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4 Reasons You Should Be Meditating, From a Man Who Sold His Company for $130 Million

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Khajak Keledjian is on a mission to disarm anxiety and build clarity to entrepreneurs.


4 min read


The year 2013 was a big one for Khajak Keledjian. He’d sold his luxury apparel company Intermix to Gap for a reported $130 million, got married and went to Burning Man. After walking into a temple, Keledjian saw other Burners meditating and having reflective moments. “It made me think, ‘Why aren’t there places like this to have a similar experience in big cities like New York?’” he told Entrepreneur.

“The following November my father got sick while he was visiting Armenia. I went there to be with him and I also visited third-century monasteries built inside caves. They were bathed in candlelight and in this environment, my senses were heightened,” Keledjian recalled. Again, he was left with a desire to bring the quiet and tranquility back home with him. So he went for it.

Related: 7 Proven Ways Meditating Prepares You for Success

The result was Inscape, a New York City meditation studio and shop, app and ecommerce site, that he founded and serves as CEO of.

Credit: INSCAPE

“I knew that to help people live to their fullest and navigate everyday stressors and challenges, we needed to create both an oasis and a tool,” he explained. “We drew inspiration from nature, history, technology, art — not just one thing. Then, we created app our to deliver efficient guided experiences to solve everyday problems, so you can recenter and recharge quickly, wherever you are.”

Keledjian cites some pretty telling statistics when asked about the health and wellness market he’s now working in.

  • Anxiety disorders affect 40 million adults in America. (ADAA)
  • One in three Americans have some form of a sleep disorder, resulting in shorter recommended sleep duration. (CDC)
  • Eight in 10 Americans said they encountered stress in their everyday lives. (Gallup Poll)

Keledjian said it is his company’s mission “to inspire people to connect with their best selves and live life to its fullest potential.” Here’s how he says meditation can help do that.

Related: I Tried This Oprah Meditation Hack Every Day for Two Weeks. Here What Happened

1. It helps with problem-solving.

“Being a busy CEO when I started meditating it helped me find answers to tough decisions that weren’t in the books. In 2008, the economy was crashing and I needed answers you couldn’t find on Google. Meditation helped me harness my intuition, think clearly and take bold risks, like selling my business and starting INSCAPE.”

2. It relieves stress.

“Meditation reduces stress and cortisol levels, which are a result of people everywhere being overstimulated and stressed. With reduced cortisol, you’re not activating your fight-or-flight response —  you can respond more and react less. So rather than losing my cool if something doesn’t go as planned, I take a breath and focus on how to re-navigate to get back on course. This can be budgets, timelines, a surprise meeting — anything that catches you off-guard.”

Related: This is How Meditation at Workplace Can Improve Employee Efficiency

3. It re-energizes you.

“Improved sleep is priceless. Meditation helps you sleep better and deeper. I wake up without an alarm, feeling rested. Our App’s sleep section helps me get my little girls to sleep, and it helps me relax and reset.”

4. It helps you find clarity.

“Meditation helps me think with an aerial perspective like I’m in a drone. Sometimes the clarity means I can come off as shrewd, or fast. But the clarity also gives me a horizon view, and my compassion has increased … so there’s a balance. This also helps me in my personal life, as a husband and father.”



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TONL Offers Diverse Stock Photos to Promote Inclusion

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Representation matters. That’s more than just a hypothesis; it’s the value proposition on which Karen Okonkwo and Joshua Kissi based their new business.

Karen and Joshua met through a friend, connecting easily as entrepreneurs and first-generation African immigrants. At the time, Karen ran a blog — among other things — and often lamented about how stock photography was stale and homogenous. Joshua, on the other hand, was a photographer and Creative Director. Wouldn’t it be great, they surmised, to create a stock photography site that offers more diverse images and changes the status quo? They both loved the idea but were at capacity, so they tabled it as a “coulda-woulda-shoulda.”

The tragic stories of two black men – Alton Sterling and Philando Castile – became an “aha” moment for Karen and Joshua: the only way to combat the devastating effects of systemic racism and racial profiling is to change the narrative around ethnic representation. And, thus, TONL was born.

We spoke to Karen and Joshua about how they’re revolutionizing the stock photography market with added color and perspective. Here’s what they had to say:

Q: How did you go about bringing this vision to life?

Karen Okonkwo (KO): We started by surveying as many people as we could — industry people, friends, whomever — to see if the idea was even viable. The general consensus was that the current stock photography wasn’t relatable. So once we had some real data to back this up, we went full throttle and gave ourselves a year to launch. We worked and planned like crazy, but it was hard since we lived on different coasts. Everything went down to the wire, but we pulled it off in the end.

