in different markets around the world. RAW has repeatedly educated consumers about identifying genuine products and has introduced product and packaging features intended to make counterfeiting more difficult. For consumers, this makes purchasing from reputable retailers particularly important. A suspiciously cheap RAW product from an unknown source may not necessarily be genuine.

More Than a Brand: The RAW Foundation

The philosophy surrounding RAW extends beyond smoking accessories.

Josh Kesselman established the RAW Giving initiative, supporting humanitarian projects and communities around the world. Projects associated with RAW Giving have included providing clean drinking water, food assistance, disaster relief and support for communities in need.

This charitable activity has become another significant part of the wider RAW identity.

How RAW Changed the Rolling Paper Market

Perhaps RAW's biggest achievement isn't simply becoming successful itself. It helped change what consumers expect from rolling papers.

Before brands such as RAW became dominant, the market was largely associated with traditional white papers.

Today, walk into almost any modern smoke shop and you'll find natural brown papers, hemp papers, ultra-thin papers, cones, specialist tips and an enormous variety of rolling accessories.

RAW didn't invent every one of these concepts.
But it played an enormous role in bringing many of them into mainstream smoking culture.
Competitors followed.
Consumer expectations changed.

And an industry that once revolved largely around a small booklet of papers became a much broader lifestyle market.

From a Simple Paper to a Global Culture

The story of RAW demonstrates how something as ordinary as a rolling paper can be completely reimagined.

The concept began with a simple question:
Why should rolling papers always be made the same way?

From there came unbleached papers, distinctive watermarks, cones, trays, accessories, collectibles and eventually an entire global community. Nearly two decades after RAW first appeared in 2005, its natural-brown papers and red logo have become instantly recognizable around the world. But perhaps the most important part of RAW's success is that the company never treated rolling papers as just another disposable product.

It treated rolling as a culture, ritual and experience.

And that is ultimately how RAW went from making rolling papers to becoming one of the most influential brands in modern smoking culture.

Discover RAW at MOM & POP

At MOM & POP, RAW has been part of our story for more than 10 years.

From classic rolling papers and cones to trays, grinders, tips and unusual accessories, we share the same fascination with the enormous world that has grown around this iconic brand.

Whether you've been using RAW for years or you're just discovering the brand, there is always something new to explore.

Stay RAW. Stay curious.