Ten Years, One Journey
The human story of how we built this.
A Knee Injury Sparked an Idea
Our CEO Laura had her own experience with a topical, and it changed how she thought about her own self-care. She and Zach dove in headfirst, learning everything they could. A few months later, The Healing Rose was born, named after their beloved dog, Rose.
We introduced ourselves to the world for the first time in December 2016, on the very day that hemp & cannabis was legalized in Massachusetts. We had no investors, no family money, just the money in our savings and really high hopes.
Building the Foundation
We moved into our first production space in 2017, which was a 900 sq. ft. rental in Andover, Massachusetts.
We spent these two years on the road, coast to coast, traveling the country to introduce our brand and meet the people that worked so hard to make this industry what it is today. We also hired our first employees, and NECANN recognized us as Best New England Company that year. Looking back, it might be the time we are most fond of across all ten years.
The Ups and the Downs
With the 2018 Farm Bill now in effect, our industry finally had real legitimacy under federal law. We packed up and moved to Newburyport, the town we still call home today.
Almost immediately, Massachusetts moved to ban edible hemp products, the largest and most lucrative part of the market. This threatened our growth and put a ceiling over us. Our entire life savings was into this, and we didn't have investors to fall back on. That year, Laura organized her first State House rally, and out of that fight, the Massachusetts Hemp Coalition was born.
On a lighter note, we also launched our very first TV commercial that year.
A Year Like No Other
The pandemic changed everything for us overnight. Events were cancelled, our team had to stay home, and for three months it was just our family keeping the business alive.
That same year, the fight from 2019 paid off. The Survive and Thrive amendment passed, opening the door for hemp products to finally reach licensed dispensaries. NECANN also named Laura Massachusetts Cannabis Activist of the Year, a nice reminder that the fight was actually being noticed.
Planting Our Flag
We earned our USDA Organic certification and got our first certified organic products on shelves. We were the first hemp brand in Massachusetts to achieve organic certification. This was also the year Laura and Zach welcomed their first children.
That same year, we launched our first THC product into MA dispensaries alongside Garden Remedies.
We also partnered with a company that placed our products in front of more than twenty celebrities. Nothing came of it directly, but it was a genuinely exciting moment, seeing how far this little brand that started in our kitchen had traveled.
Growing and Growing
You started finding us everywhere, dispensaries, wellness studios, and retail shops across the Northeast. What began in a small room in Andover had become a real, growing business.
In 2022, our salves, including our hero product, Lemon Ginger Salve, earned their own organic certification. The following year, we launched our now widely popular Cocoa Melts.
NECANN also recognized us in 2023 with their Champion in Corporate Social Responsibility award, honoring the community work behind the growth, not just the growth itself.
Setting the Example
In 2024, we launched our Vanilla Mint Salve, which quickly became our third most popular product.
Around the same time, as synthetic, high-potency products flooded gas stations and smoke shops, we knew this trend wasn't going to end well for anyone, especially all the good actors trying to do this right.
Laura started meeting directly with local regulators, trying to bridge the gap between the people doing this the right way and the people writing the rules. It hasn't led anywhere just yet, but it mattered that we tried.
Ten Years, and Just Getting Started
Our products were featured in Dr. Sanjay Gupta's Weed 8 series on CNN. New THC products are on the way to dispensaries in Massachusetts at the end of the year.
Laura took the fight to Washington, D.C. and the Massachusetts State House, lobbying directly for sensible hemp regulation. We're also in the middle of our first official clinical trial, working alongside world-renowned doctors and institutions.
Along the way, we've also picked up seven NECANN Best Topical awards. Here's to ten years, and everything still ahead.