Q: What’s been the response to TONL?

KO: It’s been received really well. We’re still in our infancy, of course, but we have a growing client list that includes Fortune 500 companies as well as smaller mom-and-pop operations. Above all else, we have a passionate community. We love seeing people get so excited about our work.

TONL Founders, Joshua Kissi and Karen Okonkwo

Q: What are your goals for TONL?

Joshua Kissi (JK): We want to bring a new standard to stock photography, to change the narrative for people of all categories. People and companies often talk about the importance of diversity, but they don’t always back it up with their actions. We want TONL to be a global image resource, and we hope to grow it as much as possible while still maintaining our authenticity. That means capturing as many different categories, perspectives, and nationalities as we can. Does that involve launching in multiple countries? Who knows. But these are some of the things we think about.

TONL Offers Diverse Stock Photos to Promote Inclusion

Source: TONL

Q: TONL’s growth has been fun to watch. Was this a factor in choosing Salesforce Essentials and CRM?

KO: Sales was definitely top of mind. We have East Coast and West Coast sales reps, so it was important to have a central place for them to track opportunities. I use Salesforce in my “other life” in medical sales, so I knew how it worked. Salesforce Essentials had just come out around the time we launched, and it seemed like a perfect fit for us since it’s designed to help small businesses grow. It had everything we needed, so it was an easy decision for us.

Q: Why is it so important to celebrate diversity?

JK: There’s no downside to diversity. On an individual level, it empowers people to be themselves. On a business level, it helps companies tap into new markets and reach new audiences. The greatest contribution we can make through our platform of diverse stock photography is giving people a true sense of belonging. That’s what drives us.

TONL Offers Diverse Stock Photos to Promote Inclusion

Source: TONL

Q: The “Narratives” section of TONL’s website is fascinating. Why did you choose to include narratives from the models in your photos?

KO: We added the narratives to tell a different story than what’s oftentimes (falsely) portrayed in the media about certain ethnic groups. Black victims, more often than not, get reduced to criminals, which leads to racial profiling. We wanted to do something different and shed a brighter light on people from all kinds of ethnic backgrounds in order to show the world that they, too, are just normal people — real people with real personalities. We wanted to give them a voice and let them be themselves.

Q: Is there one TONL image that outsells the rest?

KO: Yes, this one’s our bestseller:

TONL Offers Diverse Stock Photos to Promote Inclusion

Source: TONL

Q: You’re both entrepreneurs with successful launches under your belts. What advice do you have for someone thinking about starting a business?

KO: My advice is simple: know your “why.” Ideas come and go, but you have to know the reason you’ll get up to work on even your lowest days. If you’re working with someone else, your why’s have to be aligned. If one person views the startup as a business and the other person sees it as a passion project, you’ve got a situation where two people are working together with different why’s. The why – not the what – is most important.

TONL Offers Diverse Stock Photos to Promote Inclusion

Source: TONL

Check out TONL’s website to see how entrepreneurs Karen Okonkwo and Joshua Kissi are disrupting the stock photography market and affecting change.

Then download The Impact of Quality and Values Driven Business Report to gain insights from more than 1,500 business professionals on workplace equality and values driven leadership trends.

Republished by permission. Original here.

Photo via Salesforce

More in: Dreamforce, Salesforce, Sponsored



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A Comprehensive Comparison of the Best Ones to Own

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Image Credit: Pixabay on Pexels

There has never been a better time to own a pet franchise. After all, 70% of all American households have pets. That’s an estimated 85 million homes and growing. Pet ownership has been on the rise every year during the past two decades. Plus, there’s no end in sight. All of these factors point to strong revenue growth in the pet franchises and dog grooming industry.

 

What Does This Mean for Possible Owners of Pet Franchises?

Investing and managing your own pet franchise has never been easier. Pet care services is a $100 billion global industry. And, according to the American Pet Products Association (APPA), it’s growing.

Now is the perfect time to capitalize on the increasing demand. Invest in one of the many successful pet franchises available. It’s time to achieve and even exceed your financial goals and dreams. What’s more, the best part about owning a pet franchise is that it is one of the most stress-free careers possible. That’s because you’ll be dealing with adorable little doggie clients coming in for their grooming.

 

RELATED ARTICLE: BUYING A FRANCHISE? 3 TIPS THAT WILL LEAD YOU TOWARD SUCCESS

 

Should I Invest in a Pet Franchise?

