From Toilet Paper to Rolling Paper

Lisa Hurwitz is no stranger to big brands and big moves. She once helmed global marketing efforts for household names like Huggies and Kleenex at Kimberly-Clark, managing a team of over 75 and developing new global strategies. But after years in corporate, she traded toilet paper for rolling papers. She left the predictable world of consumer packaged goods to enter the fast-evolving, federally restricted cannabis industry.

Her goal? To create a brand that celebrates happiness and provides a natural alternative for those looking for something beyond traditional pharmaceuticals or alcohol.

When asked about the decision to move into cannabis, Lisa laughs, “When I left Kimberly-Clark, they thought I was insane.” Her journey wasn’t just career-driven; it was personal. Struggling with insomnia, she’d turned to Ambien but quickly found herself relying on it more than she wanted to. Then, she discovered cannabis.

“In 2017, I realized that the Ambien peace was not a good long-term strategy for me,” she explains. She went through the process of getting a medical card and began her own journey into cannabis. At the time, she recalls feeling completely lost walking into Chicago dispensaries. She was managing global teams by day and wandering into dispensaries by night, “not knowing what to buy, not knowing what I was doing.” But her own transformation with cannabis sparked a new sense of purpose: if cannabis could work for her, it could work for others too.

Embracing the Complex Cannabis Market

Lisa’s first foray into cannabis led her to Grassroots Cannabis, a multi-state operator that she helped grow and eventually sell to Curaleaf for over $800 million in 2020. “Grassroots was built to be sold quickly,” Lisa reflects, adding that the company’s growth-first mindset taught her a lot about balancing long-term goals with immediate needs. “At Grassroots, the culture was high-growth and high-stress,” she says. The experience left her with a key takeaway: “If you want to build a lasting brand in this space, you need to think long-term and make decisions accordingly.”

With these lessons in mind, Lisa set out to create Happi, a cannabis beverage brand aimed primarily at women who, she says, “are often underserved in both the beverage and cannabis markets.” Happi isn’t just a product—it’s an experience, a break in the day, a moment of happiness, whether that’s unwinding after work or celebrating a special occasion.

Finding the Right Market for Happi

Happi launched in Michigan’s dispensary market in 2021, but the initial reception wasn’t what Lisa had hoped. Michigan’s cannabis consumers tend to favor higher doses, and Happi’s lower-dose beverages didn’t match the typical Michigan demand. “Low-dose just wasn’t the right fit for the dispensary channel in Michigan,” Lisa reflects. “It may be the highest-dose market in the country…they really want weed in Michigan!”

But Lisa didn’t give up. Instead, she pivoted to the hemp-derived market, where the demand for low-dose, social-friendly cannabis beverages is higher. This shift opened up new possibilities for Happi, helping the brand reach a broader audience looking for a gentler introduction to cannabis.

To fuel this transition, Happi also ran a fundraiser on WeFunder, a move that gave them the necessary capital to navigate the switch from regulated to hemp-derived products. “Beverage is a capital-intensive business,” Lisa explains. “You need raw materials, packaging, manufacturing—it’s heavy to ship.” Happi’s WeFunder campaign helped cover these costs and kept the brand moving forward.

Building Happi: Innovation, Quality, and Trust

Happi’s vision is clear: create products that offer consumers a safe, enjoyable experience. “It’s not about how much THC we can jam into a product,” Lisa emphasizes. Instead, Happi’s focus is on creating well-crafted, quality beverages that provide just the right experience for any occasion. Each product comes with a QR code for transparency, allowing consumers to track and verify the ingredients and testing behind every can.

The brand’s flagship flavors—Glow and Nightcap—are designed for specific moments in the day. Glow, for instance, combines THC, CBG, CBN, CBD, and lion’s mane to create a drink that’s perfect for the transition between work and relaxation. “It’s that golden-hour drink,” Lisa says. Nightcap, on the other hand, is a calming, low-calorie option designed for winding down before bed. “These drinks are for the health and wellness-minded consumer looking to replace alcohol or pharmaceuticals with something better,” she explains.

Happi’s Partnership with Wana Brands: A Perfect Fit

Partnerships have been instrumental in expanding Happi’s reach and reputation. One of the most significant has been with Wana Brands, a pioneer in cannabis edibles. Lisa’s relationship with Wana’s founder, Nancy Whiteman, goes back years, to her early days at Grassroots. The two brands share similar values around quality, consistency, and innovation, making them a natural fit.

In 2023, Happi partnered with Wana to bring Wana’s hemp-derived gummies to Happi’s platform, happihourdrink.com. “Nancy and I wanted to work together for a long time,” Lisa shares. “Wana makes a great product, and we share a lot of the same values, especially around innovation and doing things the right way.”

Lisa’s partnership with Wana also represents a commitment to supporting other women in cannabis. “Women need to support other women founders,” she says, noting that there still aren’t enough women in cannabis leadership roles. Alongside Nancy and other women, Lisa co-founded a group called WINC to support women in the cannabis industry, helping them connect and navigate the challenges of a male-dominated field. “The level of support and mentorship among women in this industry has been incredible,” she says. “I just wish there were more of us.”

Redefining the Cannabis Beverage Market

For Lisa, the real power of Happi lies in its ability to change how people think about cannabis. “Our mission is to build the world’s most innovative and trusted THC beverage,” she says. This commitment to innovation has led Happi to explore unique cannabinoid combinations and products that cater to specific consumer needs.

Their latest launch, Happi Dance, exemplifies this approach. It’s a mango basil drink infused with THCV, known for its clarity and energizing effects. “I’d been wanting to make Happi Dance for two years,” Lisa says, laughing. “It’s perfect for a night out or a casual get-together, and it really does make you want to dance.” She’s particularly excited to see how consumers respond to the new product, which also contains a bit of ginseng for an extra kick. “It’s unlike anything else in the cannabis beverage space.”

The success of products like Happi Dance and Glow show how Happi has managed to carve out a unique position in the market. By focusing on low-dose, health-conscious consumers, Happi has found a way to stand out from competitors, offering a product that’s more about wellness and enjoyment than THC potency.

Shaping a Brand Built on Purpose and Community

Lisa’s journey with Happi is rooted in a deep commitment to creating products that make a positive difference in people’s lives. Whether it’s through high standards of quality or transparency, she’s creating a brand consumers can trust. “We came out of the regulated market, and we’ve always done things the right way,” she says. This approach has helped Happi attract a loyal customer base who appreciates the attention to detail and quality behind each product.

But perhaps what sets Lisa apart most is her sense of community. She’s not just building a brand—she’s building a movement. By supporting other women founders, collaborating with like-minded companies like Wana, and creating safe spaces for cannabis consumers, Lisa is actively shaping the cannabis industry into one that’s more inclusive, transparent, and consumer-focused.

Looking Ahead: A Happi Future

For Lisa Hurwitz, Happi is just the beginning. Her vision for Happi is expansive, and she’s excited to keep pushing boundaries, finding new ways to bring happiness to consumers through innovative, trustworthy products. Each product launch, from the low-dose relaxation of Nightcap to the energizing Happi Dance, is a new step in her mission to offer consumers a better way to enjoy cannabis.

“Cannabis helped me, and I believe it can help others too,” she says. For Lisa, Happi isn’t just a drink; it’s a lifestyle choice that empowers consumers to live happier, healthier lives.

As she reflects on her journey, Lisa hopes to inspire others to pursue their own paths in the cannabis industry—especially women. “This industry has so much potential, and it needs more women leaders,” she says. “Together, we can make a real difference.”

Through Happi, Lisa is doing just that—one sip at a time.