Today’s interview is with Sara Rotman, owner of the largest woman-owned legal cultivation farm in California and CEO of Wellfounded Botanicals. She’s also the founder of the “Good Farmers Great Neighbors” educational campaign, which educates the local community on cannabis farming and activist causes, and she’s a board member of the Lompoc Valley Cannabis Association. Keep reading to find out how a life-threatening illness inspired her to pivot from the fashion to the cannabis industry, the biggest challenges she’s faced along the way, and what she’s glad she didn’t know before getting involved in the world of weed.
Photo Credit: Brian Bins
Tell me a bit about your background and how you first got into the cannabis industry
Before I got into the cannabis industry, my previous experience spanned more than 25 years working in fashion, beauty, and entertainment. I was living in NYC for over 30 years, running my own creative agency and was always on the go.
I never really had an interest in cannabis and was somewhat of a reluctant participant. But then I had the grave misfortune of becoming life-threateningly ill with Crohn’s disease that went undiagnosed for many, many years. I was so sick, couldn’t work, couldn’t be social, and I was in constant, debilitating pain. I was sent home from the hospital with, literally, a bucket full of morphine, which my doctors said to take whenever I was in pain. And I was in pain 24 hours a day.
The opioids just weren’t working for me so my husband suggested I try cannabis products with high doses of CBD as alternative medicine. I was skeptical, but out of options. The end results were incredible as I saw first-hand how it worked to reduce inflammation and manage my pain. Being introduced to cannabis made living my life possible again and has become the single most effective therapy for me and my disease. It’s something that not only took my symptoms away and kept them at bay, it actually did help me heal.
However, at the time, the sources of high CBD to THC ratio medicine were unreliable. After getting a bad batch of tincture that gave me arsenic poisoning, I knew I had to take matters into my own hands. At that point in my recovery period, which was over five years ago, we had made the decision to grow all of our own organic food on our family farm to help combat my disease — from cows to pigs to chickens to veggies. We already did the hard work of lying fallow for three years to become certified organic and my husband suggested we establish our own collective and legally grow our own medicine since we were having trouble getting access to clean medicine in an unregulated market. His advice was probably some of the best life-saving advice I ever received, and I thank God he pushed me in that direction.
We soon learned that this wonder plant had more magic in it than just reducing my Crohns’ symptoms. The same tincture that reduced my pain and inflammation internally (and not surprisingly) also did the same thing for my skin — reducing pain, redness and soothing inflammation caused by everything from dry farmers hands to uncomfortable rashes and sore joints that can also be symptoms of Crohns. Combining learnings from my previous career as a fashion and skincare expert with my new experience as a farmer and Crohns’ patient, I sought out the best chemists working in the business and set about making the highest quality cannabis wellness products available on the market today. Now I own and operate one of California’s largest legal outdoor cultivation farms.
Photo Credit: Heather Gildroy
What was it like pivoting from the fashion and beauty industry to farming? Have you found that your previous experience is helpful or similar to what you’re doing now?
It was, quite literally, a breath of fresh air. When I ran my own marketing agency in New York I never really relaxed or took time for myself. Call it that fast-paced New York mentality, if you will.
We already had land in California when we decided to relocate out west. Currently, we grow about 22-acres of cannabis on our 63-acre organic farm but like all farmers, we have to operate on thin margins to ensure we are around next year and for years to come. This requires scale and efficiency like any agricultural endeavor but because it is cannabis we also have to navigate intense public scrutiny, legislative complexity and constantly evolving regulations at the state and local levels.
Luckily, I was able to draw and learn from my husband’s farming and building experience but it wasn’t an easy learning process by any means.
Photo Credit: Brian Bins
What kind of products do you offer at Wellfounded?
We’ll be launching our plant-based wellness products in two forms: capsules and tinctures, which will be available at select dispensaries in California next month. And we’re planning to roll out additional products later this year, including topicals, which I’m so excited about! I have a saying at Wellfounded that “nothing goes to waste on the farm.” It’s a mantra I live by. We brew compost tea to feed our plants and use the sun to provide most of our energy. All of our products are sustainably-sourced, meaning they’re vegan, gluten-free, non-GMO, and cruelty-free.
Our full-spectrum capsules offer customized therapy in three distinct formulas crafted for restoration, relief, and relaxation. Formulated with green tea, spirulina, and activated charcoal to promote holistic health, our precise dosing makes it easy for you to take exactly what your body needs, whether it’s for therapeutic, medicinal, or recreational use. And our tinctures are made with natural pomegranate flavor.
