This week we are featuring female cannapreneur, Hanna Brand. Hanna is behind the family-owned and operated flower cultivator located in Santa Barbara County.
They sell cannabis flower, pre-rolls, vape cartridges, and more.
We wanted to know how Hanna got into the cannabis biz, and what it’s like being a woman in a predominantly male-dominated industry.
Here’s what she had to say in this exclusive interview with Miss Marijuana.
Miss Marijuana: What was your very first experience with cannabis like?
Hanna: My first experience was actually an edible. It was like a rice crispy treat, and we ate it before I went to the movies, and so you eat it and you’re like, “Oh, how long does this take again?” We ate it.
Half way through the movie, we were like, “Oh yeah. Yep.” We definitely felt it.
MM: If you had a bad experience with cannabis at first, what changed your mind about it?
H: From the beginning, I always thought it was fun. Then, going through college…it’s always been social for me, so just smoking joints with friends, sitting around, definitely more sativa based, I’m always kind of hyper, and I like to laugh a lot.
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MM: When did you start taking cannabis seriously as a benefit to your health and wellness?
H: From day one, we focused on quality over quantity and this has been a main factor in bringing our company to where it is today.
Our farm is 100% spray free, [with] no pesticides, herbicides or fungicides. We also do all of our processing by hand, from the harvesting, bucking, trimming and packing.
MM: Can you tell us about the moment you came up with your business idea? Where were you?
H: The company started with my dad wanting to create a new opportunity with his kids.
My brother and I were both studying at Cal Poly, SLO at the time it started and were getting degrees in agribusiness and agriculture and environmental plant science.
We grew up working in these greenhouses and I always wanted to work with my dad, I just didn’t know it would be in the cannabis industry.
I am a sixth-generation farmer with my grandparents growing vegetables in Holland and then moving to Santa Barbara County to grow cut flowers over 30 years ago.
We use the knowledge of growing in a greenhouse with a wide variety of crops to make the perfect environment for our current crop, cannabis.
My dad has always told us to focus on quality over quantity and this has been a main factor in bringing our company to where it is today.
Our farm is 100% spray-free, [with] no pesticides, herbicides or fungicides. We also do all of our processing by hand, from the harvesting, bucking, trimming and packing.
The best reviews we get from our dispensaries is how our products are constantly the same high-quality product throughout the year.
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MM: How sure were you about it? What was the first action step you took?
H: When applying to Cal Poly in 2013 I had no idea that I was going to be in the Cannabis industry.
We grew up working in these greenhouses and I always wanted to work with my dad; I just didn’t know it would be in the cannabis industry.
I always loved agriculture, but I also knew that I was pretty decent at sales, ever since those days of having to sell wrapping paper from a magazine to raise money in middle school; I just never thought it would turn into cannabis sales.
MM: What other aspects of your background and experience did you draw on to help you conceptualize and create this brand?
H: Sustainability has always been a top priority for both the Brand family and Autumn’s family and definitely helped shape our farm and brand.
We grow in the same hydroponic system the flowers were in and were able to reuse the infrastructure instead of buying new.
It is a closed-loop watering system, meaning there’s no runoff and everything is recycled and reused.
We are 100% spray-free so no harmful chemicals are getting in the environment. All of our greenwaste is brought to a facility to be turned to mulch.
MM: What did your friends and family think about you starting a cannabis brand? And how did their reaction make you feel/impact the building of your business?
H: They were supportive and also very curious. There are a lot of unknowns because the recreational market is so new.
But overall when we made the transition over to cannabis we felt the love and support of our friends and family.
And we’re proud to be one of the first cannabis brands in California to have women in these types of leadership positions.
MM: What has been your biggest struggle while building your brand/business?
H: Meeting the strict regulations with getting our Cannabis Cultivation licensing and Land Use Permitting in Santa Barbara County.
The application, by the way, is a 100-page document demonstrating proof of compliance with all state and local cannabis laws.
A partial list of agencies signing off includes CEQA (California Environmental Quality Act), Fish and Wildlife, local water authority, fire departments, law enforcement … This extensive and exhausted process takes anywhere from 12 to 34 months with a minimum cost of $100,000.
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That’s just to submit the application. On top of that, once submitted anyone can appeal the project. Thankfully, our CFO, Autumn Shelton, took the lead on all compliance and licensing.
There is a group here that doesn’t want cannabis to be cultivated in this county, and are constantly spreading lies, making false claims and trying to change laws.
We are constantly attending city and county meetings to make sure our voices are heard and faces are seen because they want to paint us as criminals when we are just farmers—the same farmers that have been here for generations.
We also have a lot of challenges to get through our land use permitting process, but we believe this process, while challenging, is necessary to separate the farms who want to be fully compliant and those who don’t.
It is a long, expensive and time-consuming process, but I believe we will get through it and be able to continue this family farm for many years.
MM: What has been the most exciting part?
H: Working with my family and growing something we are proud of. I get to come to work every day and be with my brother and dad and we are constantly pushing each other to perform at our best.
We have always focused on quality over quantity which is why we are 100% spray-free and do all of our processing by hand to ensure we are only putting out the best product possible every time.
It is exciting to see this pay off because our branded line has been steadily growing month over month and we are making a name for ourselves through our constance and quality.
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MM: How do you plan on taking your brand to the next level?
H: We are growers, that’s what we are good at and so that’s what we focus our brand on.
I think our flower line will always be our strongest seller and to take us to the next level, as we are going to continue searching for new genetics and offering more strains.
In 2019 we did a genetics hunt and this summer have been releasing a ton of new strains that have done extremely well.
We have been pushing the envelope with expectations of what a greenhouse can produce but having many strains testing consistently over 26% total THC.
We also have been offering more products with CBD. We currently are growing Blue Dream CBD which tests at 13% THC and 8% CBD.
We offer it in a 1/8th jar and pre-roll pack and it is currently one of my favorite strains to smoke.
It offers pain relief, creativity, productive and calming effects without getting to an euphoric high.
We are also using it to create our new topical that’s in formulation right now and should be released around Christmas.
I believe the future for Autumn Brands is bright, and we have so much room to expand. We are currently in only about 20% of all the dispensaries in CA so there is huge room to continue to organically grow in our own state.
The idea of expanding to other states has been brought up to us a few times, and I believe the right opportunity will present itself one day. I personally am not in a rush to expand to other states yet.