8 minute read
It’s a wellness thing
Vince Sanders, founder and president, CBD American Shaman
It’s a wellness thing
Vince Sanders’ vision was clear from the jump. As founder of CBD American Shaman, he dedicated his efforts to bringing wellness to the world through ultra-concentrated terpene rich CBD oil derived from all natural, high quality industrial hemp. The gluten free, eco-friendly product, legal in all 50 states, is batch-tested using Ultra Performance Convergence Chromatography. As a company, CBD American Shaman is focused steadfast on the welfare of its customers. To drive that emphasis home, it even offers a Compassionate Care program, which includes discounts for people in need, low-income customers and veterans. With a goal to always bring the latest and greatest science and technology to market, Sanders and company are driven by the creed that it really is “nature enhanced by science.” We sat down with Sanders to get his thoughts on where the CBD American Shaman—and industry—are heading.
GIVE US A SNAPSHOT OF YOUR BRAND? The main goal of CBD American Shaman (and why we even got started in this industry) has—and always will be—to help people feel better. We’re also always trying to bring the latest science and technology to the cannabis industry. One of the things we always say about our business is “nature enhanced by science.”
WHAT TYPE OF CONSUMERS ARE YOU TARGETING? Realistically, we’re targeting everyone. Currently, our main customer we mostly see in our stores is women in their late 50s. Outside of that, we’re aggressively targeting other demographics, including men, millennials, and ideally whomever is in need and will benefit most from our products. HOW DOES YOUR DESIGN CATER TO WHAT TODAY’S CONSUMERS WANT? We try to mimic the “med spa” aesthetic, featuring all natural and muted tones, and wood, stone and plant elements. We want our spaces to appeal to our main customers, and create a sense of comfort. We like to keep each store small and cozy, no bigger than 600 square feet, to ensure we keep that warmer, more personal feeling. The cannabis space can be uncomfortable for many people, mostly because of the unknown and the old narratives around the industry. Our priority in each shop is to make each customer feel comfortable enough to be open minded to learn about something new.
The opportunities are also endless in the science realm of cannabis— exploring more of the cannabis plant and conducting more studies so we can make claims showcasing efficacy.
WHAT KIND OF ADJUSTMENTS HAVE YOU MADE TO HOW CUSTOMERS SHOP IN THIS NEW LANDSCAPE? We’re prioritizing our online presence with the goal to make it easier for customers to order from the comfort of home. Convenience is the key for existing customers.
WHAT TYPE OF AREAS DO YOU LOOK FOR WHEN SEEKING STORE LOCATIONS? We now tend to pick locations in middle to upper middle class neighborhoods and towns, and prioritize spaces in close proximity to a large anchor store that generates a lot of traffic (now that we have a better understanding of who our existing customers are). We also take into consideration the surrounding base population, as we are looking for new store areas with enough base population to reach and sustain a healthy customer base. However, we do understand each store location can bring different opportunities despite varying population sizes.
WHAT IS YOUR SHORT-TERM STRATEGY? LONG-TERM? Our short-term strategy is to continue fine tuning what we’re currently doing to make everything better—our products, our seed to sale process, our customer experience, and more. We are always in the pursuit of excellence. A big plus of having so many store locations is that we can utilize certain locations to experiment with new processes, products, etc., and measure how it performs. We can learn what works and what doesn’t before we scale it. As for long-term strategy, we want to diversify into all types of cannabis and products, and look at other plant based products for medicinal purposes. Overall, we want to push the envelope on what can be done. We’re not holding anything back. Especially in this industry, there is no road map. We’re figuring out so much as we go, and we’re happy to share our learned successes with those following in our footsteps. WHAT’S THE BEST PIECE OF ADVICE YOU CAN OFFER ON HOW TO DEAL WITH WHAT’S HAPPENING IN TODAY’S MARKETPLACE? Be light on your feet. With the pandemic and crazy economic times, you have to pay attention to what way the wind is blowing so you can shift with intention. Even without a pandemic going on, you need to be able to pivot as change is constant. The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. When something isn’t working, change quickly for different results. Don’t get set in your ways.