Photo Credit: Heather Gildroy
RESTORE: A HIGH CBD FORMULA – A go-to daytime remedy with minimal psychotropic effects, designed as an anti-inflammatory, pain reducer and de-stressor.
RELIEF: A BALANCED CBD TO THC FORMULA – A 1:1 remedy crafted to relieve pain and inflammation equally while nurturing a calm sense of well-being.
RELAX: A HIGH THC FORMULA – Developed as a soothing balm for the body and mind to treat severe and chronic pain, elevate mood, and provide a restful night’ sleep.
If you’re new to cannabis, I’d recommend starting with the smallest possible dose and gradually increasing usage to achieve your desired effect. Our three formulas of potency and small tablet size allow you to create a custom therapeutic program for yourself without the fear of taking too large a dose. Just start small, take your time, listen to your body — it will tell you what you need.
How has the COVID-19 pandemic affected your business and goals?
It pretty much affected all aspects of my business in some way, but taking care of my employees, ensuring their safety, and keeping all of them on staff was my #1 priority.
We were supposed to launch Wellfounded in the summer of 2020 but experienced huge delays in our operations due to COVID-19 — everything from our manufacturing to packaging and approvals was severely impacted. And the current state of emergency in California has become even more fraught, but we are pushing ahead. One thing I know is that these products will help people, so we are determined to get them to market. It has been two steps forward, one step back for a whole year but like everything else we have accomplished at the farm, we simply won’t give up. And that tenacity is paying off. We are now just days away from launch and I’m so proud and excited to finally be able to share the therapies that have literally saved my life with customers in CA.
What would you most like to see change about the cannabis industry?
It’s really hard to even speak about the industry as a whole because it’s very fractured. In California, for example, every single local county has its own completely individualized, distinct set of rules so we end up like a collective of smaller industries around the state. And it’s not fractured because we’re contentious, but because we all have different survival needs, making it difficult to approach various issues.
But it starts at the local and state policy levels by ensuring legal cannabis operators can operate and navigate this extreme, ever-changing landscape, and through ensuring compliant operators and customers are able to grow and have access to safe, legal cannabis. We need sensible legislation that doesn’t allow for prejudice and fear to dictate our law-making abilities.
I’m doing my part as an advocate and an ally to the cannabis industry, providing education to the misinformed through data and science and encouraging decision-making on facts over fear.
What do you predict the future looks like for the independent cannabis farmer?
Last year I grew and sold close to half a million lbs. of cannabis in the legal market. This year’s crop is already pre-sold, I will have launched Wellfounded and am working to secure licensing opportunities in other states where cannabis is legal and have an additional brand in development slated for launch later this year. Despite these achievements, I can tell you the current model is not built for independent operators like me to succeed, or even dare to enter. But this can change.
For independent cannabis farmers to succeed, cannabis brands of all sizes need to build local advocacy and activism into their brand pillars, as well as dedicate time, resources, and budget accordingly. And we need the industry’s operators (both large, corporate and small, independent) to come together as a single voice to ensure we do this effectively. While national and state support are vital for our long term success, I strongly believe local strength is the true barrier to an independent cannabis farmer’s survival. We can achieve this by creating regional coalitions in each county, led by statewide strategies to reach our goals.
What advice would you give someone thinking about starting a business in this industry?
I would say the things that I wish I knew beforehand are also the things I’m super grateful I didn’t know; if I knew what I know now I don’t even think that I, as bombastic as I am, would have had the courage to fully immerse myself in this herculean effort – and I don’t back down from anything… this has been a journey! But I think what’s been the most challenging is navigating the moving target of regulatory requirements, both at the state and local levels.
Imagine trying to successfully operate a business where the laws that govern you are unclear, constantly changing and often punitive. It’s been incredibly challenging and expensive and as a result, it kind of opened my eyes to the inherent value of why Americans should get actively involved with their local government.
Through building and expanding my business, I learned our local government has so much control over our lives, whether it be professionally or personally, and whether we realize it or not. Most of us aren’t even aware of the laws that are being made around us and what exists to influence and control all of our activities on a daily basis. We spend the majority of time paying attention to what’s going on at the national and state levels, but your local government is really where an immediate change is happening, and what’s going to have a direct influence on your home, family and business. My advice for people starting out in this industry is to really understand the state and local regulations before you make a big capital investment. Also, take on an activist mentality and understand that you can make an impact on the future direction of the industry.
Where can we find you online?
You can visit us at Wellfounded.com, or follow us on Instagram at @wellfoundedbotanicals for happy plants and happy people. I’m also on LinkedIn — feel free to connect with me and say hi!