We recently connected with Hannah Rubin and have shared our conversation below.

Hannah, appreciate you joining us today. We’d love to go back in time and hear the story of how you came up with the name of your brand?

The story behind the name Half Baked Bus began with a run down 32ft school bus listed on Craigslist. Inspired by the bus, I chose the name Half Baked Bus for my brand. The award-winning subscription box mirrors the Half Baked Bus, incorporating its name throughout our brand. The Half Baked Bus logo, with its name, appears on our products, paraphernalia, and CBD topicals. Even our event budtending tables were designed around the Half Baked Bus, reinforcing the name in every aspect of our brand. Half Baked Bus serves as a blueprint for a mobile smoke shop, embodying the essence of van life. From a humble bus, our mascot and name have become a driving force for our brand and events. Back
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As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

My journey began when I discovered the incredible benefits of medical marijuana for treating my insomnia and nurturing my mental health. After experiencing the positive effects, my passion for cannabis merged with my love of my weed bus, giving birth to my brand, Half Baked Bus. What sets Half Baked Bus apart is our dedication to supporting local artisans and the “buy local” movement. All our goods are either handmade or hand crafted in America and Canada, ensuring high quality and fostering a strong sense of community. The personal connection with each artisan ensures that our customers receive the best products hand made with love. By partnering with local artisans I am able to create unique product collaborations, such as customized ceramic paraphernalia or felt pillows modeled to resemble our bus.

Half Baked Bus offers a range of lifestyle products, all inspired by the bus that started it all. Our selection includes handmade CBD topicals, ceramic paraphernalia, patches, a rolling tray, and unique items like a recycled rubber dab mat, all crafted with the essence of the bus in mind. The CBD topicals are made with American CBD and are independently lab-tested for purity. Our award-winning subscription boxes feature handmade smoking accessories, wellness essentials, and lifestyle necessities for the traveling stoner, all from our Half Baked Bus product line. The Half Baked Bus box itself is recyclable, taking inspiration from our 1967 Bluebird School bus conversion, with unique design features like Half Baked smoke in the front window and QR codes inside the bus windows that lead to social media.

After planning my own weed wedding and witnessing the need for weed wedding services, I expanded Half Baked Bus to offer wedding and event budtending in Canada and American states with legalized cannabis. Our budtending tables are modeled after the Half Baked Bus, creating a unique and immersive experience for guests. We provide similar services to a bartender, but instead of alcohol, our budtenders offer a cannabis experience for guests. Included in the wedding budtender service is a variety of paraphernalia and everything needed to roll into the high life. In America, a complimentary CBD bar is included, allowing guests to enjoy the cannabis experience without the psychoactive effects. Half Baked Bus hosts activitieshas other event services such as Stoner Bingo and crafting parties, with options like painting your own pipe or creating CBD topicals with a Half Baked Bus gift box included. For cannabis crafters or bingo hosts, their is a choice between an in-person or virtual host through live video streaming. Our brand ambassadors are available to roll to most locations in North America. Half Baked Bus embraces a lifestyle for the HIPPIE in all of us.

We’d love to hear about how you keep in touch with clients.

When I started my company, I initiated an influencer campaign to attract customers and build brand loyalty. Collaborating with various influencers, I was able to generate reposts of my box. Gaining attention with tiny home specific influencers allowed me to create a community around my brand. I actively vend at festivals throughout America and Canada, providing me with the perfect opportunity to personally connect with customers and foster brand loyalty. Traveling to festivals across North America enables my customer base to participate in these events and form meaningful connections with the brand. To strengthen the sense of community, I organize events like “stoner bingo” with my Half Baked Bus boxes as prizes. This brings people together for a fun and engaging experience instrumental in building lasting relationships with clients and nurturing brand loyalty.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

Prior to the pandemic, my business primarily revolved around in-person events throughout North America. However, when the pandemic hit I needed to pivot and find new ways to sustain and grow my business I turned to articles and YouTube videos to teach myself about SEO. Through pivoting to self taught SEO I was able to increase my customer base. Additionally, I created unique stoner activities that could be done as virtual events to adapt. While I had previously included stoner crafting activities in my box, like paint your own pipe or make your own CBD topicals, I now expanded into virtual hosted events. I organized and hosted the first-ever virtual stoner bingo, successfully bringing people together virtually for a fun and engaging experience.

The pandemic also inspired me to innovate and transform products from my brand. For instance, I took my felt pillowcase, which was handmade to look like the Half Baked Bus, and turned it into a make-your-own weed bus pillow party, providing a fun and creative activity for customers to enjoy from home. Drawing from my own experience hosting a weed wedding, I identified an opportunity to create a wedding budtender service. The wedding budtender service offers a unique and tailored cannabis experience for couples and guests, providing a special touch to their wedding celebrations. Throughout the pandemic, I embraced the challenge of pivoting and found new ways to adapt and thrive in the ever-changing landscape. These experiences not only helped my business endure difficult times but also allowed me to explore new possibilities and diversify my offerings.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://halfbakedbus.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/halfbakedbus
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/halfbakedbus
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hannahru/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/halfbakedbus
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCV0Kyne3MJueXy_QFs79UUw

Image Credits
Myself and Husband Ricardo Batho