Are you a pet lover? The most successful franchisees are in love with dogs. This isn’t a skill that can be taught. However, it is one you’ll need in order to be truly successful in the pet franchise industry.

 

What Are the Pros and Cons of Owning a Pet Franchise?

Pros:

  • The biggest advantage of buying into an established franchise is the strength of the brand and the loyalty of its customers.
  • Another advantage is marketing support. Franchises often have the support of national campaigns. Additionally, they have prepared marketing materials for local campaigns.
  • Business support is another aid. There’s a saying in franchising: “You’re in business for yourself, but not by yourself.” It’s less stressful when you know you have a network of support behind you.
  • Training, too, is important. Franchise owners know the best techniques that will help you to become the most successful franchisee possible.
  • Financial assistance is another advantage. Many franchisors provide loans and other assistance to help franchisees.

It’s important to note that billionaire investor Jimmy Buffett, who is a Krispy Kreme franchisee, recommends investing in franchises that have high annual growth.

Cons:

 The initial payout is always inevitable. However, some franchise fees and start-up costs can be inordinately expensive.

  • Royalty payments can be also very expensive. What’s more, as a franchisee, you will have to pay some percentage of the monthly gross back to your franchisor.
  • Limited creativity can also become a factor. Most franchise contracts have very explicit standards. However, it’s important to remember that these are usually in place to help you to be as successful as possible.

 

What Is the Best Pet Franchise for Me to Invest In?

Of all the pet franchises, which one is the best franchise to invest in? Following is a list of the pros and cons of the most successful pet franchises. Here they are, in no specific order.

Dogtopia

Dogtopia is an award-winning dog daycare, boarding, and spa provider. They pride themselves on being a place where pets are valued as family and dogs enjoy playtime. Dogtopia welcomes social dogs of all ages, sizes, breeds, and abilities. The company was founded by Amy Nichols in 2002 and began franchising in 2005.

Dogtopia Pros:

  • Their target customer is the largest demographic in North American history, women millennials.
  • They offer a strong business model. Labor costs are the only key variable expense.
  • Additionally, they offer best-practice sharing workshops with other leading franchises.

Dogtopia Cons:

  • Former employees give Dogtopia mixed reviews. This could indicate a high employee turnover rate.
  • Dogtopia requires a large upfront investment that can range between $416K to $1.07M. This is nearly twice the initial investment that their competitors on this list require.

 

Splash and Dash Groomerie & Boutique

Splash and Dash Groomerie & Boutique is an emerging brand. It’s a fast-growing dog franchise that has been breaking growth records along the way. As a matter of fact, Splash and Dash was featured in Inc. Magazine’s list of the country’s 500 fastest-growing companies. What’s more, they were featured not just once, but three times.

From the Splash and Dash website:

“Walking into a Splash and Dash is a unique experience. A bright and eye-pleasing color palette is the first thing customers notice—an inviting, upscale ambiance. Splash and Dash offers the healthiest all-natural foods and treats for their dogs. The toys are eco-friendly. The haircuts are adorable. Remarkably, the prices are affordable and competitive compared to other pet franchises.”

Splash and Dash Pros:

  • Their signature service membership is unique. What’s more, it is easily the franchise’s biggest advantage. This service offers customers unlimited monthly bath and brush for a fixed price. This means a shop owner profits from a recurring revenue stream.
  • Top-of-the-line IT support and proprietary software help a franchise owner to run and operate their business, a key element for success. Shop owners receive extensive training to learn this software. Thereafter, they have the corporate IT team at their disposal.
  • The marketing resources provided by Splash and Dash Groomerie & Boutique give franchises a proven business plan. Moreover, the company aims for franchisees to break even within six months after opening.
  • Online reviews are always four- and five-star ratings, in contrast with many other dog groomers. These ratings stem from the extensive training they provide their franchisees, as well as their business model. What’s more, your Splash and Dash franchise will rate the highest on Google Search in your locale. In other words, customers will always see your business at the top naturally.
  • Splash and Dash requires only a modest overall investment compared to their competitors on this list. This ranges between $150K to $175K.

Splash and Dash Cons:

  • Splash and Dash, as an emerging brand, does not yet have national name recognition yet.
  • They emphasize strict guidelines to keep franchisees on track. However, these guidelines have proven to lead to success for franchisees.
  • Franchises have to complete with warehouse pet stores such as Petco. On the other hand, these outlets don’t offer niche products and services like small-scale franchises do.

