Talking Motherhood & CBD with Hapsy Founder Andrea Wightwick

As you can imagine, the role of motherhood is a full-time job. However, simultaneously launching a CBD brand in a new and loosely established industry? That’s Superwoman.

Long before the talk of any cannabis or hemp legalization was spoken, Andrea Wightwick was working as a consultant in the consumer packaged goods industry. 

Also known as CPG, this industry focuses on frequently used, everyday household goods and products – from packaged foods, beverages, toiletries, and other everyday consumables. 

When the 2018 Farm Bill legalized the industrial use, production, manufacturing, and selling of hemp, an idea sparked within Andrea to explore how she could incorporate this newfound legalization of hemp and CBD into her client work. 

She began connecting with various manufacturers across multiple industries – brainstorming how to incorporate the beneficial uses of hemp-based CBD into a consumable product. 

“We were learning this all as cannabis categories were becoming categories,” she recalls, “Not every product will reach all households or fit every person, but it does have a negative connotation that can be changed.”

Andrea aimed to curate CBD products that wouldn’t alter or change the flavor of whatever it was infused with, but simply elevate and enhance for an uplifting experience. That’s where Hapsy came in. 

Today, she’s the founder of Hapsy CBD, a brand that brings hemp-based products with a transparent, efficient wellness solution to women and mothers in their everyday routines. 

Based in Atlanta, Georgia, Hapsy takes pride in helping not just their local community but all Americans with their wellness goals. Their CBD products are locally sourced, discreet, and transparently created and tested for a trusted CBD experience. 

These hemp-derived CBD products are curated with the motivation to provide moments of hapsiness – defined as the state of contentment regardless of life’s blunders. Which, as many may know, are significant in the role of motherhood. 

We sat down with Andrea to learn how she masters the careful balance between the roles of a business owner in the legal CBD industry and the role of motherhood – all while continuing to be the “best player in the game.” 

From CPG to CBD

As most cannabis and hemp startup stories go, Andrea was faced with a plethora of challenges as a new CBD business owner. Coming from a strictly compliant CPG industry, the lack of regulation and quality control in the new CBD market left her puzzled.

For instance, in the CPG industry, a process authority is a seal of approval that acts as a liaison between a manufactured product and government authority. The FDA has an authoritative process that designates any substance or compounds added to food, beverage, or supplements as GRAS – Generally Recognized As Safe. This process assures the microbiological safety of the food or beverage ready for purchase. 

However, no such standard or process is currently as relative or enforced in the CBD industry. With her experience, she’s constantly surprised at the lack of regulation and control with cannabis products, commenting, “Even alcohol has to meet some sort of standard before hitting the shelves. Why wouldn’t CBD or cannabis be the same?” 

Staying Transparent & Competitive

When researching product manufacturing for the startup of Hapsy, Andrea worked with her lab team to test over 70 different CBD brands. Surprisingly, only two tests came back completely accurate to the brand’s certificate of analysis (COA). 

Andrea quickly realized that not every CBD-labeled product out there owns up to the quality many companies preach. This news only made her more motivated through these challenges. As a result, she started Hapsy to provide an honest hemp-based product for consumers – one that would take the guesswork and uncertainty out of what is typically seen on industry shelves.

Since then, Hapsy has been devoted to the transparency and authenticity of each CBD product they offer, particularly for women. Each of Hapsy’s products has COAs and product quality seals clearly labeled on the website. 

This information is especially helpful so new customers can directly provide the full ingredient panel to their OB/GYN, who they’re encouraged to speak with prior to any prenatal or pregnancy CBD consumption. 

Despite the growing success of the CBD industry and the abundance of new brands on the market, she quickly realized another challenge at hand would be to actually promote and provide a quality product that would reach consumers. 

“It’s hard to break through the noise when there’s clutter and you’re the one with an actual quality product.” 

Throwing an unprecedented Covid-19 pandemic into the mix, the launch of Hapsy also brought on longer processing times, increased shipping costs, and the challenge of forming crucial networking connections from the role of both a mother and business owner. 

