Q&A with Laura Beohner of The Healing Rose

Interview with Laura Beohner

Entrepreneurial Spirit and Health Advocacy:
Laura, you've expressed a passion for entrepreneurship and a desire to impact the world positively. How has your journey as an entrepreneur with The Healing Rose enabled you to advocate for health and wellness more effectively?

I think being an entrepreneur requires you to take a hard look at your own personal health and wellness. After a recurring dislocated kneecap, a previous basketball injury from the summer of 2016, I developed a huge passion for cannabinoid-infused, organic topicals and tinctures - leading to the founding of The Healing Rose. The hours are endless and the to-do lists are never-ending. Owning your own business can oftentimes feel like you are working at all waking hours (which is true for a lot of us given how much we can do from our smartphones). I have also been a lifelong athlete and have been a youth sports coach for nearly a decade - so balancing my physical, mental, and emotional health has always been a huge part of my life. Creating products like we create at The Healing Rose was a natural progression for me after I discovered cannabis as a medical cannabis patient in 2009, at the age of 18. Cannabis has helped shape my advocacy for people across the country (and world), to have access to the plant to empower their own health and wellness journeys.

Product Development Philosophy:
The Healing Rose emphasizes using USDA-certified organic ingredients in its products. Can you elaborate on the challenges and rewards of maintaining such high standards in product development, especially in the cannabis industry?

When we were founded in 2016, my co-founder Zach McInnis and I made a commitment to using 100% certified organic ingredients whenever possible. That means every carrier oil, butter, herb, wax, aromatics, etc., are certified organic - we even use certified organic CBD and CBG extracts in our products. We want our customers to trust that the products they are using are of the highest quality possible, with purposefully chosen ingredients that are there to provide healing benefits.

Customer Engagement and Direct Sales:
The COVID-19 pandemic led The Healing Rose to pivot towards a more direct-to-consumer approach. What have been the key lessons and insights gained from this shift, and how has it influenced your relationship with your customers?

We have always nurtured our direct-to-consumer relationships just as much as our wholesale relationships. While the pandemic shut down a lot of retail stores that carried us across the country, in May of 2021 we were able to sell our MDAR licensed hemp products in MA CCC-licensed adult-use cannabis dispensaries and delivery services. We also became a trusted source for bulk extracts for CCC and MDAR licensed hemp processors. Including offering extracts like CBD, CBG, CBN, THCV, CBC, and more. Dispensaries were one of the few industries that did well during the pandemic, so it was a huge blessing for our small business that has led us to get on the shelves of close to 100 dispensaries here in Massachusetts since then. However, since the pandemic, we have drastically changed the way we operate our direct-to-consumers business. We launched a new website, created easier ordering processes, and we ship nearly all retail orders within the first business day of ordering - all in order to compete with other brands in the e-commerce hemp space. We also have improved the strengths of nearly every single product, reduced prices or at least kept them the same. We have continued to look for every single way we can improve for our customers. I am a big believer in the idea that your customers are your greatest salespeople, and we try to connect with every customer to make sure they know how important they are to us. We spend hours each week on live chat, talking directly with customers and answering their questions. We love our customers and we work hard to make sure they love us back!

Industry Activism and Change:
As an active voice in the cannabis industry, how do you see your role as an activist shaping the future of cannabis regulations and public perception?

I have spoken at well over 100 cannabis-related public speaking events, including panels, solo presentations, and podcasts. I believe that sharing my voice, my ideas, and my experience is crucial to shaping the industry to how I see fit. In 2019, I founded the Massachusetts Hemp Coalition and I have been the Director of the coalition since. In addition to providing a platform for our local hemp stakeholders to connect and share information, my coalition’s leadership council and I speak periodically to legislators and state regulators to make sure that they understand our pain points, ask questions, and create a bridge between the state and the nascent hemp industry. Personally, I have been a youth sports coach for nearly a decade, and have also been involved in giving back to my community in other ways. I believe the best way I can change the stigma around cannabis and hemp and change the way the public perceives them, is by being the best human I can be to my local community. Leadership by example is the best way to lead others to change too!