 

Camp Bow Wow

Camp Bow Wow provides a fun, safe, and upscale environment where dogs can play and receive lots of love and attention. They provide a doggy day camp for clients who wish to drop their dogs off in the morning and pick them up in the evening. Additionally, they offer overnight boarding for clients who travel.

Camp Bow Wow Pros:

  • Overnight dog boarding isn’t common among dog franchises.
  • Facilities are monitored 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
  • They offer a great business model that comes with good brand recognition.

Camp Bow Wow Cons:

  • A former employee complained that the lack of a good screening program for dogs led to dog fights at the facility.
  • Similarly to Dogtopia, there seems to be a high employee turnover rate.
  • The franchise requires a large upfront investment that can range between $860K to $1.19M.

 

 

The Final Word

Before deciding to own a pet franchise or dog franchise, you should do plenty of due diligence. Research prospective companies thoroughly. Moreover, learn how consumers already feel about each of the pet franchises you’re considering. Additionally, get to know how current and former employees feel about the franchise. And gain a comprehensive understanding of local marketing and community involvement as well as a clear understanding of the real estate development process.

Finally, make sure that working with others’ pets is something you would really enjoy doing. If this is true for you, then owning a pet franchise could be a rewarding experience for you.



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6 Valuable Tips to Help You Start an Organic Food Delivery Business

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Have you been looking for viable commercial opportunities? One of the most interesting options right now is an organic food delivery business. With more and more Americans focusing on eating a healthy diet, organic food is in demand.

 

RELATED ARTICLE: 4 TIPS THAT WILL HELP YOU WITH STARTING YOUR OWN BUSINESS

 

You Have a Ready Target Audience

Organic food sales are picking up in a big way. PRNewswire has released results of a survey on the eating habits of Americans for 2018. Close to 67% of consumers now choose nutritious foods when shopping for groceries. They want foods that are free of preservatives, chemicals, added sugar, trans fats, and other harmful ingredients.

Further, 47% of shoppers check labels of products carefully for added sugars and avoid buying them. Moreover, 37% of Americans are likely to reject products that contain artificial and chemical food colors or additives. What’s more, both men and women are conscious about buying foods that are sustainably produced.

Patrick Moorhead is the chief marketing officer at Label Insight. He reveals to PRNewswire, “It is no surprise that the majority of consumers are asking brands and retailers to provide more insight and clarity about their products. With so many Americans seeking healthy and socially conscious food, knowing what is in it and how it is processed is a more important selling point now than ever.”

Given this scenario, an organic food delivery business may be the best idea. That’s because your target audience is ready to purchase the products you offer them.

 

Source Products for Your Organic Food Delivery Service from Local Farms

Whether you’re serving ready-to-eat meals or organic meal prep delivery, sourcing the ingredients for your customers is easy. You can buy the food you need from local farms that grow produce using natural fertilizers such as compost and manure. Visit the farms and talk to their owners about the kinds of seeds and other inputs they use. In this way, you can get complete assurance of the purity of the fresh produce you buy.

You could also buy dairy products, meats, and eggs from farms that raise their livestock on the feeds that nature intended them to eat. What’s more, if you can reliably assure your customers that your farmers treat all their livestock humanely, you would have yet another good selling point.

Buying from local farms also helps you to provide the freshest of ingredients. Some of them, perhaps, were even picked the same morning. Thus, you’ll avoid the addition of preservatives that your consumers are so wary about. Additionally, an important positive of buying from these farms is that you will be supporting the community, a factor that your customers are sure to appreciate. In addition, by eliminating agents and middlemen, you can economize on the costs of the supplies you need for your organic food delivery business.

Eliminate the Cost of Packaging Materials

One of the main costs you’re likely to incur is that of packaging materials. While cling wraps, aluminum foil, disposable cutlery, and plastic boxes add to the convenience of delivery, they are wasteful. Using these materials also contributes to non-degradable trash that can eventually find its way into landfills. Choose the greener alternative for your organic food delivery business by opting for more economical methods. Suggest using reusable stainless steel utensils, wooden boxes, and glass mason jars to deliver the food. You can collect the containers on the next drop-off round. Then wash them and deliver food in them again.

Given that your customers are committed to eating healthy, sustainable food, they are sure to welcome your efforts to go green. In addition, you’ll save on the processing costs that most commercial food companies incur. Moreover, you’ll avoid the expenses they have for transporting their products over long distances. Maybe you could pass some of the savings to your customers with reduced pricing and discounts.

