Annika McCann, who wears all the hats at Primal Botanical CBD, is passionate about what she does.
Her primary mission at Primal Botanical CBD is to help people feel better without having to rely as much on medications because that is a win for everybody.
She sells CBD oils, rubs, body butters, bath salts, toffees, and I'm coming out with a new line of CBD massage oils this week.
Herbal Business Mission & Brand Messaging
Since Annika has been an herbalist for 30 years, she has a long history of making medicine from plants.
She makes everything herself, which is quite unusual in the CBD industry.
Unlike many other CBD oil products that are available in stores or for sale online, which are made using a CBD concentrate or a distillate or similar and mixed with a carrier oil, Annika makes all her CBD oils from scratch from locally grown hemp, with low and slow heat extraction, old school style. While she does use some CBD concentrate to boost the potency of some of her products, they're all based on her handmade oil.
Annika is also a nurse, which she brings out in her brand messaging too. When she sells her products at farmers markets, she puts up a sign with an arrow pointing at me that says:
“Questions about CBD? Ask a nurse!”
People say that they’ve always wondered about CBD and have greater trust in Annika to ask for her advice on specific questions because she is also a nurse. The sign is a great ice breaker that also increases her credibility at the same time.
It gives her the opportunity to talk about her favorite subject - CBD - all day long and, if she doesn’t know the answer, she will ask for contact details so that she can get back to them with a response later on.
Marketing Is A Challenge!
Keeping up with social media content creation can be a challenge if you run your own small herbal business.
It's not enough to be a fantastic herbalist because you need to wear all the hats:
- Photographer
- Videographer
- Writer
- Actor
- Editor
- Marketer
It can be really a challenge keeping up with everything!
In addition, the CBD field is a crowded, busy marketplace, and trying to get attention as a really small brand without an advertising budget is challenging when there are so many other voices out there.
For Annika, in-person marketing has been very effective, actually talking to people face to face at farmers markets and other events. People enjoy the personal connection and the knowledge that she shares and are very grateful for the clear and simple way that she explains things.
“The more people can know you, the more they'll trust you and the more they'll be likely to buy from you.”
She also gets a lot of referrals and word of mouth marketing from customers who are happy with her CBD products.
Language and Avoiding Health Claims
Marketing herbal and CBD products is event more difficult because there are limits to what herbalists are allowed to say, especially when it comes to health claims.
Instead, we need to come up with creative language to explain more about products without making direct claims.
This even includes reviews that customers leave on her website and if someone mentions that one of her oils “works great for arthritis” she would need to remove the review from her website because it is a health claim, even if not directly said by her.
Teaching CBD Class At Local Herb Store
Annika recently taught her first in person CBD class at a local herb store in New Hampshire that carries her products.
As someone who could just talk forever about CBD and really loves sharing her passion with other people and hearing what they have to say, it was a really fun experience.
She gave an introduction about what CBD is and what can be used for, as well as advice on how to find a good CBD product, best practices for taking CBD and some precautions about drug interactions. She also did a little demo and they made a custom CBD rub in house together and one of the participants got to take it home.
Annika got this opportunity because she noticed the new herb store in her area on Instagram, and decided to reach out to ask if they’d be interested in stocking her products. Following that, she noticed the various educational classes the store was offering and they asked her if she’d teach a class on CBD.
Regulations for Herbal Product Manufacturing
If you want to start an herbal business, you need to have a good understanding of the regulations on selling herbal products, such as good manufacturing practices and local licensing.
Ultimately, you shouldn't be breaking regulations and producing products that you're not allowed to legally sell.
This is our own responsibility as herbal business owners, and also a responsibility for the care of the customers and their safety.
Organic Certification For Herbal Products
Annika products at Primal Botanical CBD are also organic certified, which is another set of rules and paperwork to keep up with.
It certainly adds credibility to the product, being produced using organic methods, so it’s worth the effort but it's a big expense and a huge chunk of time to become certified.
Creating Instagram Reels
Annika gets inspiration from other accounts to make humorous reels that connect with her audience.
At first she was hesitant to show her face on video but with practice she’s become more confident and comfortable with being on camera.
If you are hesitant to start showing your face on video for your herbal brand, Annika share this great piece of wisdom:
“It doesn't have to be perfect. Don't let perfect be the enemy of the good. It's better to just something out there. Even if it's not super polished, it's still better than not having it out there at all.
Join us in the Herbal Circle!
The Herbal Circle is a small group of herbalists who help each other to create a world we are proud of.
We meet twice a month in "The Tea Room" to talk face-to-face (virtually) with other herbalists on LIVE video chats to work through any roadblocks and brainstorm creative solutions together on the call.
Each week, everyone in the group is prompted to share their wins and what they need help with so that we can help each other.