text: When she appeared on the first Australian series of Big Brother in 2001, she was known as the 'lipgloss queen'. But 14 years later Jemma Gawned, 40, is the 'polar opposite' of the person she was in her teens and early twenties. The Byron Bay-based woman now runs a wildly successful raw food empire, and insists that 'spreading the vibration of love through food' is the key to her success. Scroll down for video . Jemma Gawned, who appeared on the first season of the Australian Big Brother in 2001, now runs a wildly successful raw food empire called Naked Treaties . Based in Byron Bay the Naked Treaties brand sells products out of its juice bar while supplying to hundreds of other stores . Jemma Gawned was one of the housemates on the first Australian Big Brother in 2001 (above) 'It’s interesting because I’m probably the polar opposite these days as what I was a teenager,' Ms Gawned told Daily Mail Australia. The 40-year-old runs Naked Treaties, which started off as something she was simply creating in her own kitchen to share with those around her. 'Naked Treaties started because I wanted to share this food with my friends and family,' Ms Gawned revealed. 'There was a shop next to my yoga studio and I'd just talk to them about nutrition, what I was making, and they said "oh, can you please bring some in",' she continued, admitting she was initially skeptical about turning it into a business. Ms Gawned had spent the previous ten years trying to get Jemma Cosmetics off the ground, but hit serious financial trouble and had to fold. What started as something to share with friends and family, quickly turned into a successful business . All the ingredients in her products are raw, vegan, organic and ethically sourced . For ten years she tried to get Jemma Cosmetics off the ground, but hit financial trouble and had to fold . '(But) then something just dawned on me one day and I thought this is just the way of spreading this vibration of love through food,' Ms Gawned said of her decision to go ahead with Naked Treaties. Now she supplies hundreds of stores in Melbourne with her raw treats, as well as running a juice bar in the heart of Byron Bay. Describing Jemma Cosmetics as an 'apprenticeship' in running a business, she said it 'taught me to trust my intuition, and trust the feminine way of doing business.' 'We’re not a profit-drive business we’re purpose driven. We really care more about our customers and staff more than our bank accounts. 'We run it like a community, like a family,' Ms Gawned revealed. The entrepreneur also opened up about her time on Australia's first series of Big Brother, how she was portrayed, and the lack of support for contestants once they leave the show. The 40-year-old says the secret to her success is 'spreading the vibration of love through food' 'We run it (Naked Treaties) like a community, like a family,' Ms Gawned revealed . The former Big Brother contestant said she never watched any footage of her on the show until last year . Jemma Gawned in the publicity shot for Big Brother for the show in 2001 . Ms Gawned revealed she never watched any footage of her on the show until last year, and is glad about it. 'What they had edited was like watching a different person', she said. 'I probably would have questioned myself, we know who we are but it’s hard enough to see yourself through other people’s lives as it is. 'But it’s even more confusing to see it through the idea of a contrived story line,' Ms Gawned added. She touched on the fact there was no follow up after the show, which according to her was designed to 'interrupt all your patterns'. 'It’s such an interesting thing you know when I think back to it… there was no ongoing support or counselling if anyone may have needed it,' Ms Gawned said. 'Not to say it wasn't an awesome experience, it was life changing.' She also touched on the lack of counselling provided to housemates after the show had finished . The smoothies at her juice bar are known in the Byron Bay area as some of the best and she has a base of loyal customers . Ms Gawned said she is glad to see a recent shift towards people living more mindful lives . One of the contestants on the show, Gordon Sloan, who used to date pop star Natalie Bassingthwate, sadly passed away in 2007 from a heroin overdose. Ms Gawned attended his funeral, and described him as a 'lover of life'. 'I think with Gordon really he was such a lover of life and he would push everything to the nth degree.' 'From what I understand he took some party drugs and they weren’t what he thought,' Ms Gawned said. These days the Byron Bay woman spends her time at the Naked Treaties store, but also in Bali and Peru where she travels to host ceremonies and source ingredients. Ms Gawned had just spent the last few weeks on the Indonesian Island with her partner Chris, a musician, running what they call 'sacred sonics'. 'Chris and I say that it’s a symbiosis of ceremony and sound,' she said. The rituals involve working with a certain type of cacao bean similar to the one used by the Mayan people on Guatemala and also incorporates song and dance. Ms Gawned and her partner Chris travel the world running ceremonies they call 'sacred sonics' The rituals involve working with a certain type of cacao bean similar to the one used by the Mayan people on Guatemala and also incorporates song and dance . The 40-year-old also travels to Peru to source ingredients for her Naked Treaties products . 'We honour that culture, we’re able to really access these parts of ourselves that can really shift us,' Ms Gawned said. Also working in her Naked Treaties store is former The Apprentice UK contestant Duane Bryan, who appeared on the show in 2012. 'He came here about 12 months ago and he actually came to a ceremony, he said I don’t know what just happened but I need to know more,' Ms Gawned said. A week later Mr Bryan turned up the at the Naked Treaties store, she said, and asked if he cancelled his ticket back to the UK he had booked for the next day, would she give him a job scrubbing dishes. 'I had an intuitive feeling so I said okay... He came and started washing dishes and had all these great ideas. 'The next thing he was working front of house and now he’s General Manager,' Ms Gawned said. The former Big Brother contestant, who has been on her 'spiritual path' since her early 20s, also said she believes there is a shift in consciousness and people are living more mindful lives. 'More and more of that celebrity culture seems to be shifting over more to a real experience,' she said. 'It won’t be long before everyone is awake.' She describes those who work at the store as her family .
target: Jemma Gawned was on Australia's first season of reality show Big Brother .
  Now runs a raw food empire called Naked Treaties based in Byron Bay .
  Insists secret to her success 'spreading the vibration of love through food'
  The 40-year-old tried for ten years to get Jemma Cosmetics off the ground .
  She described that experience as an 'apprenticeship' for current business .