 

Cater to a Specific Radius

The unique selling proposition of an organic food delivery business is freshness. A good move is to begin by catering to customers within a particular radius from your operating base. In this way, the only cost you’ll incur is for refrigerating the food to keep it edible. When you’re ready to expand your business because of growing demand, be prepared to set up your next outlet so that it is close to a good organic farm.

organic food delivery 3

Offer to Deliver Produce in Bulk

Most of your customers are likely to be working professionals and busy families that don’t have time for food shopping. Check out this article on GoDaddy that suggests you offer the option of ordering food for an entire week packaged in meal-sized portions. Deliver over the weekend when working people are likely to be home. This will give them time to put away their supplies to use through the week. In this way, you can economize in the cost of transporting the food each day. Again, you could offer discounted costs.

 

Create a Website so Prospective Clients Can Find You

For your organic food delivery business to be successful, you absolutely need to take it online. Creating a great website is easy. Even novices can simply follow the steps clearly outlined on various WordPress and other content management systems. Get an Internet-savvy friend to help you set it up and you’re good to go.

Other effective advertising channels include putting up flyers at your community center. What’s more, word-of-mouth advertising will be a big boon. Begin by reaching out to neighbors, friends, family members, and any other people you know who are committed to good health, nutrition, and going green. Like Matt Ewer reveals to BusinessNewDaily, many people would welcome the opportunity to choose healthier foods. However, they just don’t know how to source it conveniently. This is the audience you’ll want to capture.

 

An Organic Food Delivery Service Is a Smart Opportunity

Starting an organic food delivery business is possibly one of the smartest opportunities available today. There is a massive market just waiting for you. Go ahead and make your mark.



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Facebook Makes Stories Ads Available to All Users – Including Small Businesses

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Facebook Stories Ads Available to All Users

After testing ads on Facebook Stories in May of this year, the company just announced the feature is now available to all advertisers around the world — and that includes small businesses.

Facebook Stories and Messenger Stories have grown to 300 million daily users each. The availability of the two platforms for advertising means new ad placement options for businesses looking to reach this audience.

For small businesses who use Facebook, the new ad units will deliver a full screen, immersive environment ad targeting and analytics capabilities. You will also be able to take your stories ad campaigns to Messenger in the near future.

The Reach of Stories

An Ipsos survey carried out for Facebook IQ revealed 68% of people indicated they use Stories on at least three apps on a regular basis. Another 63% said they plan on using stories even more in the future.

Stories are also optimized for the way people use their phone, which is mostly (90%) vertically. The full-screen view allows users to watch images and videos right away.

(function(d, s, id) { var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0]; if (d.getElementById(id)) return; js = d.createElement(s); js.id = id; js.src = ‘https://connect.facebook.net/en_US/sdk.js#xfbml=1&version=v3.1’; fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs);}(document, ‘script’, ‘facebook-jssdk’));

FBB Blog: Introducing Facebook Stories Ads

Posted by Facebook Business on Tuesday, September 25, 2018

Across all of its platforms, Facebook has more than 1.1 billion people using stories. This includes 400M+ on Instagram Stories, 300M+ on Facebook Stories and 450M+ on WhatsApp Status every day.

Facebook says this will eventually lead to Stories surpassing the sharing which takes place in Feeds sometime in 2019.

The Reason Stories is Working

Shortly after Instagram Stories ads was launched in 2017, advertiser embraced the way it was able to connect consumers and brands. In the US 73% of people said Stories made it possible to experience new things outside their everyday lives.

This led Companies large and small around the world to start using the Stories ads. And it resulted in 58% of people stating they are more interested in a brand or product after seeing it in Stories.

 

(function(d, s, id) { var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0]; if (d.getElementById(id)) return; js = d.createElement(s); js.id = id; js.src = ‘https://connect.facebook.net/en_US/sdk.js#xfbml=1&version=v3.1’; fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs);}(document, ‘script’, ‘facebook-jssdk’));

FBB Blog: Introducing Facebook Stories Ads

Posted by Facebook Business on Tuesday, September 25, 2018

Their interest also led to action as 58% said it was responsible for them going to the brand’s website to get additional information. One in two of the people visiting the site did so to buy the product, while another 31% made their purchase in a retail store.

Stories for Small Business

One of the more important data points from the Facebook survey is 46% of users wanted Stories from brands to offer tips or advice.

This is something a small business can do easily to provide value for their customers and keep engaging on social media.

When a consumer identifies your brand with value, it will eventually turn into conversions on your website or retail outlet.

Image: Facebook

This article, “Facebook Makes Stories Ads Available to All Users – Including Small Businesses” was first published on Small Business Trends





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Receive Exciting Tips for Building a Better eCommerce Site in This Free eBook

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Sponsored Post

Receive Exciting Tips for Building a Better eCommerce Site in This Free eBook

Are you making as much from your ecommerce website as you should?

