We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Lisa Hurwitz a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Lisa, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Let’s kick things off with your mission – what is it and what’s the story behind why it’s your mission?

Balancing a demanding global career and motherhood, I spent 10 years reliant on pharmaceuticals to sleep and provide anxiety relief. After a health scare opened my eyes to cannabis, I got a medical card in Illinois, experimented with alternatives, and eventually taught myself to sleep again using plant-based alternatives, including cannabis. This propelled a career change from corporate CPG into the cannabis industry in 2018.

Once in the cannabis industry, I noticed a recurring theme: there weren’t many options for low-dose, non-smokable cannabis products that catered to women. In late 2020, I began working on a women’s beverage brand with the hope of closing this gap. At the same time my co-founder, Joe Reynolds, observed a similar gap after a night spent with his wife and her friends sipping wine around a campfire. Many were interested in trying cannabis but didn’t know where to start.

In late 2020, Lisa’s and Joe’s paths merged, and Happi was born. Formulated with all-natural ingredients and a low dose of THC, Happi was designed to be an approachable and comfortable beverage option for those who believe that health and happiness go hand-in-hand. Since 2020, Happi has expanded to 40 states and can now be found in liquor and grocery stores in the US. Finally offering an easy, healthy, plant-based alternative to alcohol and a way to relax and sleep without the calories or the hangover.

Lisa, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

Happi was born in late 2020 after years in the cannabis industry where I was seeking an easy, non-smokable way to relax and unwind without the side effects of pharmaceuticals or alcohol. Formulated with all-natural ingredients and a low dose of THC, Happi is designed to be an approachable and comfortable beverage option for those who believe that health and happiness go hand-in-hand.

Happi is a portfolio of THC-infused beverages that are derived from hemp. Designed for any occasion, Happi has beverages for social occasions to replace alcohol in unique flavors like Raspberry Honeysuckle. But our most innovative products are Happi’s functional THC beverages designed specifically for relaxation – Happi Glow – and sleep – Happi Nightcap. As a pioneer in the functional THC beverage space, Happi has 2 unique formulations that help our consumers take the edge off of their day or drift off to sleep without the negative effects of a glass of wine before bed or a sleeping pill.

The functional aspect to Happi Glow and Happi Nightcap really sets us apart in the growing space of infused beverages. Happi is the pioneer in this space. We have formulated Glow and Nightcap to include functional mushrooms and a mix of cannabanoids, which really creates a magical effect of a light buzz and relaxation. And all our beverages are under 50 calories, contain no added sugar and are all natural and vegan. So we take the wellness aspect very seriously and believe that there is truly an alternative to alcohol and pharmaceuticals in Happi.

Lastly, Happi takes safety in this space very seriously. We test all our products in a lab and will only release our products on the market if they meet all our safety and quality standards. Since there is little consistent state-to-state regulation of hemp-derived beverages, Happi takes testing upon our selves and consumer safety and efficacy is at the forefront of what we do.

Have you ever had to pivot?

In 2022, after a year on and off the regulated cannabis market, it became clear that microdosed beverages were not a great fit for dispensaries. Dispensary customers were generally more cannabis savvy, looking for high dose products and mostly interested in smokables. In addition, beverages didn’t really have a place in most dispensaries as they were not equipped with coolers or displays.

So Happi was looking for a new way to get our healthy products into consumers hands when Minnesota legalized hemp-derived beverages in mid 2022. And it opened the door to a whole new industry. Happi quickly pivoted our manufacturing to Minnesota and starting offering a hemp-derived version of our core flavors in early 2023. Launching direct-to-consumer initially, Happi was able to share our unique hemp-derived formutations with more consumers and the business quickly took off.

The pivot to hemp-derived THC has allowed for almost national distribution direct-to-consumer and access to traditional retail in states well beyond Minnesota and we expect this growth to continue in 2024.

Any fun sales or marketing stories?

Selling infused beverages direct to consumer in 2023 was a huge unknown. Multiple consultants told us it would not work. Too heavy to ship, too complicated to sell online. But Happi’s consumers proved everyone wrong.

After 3 months in early 2023 of testing and learning our way thought DTC, we fully launched Happi online in May 2023 and the growth has been consistent month-over-month ever since. This required a huge learning curve – how to acquire consumers in a very highly regulated category was the first hurdle as cannabis cannot be advertised online and hemp regulations are very grey. Happi has a beautiful, colorful brand so we leaned into bold colors and consumer testimonials for our ads.

Next came retaining customers and launching a subscription model. Happi’s strength in the quality and taste of our products had our loyal consumers buying regularly so we designed a subscription model that would allow their favorite beverages to be delivered directly each month. And this has proven both a strong model for the business and for consumer loyalty.

Fast forward to January 2024 and we have a healthy, growing, multi-million dollar direct-to-consumer business that shows no signs of slowing.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://happihourdrink.com/
• Instagram: @happihourdrink.com
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lisa-hurwitz-3318571/

Image Credits
Jenny Yeun (only credit is for the Orange Glow can + glass shot with the cherries) All others do not need to be credited