It’s all gone a bit Pete Tong. With businesses facing their biggest challenges yet, we caught up with two of the new faces in the CBD space to find out why we should be throwing our support behind them more than ever right now. Read on for our interviews with Paso and Pollen’s founders.
Meet Paso’s co-founder Sophie Morrison
Paso was founded by cousins Sophie Morrison and Alex Pejacsevich, who quit their jobs in law and consultancy to create a CBD brand centred around great taste, high quality and a beautiful aesthetic.
Why did you decide to create Paso?
Sophie says: “Alex and I first started using CBD back when our lives were a lot more hectic – Alex as a lawyer in London and me as a consultant back in New York. At the time, finding CBD was a massive discovery for us in terms of switching-off, but we also noticed how many of our friends weren’t as open to our new obsession. They didn’t want to take it because they were hesitant about CBD as a category, didn’t like the taste or couldn’t identify with any of the brands selling in the UK.
“We wanted to change this by creating a range of products that normalised CBD for the new user and they could actually enjoy consuming from a taste perspective, from a brand which stood for the principle of taking a moment to chill, which is what Paso is all about.”
Why did you choose to incorporate CBD?
“Deciding to incorporate CBD into our products came as a natural progression from our own personal experiences using CBD, but also in wanting to be part of a much broader movement of helping people find plant-based solutions to issues that over the last 50 years have often been rejected in favour of synthetic alternatives.
“While we’ve started with CBD, it’s the concept of taking a moment to switch-off that’s core to Paso: we feel there are lots of other plants – including other cannabinoids – which can help here too!”
Tell us about your range
“We’ve always wanted to provide a range of different options to consume our products and crucially – ensure they are all delicious – a pretty frequent critique when it comes to CBD!
“At the moment we’ve got an amazing range of CBD chocolates, gummies, tincture and vapes, all of which we make here in the UK under SALSA or pharmaceutical-grade conditions.
“Later this year we’ll be launching a line of other non-CBD plant-based products, including a new range of natural night supplements that we are particularly excited about.”
Introducing Pollen’s founder Melanie Goldsmith
Not content with being the founder of one of the UK’s most disruptive confectionery brands, Smith & Sinclair, trailblazer Melanie Goldsmith wanted to redefine her own wellness, without needing to hit the gym daily or commit to unsustainable lifestyle changes. The result is Pollen.
Why did you decide to create Pollen?
Melanie says: “I’m fully supportive of all types of wellness but it can feel a little elitist at times. I wanted to create something that could slide into life as easily as making tea in the morning, rather than requiring a two-week yoga retreat.
“We did some research and unsurprisingly discovered that day-to-day pressures of work, life and money felt by the majority was prevalent but they also seemed crippled by an awareness that they weren’t ‘giving themselves time’. The repeated self-assessment of trying to make time for themselves was almost as anxiety fuelling as getting on with life itself.
“I know Pollen isn’t a catch-all solution, but these focus groups made me realise that there was a space in the market for a CBD brand that was brave enough to talk about the modern lifestyle rather than focusing on the product alone.”
Why did you choose to incorporate CBD?
“We live in an age that glorifies ‘busy-ness’, influence and living your best life – but when do we take time to focus on what actually makes us feel good? I certainly wasn’t at that point in my life and work became all consuming.
“Navigating the pressures that came with growing a successful business and attempting to live my ‘best life’ started to feel incredibly overwhelming. At the same time many of my close friends were diagnosed with anxiety or depression. The landscape for how to cope with this ranges dramatically, from pharmaceuticals to meditation, neither of which seemed to fit what I was looking for, so I reached out to friends for solutions, and time and time again they mentioned the same thing – why don’t I try CBD?
“Within a few weeks of taking it, I started to feel that balance coming back. For the first time in a long time, I felt good.
“I wanted to share what I’d found. When I was originally recommended CBD by friends, I began to research products, but I was overwhelmed and drowned in the noise. A relatively new market, it was complicated and full of brands I’d never heard of. I wanted to take what I had already learnt developing our Smith & Sinclair products to create an innovative and fantastic tasting broad-spectrum CBD brand that people could trust.”
Tell us about your range
“We currently have three exceptional products made with CBD derived from broad-spectrum hemp oil: Drink Drops, Gummies and Pollenade, a botanical soft drink. They have all been developed with busy people in mind, so whether you are at home, work or on-the-go, there is a Pollen product that’s perfect for you.
“CBD is known for having a rather unique taste. I wanted our products to taste so delicious they felt like a treat. It was also absolutely essential for me that our products were outstanding in terms of quality, uncomplicated and were easy to fit in to my daily routine. Integrity and consumer confidence are key and our products are highly researched and tested by third parties.”