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Whether your ecommerce website is a stand alone business or part of a larger operation, it represents a significant investment.

You may have paid a web designer to build the site or a developer to modify an existing ecommerce platform.

There are domain name and hosting fees, of course. You may have also paid for pay per click or other online advertising to get the initial traffic trickling in.

Then there’s the hours of time — spent by you or your team — creating social media campaigns  and content marketing pieces to engage and convert your audience into paying customers.

So if, after everything else, your sales remain anemic and your shopping carts are empty — or being abandoned before checkout — all this effort and expense is in vain.

Fortunately, creating an effective ecommerce business is very doable with the right knowledge.

In this new ebook you’ll learn:

  • How to audit an ecommerce site to find opportunities for improvement
  • How to SEO an ecommerce website to improve search engine ranking
  • How to review your ecommerce site’s responsive template
  • Best practices to optimize your site for better conversions

Of course, you may already be doing great in sales on your ecommerce site. But could you be doing better?

The world of ecommerce is becoming a very competitive place. Not only are there many other smaller merchants like you. But there are the big guys as well: Amazon, Ebay and more.

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By downloading this FREE ebook today, of course!

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This article, “Receive Exciting Tips for Building a Better eCommerce Site in This Free eBook” was first published on Small Business Trends





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‘Microdosing Moms’ and ‘Divorced Dads’ Emerge Among Cannabis Consumers

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Thanks to legalization and the ability to consume discretely by vaping or snacking on edibles, ever more adults are using cannabis.


3 min read

Opinions expressed by Green Entrepreneur contributors are their own.


According to a recent study out of New York University, Baby Boomers aged 50 to 64 are consuming a lot more weed than they used to last decade, with 9 percent of those surveyed disclosing marijuana use in the last year. The report made headlines across the world, as many were surprised to learn American grandparents are picking up the herb.

However, a new report by Green Market Report and Brightfield Group (sponsored by MedMen) highlights two other big groups of unexpected cannabis consumers: Divorced Dads and Microdosing Moms.

The people behind the report in question reviewed data from MedMen cannabis dispensaries sales in California, and discovered that, while marijuana use is still highest among men under the age of 40, demographics are changing fast. Here’s a quick snapshot of the main findings:

  • Roughly 42 percent of MedMen customers are aged of 21 to 31.
  • Adults aged 32 to 38 came in second, representing with 21 percent of customers.
  • Adults between the ages of 39 and 53 make up the third largest group of MedMen customers.
  • Approximately 14 percent of customers are aged 54 or more.

“Our personas were developed using a mixed-method approach of machine learning and cluster analysis supported by content and qualitative expertise applied with scrutiny,” said Director of Research Bethany Gomez. Other interesting groups identified by the report include Boomerangs (Baby Boomers who are returning to cannabis in their later years), and the Liberal Elite.

Related: Building a Solid Foundation for Your Cannabis Brand Is Step One to Success

Source: Brightfield Group

Adding to Gomez’s point, Green Market Report’s CEO Debra Borchardt said, “From the surveys conducted with these two profiles your selected, I found it particularly interesting that there was no real brand loyalty with Divorced Dads.”

“Microdosing Moms have an upbeat outlook and are more brand loyal,” she added. “This most likely accounts (or should) for why so many cannabis brands are trending toward targeting women in their advertising and marketing campaigns.”

Related: Here’s Why the DEA Re-Scheduling Just One Cannabis-Based Drug Is a Very Big Deal

Divorced Dads

Here are some interesting stats on divorced men who  consume cannabis and have children:

  • 97 percent are white.
  • 47 percent are aged 57 to 79.
  • 25 percent are aged 46 to 55.
  • 41 percent are daily cannabis users
  • 33.3 percent use cannabis 2-4 days per week.
  • 78 percent are low-ticket buyers, spending less than $150 a month
  • Less than 4 percent spend more than $250 a month
  • Almost 3 out of every four Divorced Dads use cannabis to relax at home
  • Almost half of them use cannabis for home duties
  • And 44 percent use cannabis for outdoor activities

Related: 3 Hottest Cannabis Trends in California

Microdosing Moms

Many mothers with children at home said they regularly use cannabis in small doses — less than 100 mg. Out of them:

  • Almost half are aged 21 to 35
  • 25 percent are aged 36 to 45
  • 24 percent are aged 46 to 79
  • 35 percent use cannabis daily
  • 21.5 percent only use cannabis a few times a year
  • 75 percent prefer to use cannabis while relaxing at home
  • 63 percent use it for home duties
  • 61 percent said they usually use it to treat anxiety



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They Were at the New York Coffee Festival!