WHAT MAKES YOUR LOCATION ENGAGING? HAVE YOU ADDED ANY IN-STORE FEATURES? We’re all about education and relationships. We believe it’s necessary to educate our customers, because even our great products are useless if they’re not being utilized properly. We prioritize each customer and make the time to teach, but also support them while using our products. We’re in it for the long run. We want to create relationships with our customers, which creates returning customers. We are also working on automated kiosks which will provide a self-guided learning track giving customers the option to choose.
WALK US THROUGH YOUR SHOP’S DESIGN? Our design inspiration stems from our goal to make each shop warm, inviting, comfortable and a conducive environment for learning that encourages customers to open their minds. It always comes back to education so we can best teach our customers how to use our products, and ultimately set them up for success.
GIVE US A RUNDOWN OF YOUR MARKET’S LAYOUT? Individual stores, aka mom and pop stores, are the biggest competition locally. But on a larger scale, I focus on what we’re offering our customers, and how we can provide them with what they aren’t getting—instead of focusing on what others around us are doing. We also prioritize education, which I believe is rare in this industry (and many others). We’re creating our own road map as we go.
TALK ABOUT SUSTAINABILITY. WHAT ARE YOU DOING? Sustainability and how we can improve is something we examine daily. Anytime we think we can be doing something better, we try it, and we change it. As I said earlier, we are always in the pursuit of excellence. For example, we’re always looking at how we can improve our seed to sale process, from growing and extracting to manufacturing. Improvements in farming, plant genetics, and streamlining manufacturing—less labor intensive, faster, equipment, etc.— remain high priorities.
WHAT TYPE OF OPPORTUNITIES DO YOU SEE MOVING AHEAD? I believe there is so much opportunity in the medicinal industry space. I also see mass market opportunity for certain CBD beverages and CBD smokes (among other products) in more than just our CBD American Shaman stores. The opportunities are also endless in the science realm of cannabis—exploring more of the cannabis plant and conducting more studies so we can make claims showcasing efficacy. So far it’s mostly just anecdotal unfortunately, because enough studies haven’t been able to be performed due to it being a black market product for so long. I’m very proud to say CBD American Shaman is spearheading studies to back up the power of CBD and the whole cannabis plant. We’re putting money back into this area to conduct proper research and approach this professionally with a high degree of science.
WHAT TRENDS ARE YOU SEEING/EXPECTING? I think we’re going to start seeing more blended components of the cannabis plant— cannabinoids, flavonoids, terpenes, etc. WHAT’S THE SECRET TO CREATING A “MUST VISIT” LOCATION TODAY? Marketing, word of mouth/referrals, and creating a sense of professionalism and trust from the outside. This means creating a high-end feeling, which in turn leads to feelings of comfort.
WHAT’S TODAY’S CONSUMER LOOKING FOR? Products that work and people who can properly educate them on how to use these products. People want to interact with people.
TELL US WHAT MAKES YOUR BRAND SO UNIQUE? Education around the products, our priority around creating authentic relationships with customers, our investment in science, and our always-improving seed to sale process.
ONE-ON-ONE WITH... CBD American Shaman’s Vince Sanders
Describe a typical day. What’s the biggest thing on your to-do list?
A typical day includes talking to people in corporate stores and franchises, examining and monitoring what’s happening in manufacturing and extracting, managing supply chains (which is very relevant right now), and so much more. But the biggest thing(s) on my to-do list are all around getting our THC business up and running—including manufacturing—in Missouri.
What’s the most rewarding part of your job?
Helping people feel better—both those that use our products and experience a big life change (of feeling better), and those who work for us who in turn get to help their fellow man feel better and make a living while doing it. What was the best advice you ever received?
“Chase too many rabbits you won’t catch any.” You have to keep your focus otherwise nothing will pan out if you have too many things going on. And, “Dreams don’t work unless you do.” These are little bits of wisdom I always revisit.
What’s the best thing a client ever said to you?
We’ve had so many incredible stories, but when somebody looks at you and tells you how much better they feel from using your products. Making a difference in someone’s life is why I started this business.
How do you like to spend your down time?
Completely chilling and doing some reading, or getting out in nature and hiking.
