Weiwei Fellman is the founder of Kota Botanics, a company that provides premium hemp CBD and plant-based health supplements in Fargo, North Dakota. Weiwei is a first-generation immigrant. She experienced the benefits of plant-based medicine during her years of growing up in China where traditional Chinese medicine is used to treat illness and promote CBD wellness.
“Kota is not an English word, but in Japanese it means longevity and happiness. I fully believe that with the help of cannabis or hemp, people will get more happiness because when you struggle with anxiety or pain, you cannot relax. This is just one of the ways for people to get relief.”
The Road to CBD Wellness
Weiwei started Kota Botanics to promote CBD wellness due to her personal experience with PTSD and anxiety. After only a year in business, her company had become the largest premium CBD product retailer in North Dakota. She has also recently opened an additional location in the Minneapolis area.
While the recreational use of cannabis is currently illegal in North Carolina, the use of hemp CBD products is legal. There is still a great stigma attached to the use of cannabis-based products and running a cannabis-related business. Weiwei continues to work hard to overcome this by providing convenient, top-notch products, and educating the public about the benefits of CBD wellness products.
The stigma surrounding the CBD industry is also why Weiwei elected to build a brick-and-mortar store. She felt strongly that the ability to sample products and speak to someone one-on-one would build trust with her customers. Her shop is set up as a dedicated CBD boutique, rather than the typical smoke or vape shops where CBD products can be purchased. People visiting Kota Botanics are afforded an opportunity to try out products and ask questions, allowing her a chance to advocate for CBD products as a tool to be used for good health.
“For me, cannabis is medicine. Just like CBD. We have a lot of users and customers. Our senior citizens, they're struggling with pain, you know, a lot of issues. [Customers] just want the relief to help them manage stress. Promoting sleep and overall holistic health.”
Obstacles to Success
In addition to obstacles such as local and state laws that are still somewhat in flux, and banking issues that affect those in cannabis-based industries, Weiwei also found herself forced to surmount an even larger problem. Just as she opened her retail shop in December 2019, the COVID-19 pandemic hit, limiting her ability to open her shop to the public. However, people were still able to buy online. So, she was able to overcome the loss of in-store shopping by providing orders for pickup and delivery, much of which she did personally.
“I wanted to ease the inconvenience to our customers. If they already shopped with us, they just want to order online. And then they can pick it up in our store. But because of the pandemic, we are like, ‘don't worry, we'll deliver to you for free.’”
Advice for Starting a CBD Wellness Business
Weiwei’s advice to others considering starting a CBD wellness business is to know who your core customers are and understand their needs. While you may be selling to the larger population, you will always have a particular demographic that looks to you for help. At Kota Botanics, the largest part of product sales is made by the Asian community, senior citizens, and stressed-out moms who rely on quality CBD products to help them relax and offset pain. The key to success is knowing your customer base and providing them with the quality and convenience they seek when purchasing your products.
“Why’d I start this business? Because I wanted to help people. I helped myself with the CBD and I saw the help that our customers got from that. So that's just so rewarding. No matter how challenging, I know I'm helping people and I know they trust me to help them.”
Weiwei’s journey with Kota Botanics is a fantastic example of how a simple idea can be turned into a successful business. If you’d like to know more about Weiwei’s success story and how she established a thriving CBD wellness business, check out her Kaya Cast podcast interview.