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CBD syrup, highly caffeinated beans, slick machines and latte art were on display at the annual event.


9 min read


The caffeine flowed freely, and so did conversations by dozens of coffee entrepreneurs — who perhaps talked a tad faster than normal — at the fourth annual New York Coffee Festival in Manhattan this past weekend.

Featured at the event were booths for espresso machines, French presses and eco-friendly coffee cups, plus free tastings of every flavor of roasted bean imaginable — as well as “latte design” demonstrations, and even coffee bean-inspired jewelry from the Czech Republic.

Related: How This Coffee Startup Rocketed to National Retail Within a Few Months of Its Launch

There was also one especially popular booth inviting coffee aficionados to swap out the simple syrup in their morning joe for syrup infused with CBD (the cannabis compound cannabidiol) — something that’s now legal in multiple states.

“These are the people that are genuinely obsessed by coffee,” Jeffrey Young said in an interview. He’s the Australian-born founder and CEO of London-based Allegra Group, which puts on the festival in Manhattan and next month will launch a West Coast version, in Los Angeles, starting Nov. 9.

Young glanced happily back over his shoulder at the jam-packed Metropolitan Pavilion event space (with a line outside of still more attendees waiting to get in). Based on registrations, Young said he expected a total of 12,000 to 14,000 visitors over three days. These coffee devotees had come to hobnob with about 100 vendors plus their guest vendors, who included some 200 different roasting companies, Young said.

“It’s a passion for them,” Young said of the festival-goers sipping free lattes and nibbling pastries across the Pavilion’s huge expanse, or wandering upstairs to hear coffee lectures. “Somehow they like the personality of coffee, whatever that means. It’s very personal to them.

“And it’s not just about coffee itself,” he continued. “It’s about coffee spaces, about the community that coffee brings.”

Related: How This Woman Perked Up Her Family’s Coffee Business and Jolted Sales by 300 Percent

And the entrepreneurs? “That room is full of entrepreneurs,” Young confirmed. “These are the young coffee entrepreneurs building their businesses, some of them growing very, very rapidly. And there’s a few big businesses in there, like Breville, [and other] coffee equipment companies. But underlying this is, it’s a very entrepreneurial marketplace.”

To underscore that point, Young described the flurry of acquisitions that has occurred in the industry this year. “JAB Holding Co., a privately held company, really set the tone for acquisitions in this market,” Young said. “You’ve seen Nestle acquire [a majority stake in] Blue Bottle Coffee this year; and, local here to New York, a business created here in New York and spreading all over the country is Bluestone Lane. They’re being invested in by Stephen Ross,” the billionaire chairman of Related Cos.

In recent years, Young added, JAB acquired Stumptown Coffee Roasters, as well as Peet’s Coffee, and took a majority stake in Pret a Manger last year. JAB further led the group of investors that acquired Keurig Green Mountain. And this year, JAB was also reported to be interested in the Italian chain Illycaffe SpA (Nestle reportedly was, too); Coca-Cola, meanwhile, invested in Costa Coffee.

“What these beverage companies have realized is that coffee is the most exciting beverage at the moment,” Young said. As a result, ”Entrepreneurs are seeing these [high] valuations out there in the marketplace; and there’s a lot of interest in investment in the small boutique coffee chains.”

A stroll through the Pavilion reflected Young’s assessment, as various entrepreneurs spoke with enthusiasm about their caffeine-fueled passion:

Azuca

In an interview, Eben Freeman, executive product development director, was bullish about his Massachusetts-based company’s CBD-infused simple syrup. “It solves most of the problems you have with CBD oils or edibles,” Freeman said of the syrup. That’s good, he explained, because, in a word, CBD’s natural flavor tastes like … cabbage.

What makes Azuca’s line of sweeteners, which will be available online this week and are already sold in some outlets (including company owner Ron Silver’s Bubby’s restaurants, in New York) special is their absence of terpenes. Terpenes are the hydrocarbons that give CBD products their bad smell.

Image credit: Azuca

“When you put [the product] into dilution, a cup of coffee, you really don’t taste it at all,” Freeman claimed.

CBD, for those not in the know, has been credited with helping people combat depression, anxiety and chronic pain. It lacks the cannabis ingredient THC and so produces no “high.”

