It's been 4-years...that's wild.
While we launched CRAVEInfused in 2019, we actually conceptualized the brand in 2017. Sunday, December 3rd, 2017 to be exact.
I was studying for the second to last finals of my undergraduate career while simultaneously seeing a gentleman I was infatuated by (long story short, he ghosted me a few weeks into our dalliance but that's another story for another time). Anyways, after leaving his house at dawn, my mind was buzzing. A self-described stoner, I had little interest in smoking that day. Something in my brain needed to be released; and that something was CRAVEInfused.
When I started typing, it was around midnight. The moon was full and the sky, cloudy. By the next time I looked up, daylight was creeping its way into the night sky. The clouds had dispersed and so had my thoughts. I had spent over 6+ hours writing the business plan for what was then 'CRAVE.'
What followed, was a week of torment. One day I will tell the full story but what I wlll share in this 4-year anniversary blog, is that the week that followed after birthing my business was chaotic, cruel, yet cathartic. Within a span of 1-week, I was racially profiled and hospitalized, all while passing all of my senior finals!
Again, a story for another time. Though it wouldn't be 2-years until I publicly launched CRAVEInfused, for those 2-years, it always remained at the forefront of my mind. Always.
So on Saturday, August 24th, 2019, I put idea into action and launched CRAVEInfused! It was an event that was hosted by my mother and fellow entrepreneur, Sandra Patricia Salmon. Family and friends from all over New England came to support. Celebrated vegan bakery produced the dessert spread and drove 2-hours out of their way to come out! My best friend from childhood, Maya Lwazi Rose, helped me set up the night before and break down the night of. Aunts, uncles, cousins, and friends all voiced their support and some even offered to invest that day (an offer I've perpetually turned down as it has yet to make sense). That day was when the real work began.
For the next 2-years, I focused on the CRAVEInfused Cosmetics branch, hand-crafting products I felt comfortable selling to consumers. I conducted surveys among family and friends to obtain honest feedback before releasing it to the general public in December 2021. In 2022, our website launched and in January 2023, we were cleared to ship our products nationally!
After 3-years of focusing on CRAVEInfused Cosmetics, we expanded to include CRAVEInfused Curated Events. Since April, we've been hosting free and paid events throughout Rhode Island!
So where are we now...
As of September 2023, our main branches our CRAVEInfused Cosmetics and CRAVEInfused Curated Events. We also harbor a cooking show in CRAVEInfused Cooks, a blog in CRAVEInfused Curated Content, and consulting through CRAVEInfused Consulting, One of my mentors says that I'm throwing spaghetti on the wall to see what sticks... and I would whole-heartedly agree! While we have been featured in several publications including Providence Business News and Marijuana Moment, we are extremely limited in our resources as we are still a self-funded startup with a team of 1, me. So where we are at right now is that I have to be a bit more honest and realistic with my time. While our CBDInfused topicals aren't going anywhere; they will be limited "until supplies last" until I can bring someone onto the team to help me make the products.
As for CRAVEInfused Curated Events?
We have several events coming up for the rest of the year including:
- RI Social Equity Policy Salon Series Part 5: Monday, September 18 / 6:00pm-7:30pm / Lovewell Farms, 174 Woodville Alton Rd, Hope Valley, RI
- The Business of Cannabis Startups in Rhode Island: Monday, October 2nd / 1:00pm-2:30pm / Virtual
- That ?arty - Topical Making Demo!: Saturday, October 7th / 4:00pm-10:00pm / 65 Pottle Street, Kingston, MA
- Elevating Marginalized Voices - Impact of the War on Drugs: Thursday, November 2nd / 6:00pm - 9:00pm / 225 Dyer Street, Providence RI
- Celebration of Cannabis Legalization in Rhode Island: Friday, December 1st / 6:00pm - 10:00pm / TBD
All of the events that we're curating towards the end of the year are FREE!
We are taking a stance of prioritizing people over profit at a time when most Rhode Island cannabis businesses simply aren't. In time, we truly feel that the profit will come but as a business, we wouldn't be anything without our clientele (or the legacy market the got us here in the first place). So if there's a chance to advocate for them, we will take every opportunity to regardless of the repercussions.
So that's our 4-year update - oh; and 14% off all 8oz products for the next 44-days using code 4YEARS!
If I'm being truly honest; I'm a 27-year old business owner who is following my passion in hopes that it is helping people and will continue to. In everything I do, I hope to emit positive energy. As a startup, we are always evolving but as a people-first company, our mission has remained the same since inception, "highlighting the healing power of plants, while destigmatizing cannabis as simply another healing plant." That's what we prioritize, that is who we are.
Thank you for your support over these past 4-years and we're so excited to see where the next iteration of CRAVEInfused takes us!
Kind Regards,
Zara Ayanna Salmon
Founder & CEO, CRAVEInfused