Hemp Heros - How to Build a Wellness Brand Your Pets Will Love

The Story of a Brand

Ramon Vela

Business, Entrepreneurship

5 • 145 Ratings

🗓️ 26 March 2025

⏱️ 70 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

What does it take to build a premium wellness brand in one of the world's most regulated, misunderstood, and competitive industries?

In this episode, I sit down with David Hartigan, Founder and CEO of Hemp Heros, to talk about the real story behind his mission-driven CBD and functional mushroom company. From managing MMA fighters to becoming one of the few B Corp-certified hemp brands, David shares how a single moment of belief changed his life and how he's paying it forward through his business.

David takes us behind the scenes of launching into the U.S. market, setting up U.S.-based manufacturing, creating pet products that win hearts (and tails), and building multiple brands with integrity. He's also inspired by his mother’s health journey with a new mushroom line. He’s proof that success follows when you lead with quality and purpose.

🔑 Key Moments in This Episode:

💡 The surprising story of how an MMA sponsorship sparked a business idea

🧪 Why cold-pressed hemp is the game-changer in CBD products

🐾 How pets became their biggest product category and why they’re focusing on it in the U.S.

🌱 From B Corp to seed-to-shelf: how Hemp Heros stands out in a crowded market

🇺🇸 The bold move to manufacture in the U.S. and launch with purpose-built packaging

Join me, Ramon Vela, in listening to this inspiring and informative conversation with David Hartigan about passion, perseverance, and premium wellness done right.

For more on Hemp Heros, visit https://hempheros.com/

For more on Blynk, visit https://www.blynkdrinks.com/

If you enjoyed this episode, please leave The Story of a Brand Show a rating and review.

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Today’s Sponsors:

Compass Rose Ventures - Advisor for CPG Brands: https://compassroseventures.com/contact/

Compass Rose Ventures can help your CPG brand increase customer lifetime value, expand into the US market, create an omnipresent omnichannel footprint, optimize customer journeys, build brand communities, and more. Visit the link above to learn more.

Augmentum Media - Influencer Marketing for Consumer Brands: https://www.augmentum-media.com/story

What secret do fast-growing Health and Wellness brands like Xtendlife, Nourished, and Hunter & Gather share? They all outsource their influencer marketing to the experts at Augmentum. Augmentum is offering "The Story of a Brand Show" listeners a 30-minute consulting session AND a personalized influencer strategy plan built by their experts for you to implement either with them or in-house. Visit the link above to learn more.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Now, the way we do things is completely different.
0:03.0	We actually don't use any chemicals and we use high pressure low heat.
0:07.0	So most people in the US, when they see a CBD product, it's usually a very clear color or it's kind of a yellowy color.
0:13.0	Ours is black like engine oil.
0:15.0	So like I'll show you here, like this is a bottle of our 15.
0:18.0	Like you can see how dark that is.
0:20.0	Yeah. So it's really, really dark.
0:22.4	And again, when I speak to people, it actually makes logical sense because hemp is a dark green plant.
0:29.2	It's similar color to spinach.
0:30.8	So, like, if you put spinach in a blender, you'd expect it to come out dark where all
0:35.9	the stuff you see in the US is yellow or clear.
0:38.2	And you don't get a dark plant to reduce the yellow clear oil without processing it.
0:42.5	And like anything, the more process it is, the less effective it becomes.
0:47.0	So because we coal press, it's a much higher quality, it's much better absorption.
0:51.4	From an environmental standpoint, it's chemical free.
0:54.4	And overall, it just gives you better value for money.
1:07.4	Hey, everyone, this is Ramon Vela, and this is another episode of the story of a brand.
1:12.6	Like always, we have an amazing founder and brand that we're going to feature on today's show.
1:16.6	And today I have a treat.
1:18.6	But before we do, before we get into and dive into this amazing brand,
1:22.6	Hi, I speak to hundreds of founders and CEOs of consumer brands each year, and they are facing
1:29.9	unprecedented challenges.
	...

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