Azuca’s CBD syrup is sold in bottles, whose smaller version offers four servings — each with 10 milligrams of CBD — priced at $18. “You can put it into your coffee in the morning, into your tea in the afternoon or your cocktail at the end of the night,” Young said.

Biohazard Coffee

Kelly Driscoll, marketing director of the two-year-old company Biohazard Coffee, frequently had to step aside at her company’s booth to allow her colleague “Patch” to pose for selfies being taken by visitors eager to be seen with him, because he was attired in a biohazard suit and mask.

The stunt was related to the company’s name, which Driscoll explained stems from the coffee’s “928 kilograms of caffeine for 12 fluid ounces. That makes it three to four times the amount of caffeine you’ll find in normal barista-made coffee,” she said.

The company prides itself on not adding anything to the raw coffee and on using “100 percent robust” beans which, Driscoll said, strips away the beans’ natural bitterness. “For me personally, I drink three or four cups of coffee a day,” Driscoll said. “So, instead of having three to four cups a day, I have one in the morning and I’m good to go.”

“In the U.S. we’re by far the strongest” coffee, Driscoll continued, while acknowledging that a competitor could beat Biohazard at its own game. “That’s the thing with highly caffeinated coffees,” she said. “Someone could always come out with something stronger.”

Breville

“My name means ‘to be calm,’ which I’m not,” declared Rachael Calmas, referring to her career as a publicist who promotes a company making espresso machines. Specifically, Calmas works for the Australian food equipment company Breville, whose U.S. headquarters, for 15 years, has been in Torrance, Calif.

The company’s focus is on kitchen machines for the home market — such as wood fired pizza ovens — as well as espresso machines for coffee-adoring Americans.

Some of those stainless steel works of art were on display at the Coffee Festival. Breville’s most recent machines, the Oracle Touch and Barista Touch (both automatic and manual), each won a “Best New Product” award at the Specialty Coffee Association Expo.

Coming out next month is Breville’s newest machine, the Bambino-Plus, a $500 mini espresso machine. It’s joining a crowded market — one, Calmas said, that boasts machines that are beautiful “statement” pieces for your kitchen counter, as well as machines for the “smart home” category, “where you have a phone [and tell it] ‘Make my coffee before I get out of bed.’”

The real key to a good espresso? Not just a fancy machine, Calmas acknowledged, but “the right texture of milk” — and that’s not easy to get every time. “Honestly,” she added, “the highest-fat whole milk is going to give you the best quality.”

Ecoffee Cup

David McLagan, founder and CEO, explained how he founded Ecoffee Cup, an eco-cup company, back in 2014, “when we found out that over 100 billion single use cups go to landfills.”

His company is English and Dutch, and based in London and Amsterdam, but it’s establishing a U.S. foothold, in Brooklyn, N.Y., soon.

The company’s eco-cups — which come in 100 different designs and four different sizes — are made from a composite of bamboo fiber, cornstarch and resin. The cups offer the same durability as ceramic and also the ability to hold temperatures stable for 45 minutes. The $11.76 cups are phthalate-free.

Cafes, McLagan said, are willing to put their coffee in customers’ own eco cups; Starbucks gives a 10 cent discount.

Interestingly, Ecoffee’s website boasts the relatively new extension “eco” on its name. Companies have to apply for the honor of using that “eco” extension by providing an impact statement and environmental credentials.

At the festival overall, environmentalism was a concern voiced not only by Ecoffee Cup but by Project Water Fall, a British nonprofit whose mission is “to bring clean, safe drinking water, sanitation and education to coffee growing communities”

The Northeast Recreational Coffee Association

Latte artists — the folks who put those cool cinnamon designs on your latte foam — have the souls of entrepreneurs in that they’re out to push the envelope and throw their heart into their work.

The Association holds a monthly New York-based “throwdown” among baristas, and is part of a wave of such competitions nationwide, said organizer Lanny Huang.

Huang equivated latte art to “plating a dish” meaning the art upscale restaurants engage in to create a beautiful dinner plate. “Latte art is pouring a design over a latte, and the skills involved have a lot to do with texturing whole milk correctly,” he said.

“Basically, latte art has grown and specialty coffee has grown because it’s kind of a signature of elevating the coffee experience,” Huang said, pointing out the La Marzocco espresso machine behind him. As a matter of fact, that company thought enough of the Association’s efforts to sponsor its festival booth.

Related: These Entrepreneur Brothers Ditched Coffee for Matcha and Built a Multimillion-Dollar Drink Brand

“You generally won’t find good coffee served without latte art on top,” Huang declared.





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