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Food, Sex, and CBD Slutty Vegan Founder Pinky Cole shares her journey from television producer to restaurant royalty. By Ebby Stone
Slutty Vegan CBD gummies are available nationwide, offering organic, pectin-based edibles to vegans and meat-eaters alike. What stands out most among her accolades is a commitment to philanthropic work in her community. Since launching the business, she has already provided life insurance to 25,000 Black men, paid the tuition of 30 Clark Atlanta students, and founded the Pinky Cole Foundation to encourage innovation and entrepreneurship. As a former television producer and casting director, Cole is well versed in the world of entertainment and uses all her experience to leverage a creative, provocative brand strategy that’s paying dividends across the Deep South. In this interview, Cole explains what inspired her to enter the CBD space and how she’s handling the demands of motherhood and entrepreneurship. Cannabis & Tech Today: What was happening in your life when you launched the Slutty Vegan brand? 94
Cannabis & Tech Today // Winter 2021
Pinky Cole: I started Slutty Vegan in 2018. It was really just a concept that popped in my brain. I’m like, “Okay, I’m going to do this thing. I want some vegan food on a late night, and I’m going to just create this little movement.” At the time I had already had my dream job, I was a casting director. I knew it was going to be a good side hustle, but I had no idea that it would turn into one of the most popular concepts in the country. C&T Today: What inspired the name Slutty Vegan? PK: So I said, if I can connect the two of the most pleasurable experiences, and that’s sex and food — as a television producer, I know what makes people want to pay attention. I know what bores them. I know what makes them want to change the channel. If I could create a dialogue around something racy and something that’s been coined as boring and tasteless, if I can merge those two worlds, I knew that I would have something people would pay attention to.
Photo: Drea Nicole Photography
In the two years since launching her first Slutty Vegan location, founder Aisha “Pinky” Cole has amassed a national following. With revenues topping $4 million in the first six months, Cole’s vegan junk food is bringing communities together in four locations and growing. She’s now using that momentum to move into the CBD space.