A Budding Relationship Between CBD & Motherhood

As a woman business owner in the industry, Andrea had the unique perspective of becoming a parent prior to CBD’s legalization in 2018. 

In the last 5 years, her family has lived through its widespread legal status and growing popularity, which is what has made it become a more natural conversation and topic to have with her young kids. 

“Anything with parenting is not a one-and-done conversation. This topic, and many others, is like an onion, where you have to peel back the layers over time slowly.” 

Especially when raising them in Colorado, she admitted that simply the smell of someone smoking cannabis while they were walking down the street helped to create an organic opening to their questions and curiosity. 

As the legal market and its products expanded into more recreational cannabis use, Andrea’s cannabis talk with her kids grew into a more informative and clear conversation. By openly explaining the importance of consumer safety and the “whys” of how it works for adults, she established a trusting and understanding association of the plant with her kids. 

Plus, it allowed her kids to better (proudly) understand the work their mom is doing with Hapsy. 

When her son recently asked if there were any products from Hapsy that he could try, she pointed out how other medicines like Tylenol have a version for adults and a version for kids, explaining, “There’s no children’s version of Hapsy.”

Exploring the Wonders of CBD as a Mother

Although CBD and plant medicine were not legal or as widespread during her first few years of being a mom, Andrea is always surprised to hear about customers who have found a more holistic approach to their lifestyle routine. 

From a business owner’s perspective, she’s heard a rush of success stories from new moms utilizing Hapsy’s CBD products. Many women are consuming CBD-based products to alleviate the many symptoms that come with post-child birth, such as postpartum depression and anxiety. 

As the mother of two young kids, she can also relate on a maternal level, exploring the ways a microdose can improve and enhance her daily routine. 

Being a full-time mom and business entrepreneur, Andrea knows she will usually hit her patience, energy, and stamina limit by the late afternoon. Microdosing cannabis and CBD affords her the patience and endurance needed to continue with her everyday life. 

She has proudly confessed how it helps her to enjoy watching her kid’s favorite Disney movies (for the hundredth time) or be more mindful and patient during the time spent together, “I consume to be the better player in the game, and to give my kids the best of me. They can see the worst of me without it, microdosing CBD supports a more clear mind and level head for me at any point of the day.” 

Staying Checked in When You Feel Like Checking Out

Even though CBD wellness and Hapsy products may not be a consumer category for everyone, she’s committed to providing quality products while giving back to her local community. 

Through each product purchase, Hapsy is giving back to the Atlanta-local organization, Giving Kitchen. This non-profit provides crisis mitigation for food service workers through financial support and a network of community resources. Andrea and her team understand the direct impact of supporting families and individuals suffering from job loss or food instability with loss of income. That’s why each Hapsy purchase donates $1 toward Giving Kitchen and those communities in need. 

Additionally, when asked about the negative connotations that still come with legal cannabis and CBD, Andrea simply sees it as a new marketing puzzle to solve.. 

Instead, through her inviting and intriguing package design and product categories, she hopes to make CBD at least more approachable and inviting for mothers who are curious. 

“Hapsy is the brand that helps you stay checked in when you’re checking out,” she explains, “We’re your Monday through Friday, not your Saturday night.” 

Designed to give that and more, Hapsy’s line of CBD products are each made with the purest CBD isolate from locally harvested hemp. Hapsy has established a consistent and reliable extraction process that blends the hemp’s purest cannabinoids with clean, quality oil to give you tested products that can be discreetly consumed and used anytime, anywhere. 

Like the budding evolution of Hapsy and the industry as a whole, Andrea’s relationship and conversation around CBD are constantly evolving.

Moving forward, she’s excited to see more standard regulations around guidance, structure, and safety in the industry to help promote a more positive perspective. 

For her children, she’s focused on continuing an open and honest conversation around the many curiosities of cannabis. “With no standard, there’s no trust.” And in this case, it’s what truly matters for both the industry and families.

Check out Hapsy’s product reviews to learn more about what many mothers have to say about CBD wellness. Browse our Blog page to learn more about CBD consumption and education! 

Ready to kick off a marketing strategy for your CBD or cannabis company? Learn about our agency’s cannabis marketing services!