Business Challenges in a Niche Market:
Operating in the cannabis sector comes with unique business challenges like banking and processing fees. How has navigating these challenges influenced your business strategy and growth?

I could write a thesis paper on all the challenges we have faced since launching in 2016 - which was before the 2018 Farm Bill. But to spare a terribly long list of items and to sum up what we’ve learned, no matter what we face - we will find a way to pivot. By always operating “in the green'' and not trying to play games with products that are questionably legal - we have learned that being conservative with product lines, and focusing on making organic products that work - we have continued to see year-over-year growth since inception. I very much dream about and look forward to the day where we can operate as a “normal business”. With normal banking options, unlimited options for credit card processors, and the ability to run social media campaigns without paying middle men thousands of dollars - hopefully one day soon!

Community Involvement and Giving Back:
The Healing Rose has been involved in community and philanthropic efforts. Can you share how these initiatives reflect the ethos of your company and your personal values?

Each year we choose 3-4 different charities to support, with our most recent effort being a winter coat and boot drive through Community Action Haverhill - where in collaboration with RiverRun Gardens, World Insurance, NECANN Boston, ATG, STEM Haverhill, and Innate Energy Massage we raised over $7500 to purchase brand new winter coats and boots for 115 children from Haverhill families. As an undergraduate student at Northeastern University, studying entrepreneurship and marketing under their business program, I took a social entrepreneurship that changed my entire way of thinking about owning a business. We have always donated products to veterans and people in need, we sponsor dozens of events to help others, and we have given tens of thousands of dollars to support causes near and dear to our hearts. I am a huge believer in karma and that when you put out good in the world, it will come back to you in one way or another.

Educational Initiatives:
With a strong focus on educating consumers about cannabis and hemp, what approaches do you take to make this education accessible and engaging for a diverse audience?

In an industry where we don’t want to upset the FDA with medical claims, we are careful to share as much education as possible without saying anything to cross the line. We do a lot to educate consumers on the benefits of individual ingredients in our products, as well as how our cannabinoid-infused products work. We have many different methods of consumption when it comes to our products, including salves, lip balms, bath soaks, body oils, tinctures, suppositories, and extracts. We love educating consumers via marketing materials, videos, and one-on-one conversations. When it comes to our wholesale partners, we are always doing “budtender” or staff trainings, as well in-store pop-ups to connect with their customers and staff. We have also done 100’s of trade shows, markets, events, etc. over the years - because connecting with people, having them try the products, and educating them on how they work is incredibly valuable to building a customer base that is loyal and trusting.

Branding and Storytelling in a Competitive Market:
The Healing Rose operates in a highly competitive cannabis market where branding and storytelling are crucial. Can you share your approach to creating a distinctive brand identity and storytelling strategy that resonates with your audience and differentiates The Healing Rose from other brands in the market?

Great question! We have a great story behind our name, which is that our company is named after our 10-year-old rescue pitbull Rose. She was rescued from a dog fighting ring in NH, where she was to be a bait dog due to her small size and sweet demeanor. Her beady puppy eyes got her rescued and into our family’s loving arms. Each website order gets a handwritten note with a picture of Rose and her story - so our customers understand that we are 100% family-owned and operated. Our customers trust us to only use certified organic ingredients and make safe, effective products that they can trust. We have worked hard since 2016 to spread the brand and have won several awards including NECANN’s 2018 Best New England Cannabis Company, 2023’s Champion in Corporate Social Responsibility - and I personally have won the 2019 Massachusetts Cannabis Activist of the Year. Our company’s story from starting in our family’s kitchen with $20k in savings going all in on our dream, to now being in a 4,000 sq.ft. facility with products on the shelves of over 100 dispensaries across the country is a dream come true for our family. And we are truly just getting started!

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