9 Female-Owned Cannabis Companies Crushing It in California

Female cannabis consumers are entering the legalized market in droves, looking for products designed specifically for their needs, whether it be eye-catching, colorful prerolls, vape pens that soothe anxiety, edibles that relieve PMS, topical lotions that nourish skin, or bath salts that improve sleep.

Having identified these underserved customers, ambitious female founders meet this increasing demand with brands and products that deliver wellness benefits while pampering the mind and body.

Hailed as a place for women to make their mark, the emerging cannabis industry offers opportunities for advancement beyond what’s available in many other established industries. In 2015, a survey conducted by MJ Biz Daily found women holding 36% of executive level roles in cannabis companies, a much larger percentage compared to traditional businesses.

A recent report showed women lost ground, down to 27% of leadership positions in cannabis.

Yet, with regulated marketplaces driving consolidation and pushing out smaller operators, this lead seems to be shrinking. A recent report showed women lost ground, down to 27% of leadership positions in cannabis.

Determined to reverse this trend, one of Oregon’s most prominent attorneys, Amy Margolis, has launched “The Initiative,” the world’s first female-centric cannabis business accelerator. Working to balance gender inequality, Margolis says, “The Initiative will help provide the tools, mentoring, training and access to funding that women need to ensure their success in the cannabis space.”

If you’d like to support the female leaders already thriving in the cannabis space, look for these products designed for women, by women. Especially dominating in the expanding market segments of edibles and topicals, these female-owned companies deliver added value by transforming flowers into edibles, vape carts, prerolls and luxurious body care products.

Look for these products at female-owned dispensaries like Magnolia Wellness and Phytologie, CBCB, Hi Fidelity and delivery services like Sava, all of which have robust menus designed to please every type of cannabis user.

Honey Pot

Places To Find It:

• Greenwolf LA in Los Angeles
• Airfield Supply in San Jose

With a shelf full of Cannabis Cup awards for her edibles and topicals, Corey Thomas is one of the most lauded manufacturers in the business, as well as a second-generation cannabis farmer with over 20 years of experience. Recently, Thomas went through a complete rebrand involving all-new compliant packaging solutions for her Honey Pot product line, and now these popular items are back on dispensary shelves throughout California. One of the original makers of infused honey, the new bottles of Honey Pot include a measuring cup for precise doses of 10 mg of THC. Look for Corey’s Honey Pot lotions, honey and newly launched vape pens at dispensaries in Los Angeles and the Bay Area.

Kikoko

Places To Find It:

• CBCB in Berkeley
• Apothecarium in San Francisco
• KindPeoples in Santa Cruz

Founded by Amanda Jones and Jennifer Chapin and featured by Oprah Magazine, Kikiko has popularized the idea of “high tea,” with their low-dose, effect-specific teas blending cannabinoids with other supportive herbs to induce certain moods. Formulated for pain, sleep, sex and fun—the teas make cannabis approachable for middle-aged women looking to get more out of life. Kikoko’s “Sensuali-tea” blends seven milligrams of THC with aphrodisiac rose petals, hibiscus, orange peel and more synergistic herbs designed to enhance intimacy. Other formulas include Sympa-Tea for pain and anxiety, Tranquili-Tea for relaxation and sleep, and Positivi-Tea for an improved, joyful mood.

Garden Society

Places To Find It:

• Garden of Eden in Hayward
• Caliva in San Jose
• Harvest on Geary in San Francisco

After suffering from multiple debilitating hip surgeries, Erin Gore sought help from cannabis, sparking a relationship with the plant that led her to found Garden Society along with wine industry veteran Karli Warner. Together, the two women launched a line of low-dose artisan confections. “Bliss Blossoms” chocolates melt in your mouth, with their smooth and silky satisfaction coupled with 10 milligrams of THC for a gentle experience. “Bright Blooms” gelées taste like real fruit, with just 5 milligrams of THC per piece. Using high-quality, organic, fair-trade and locally sourced ingredients including biodynamic cannabis allows Garden Society to offer integrity along with their mellow highs, so you can feel good about everything that goes into one of their bite-size treats

Humboldt Apothecary

Places To Find It:

• Airfield Supply in San Jose
• Berkeley Patient’s Group in Berkeley
• Big Sur Cannabotanicals in Carmel-by-the-Sea

With over 25 years of experience as herbalists, the female founders Gillian Levy and Susan Smith at Humboldt Apothecary combine cannabinoids with other supportive herbs to potent mouth drops—called “tinctures”—to relieve specific issues. With an extensive “Sweet Jane” product line containing a wide variety of THC to CBD ratios, there’s an option for every individual. Tinctures promising to Rest, Relax, and Uplift combine various essential oils with cannabis infused into medium-chain triglyceride (MCT) coconut oil to create varying effects. Look for “Love Potion No. 7,” a tincture promoting healthy libido with damiana, cinnamon, cardamom, kava kava and roasted cacao nibs.

Mellows

Places to Find It:

• Barbary Coast in San Francisco,
• Harvest on Geary in San Francisco
• Sava Delivery in the Bay Area

Specializing in gourmet, handmade marshmallows with sophisticated flavors and just a little bit of THC thrown in the mix, entrepreneur Stephanie Hua invented the newest “San Francisco treat” with ultra light and fluffy Mellows. A graduate of San Francisco Cooking School with a degree in culinary arts, Hua teamed up with fellow alumni Coreen Carroll to author Edibles: Small Bites for the Modern Cannabis Kitchen, a cookbook focused on creating THC-infused party treats, which will debut in November. Exclusively found at select San Francisco dispensaries and Bay Area delivery service Sava, Mellows come in gift-ready boxes of 12, with each piece containing a mellow five mg of THC. Look for the flavors Orange Dreamsicle, Strawberry Shortcake, and Peanut Butter Pretzel.

Hot Nife

Places To Find It:

• From the Earth in Santa Ana
• MedMen in Los Angeles
• Golden State Greens in San Diego
• CBCB in Berkeley
• 7 Stars in Richmond

The brainchild of Circe Rose Wallace, formerly a professional snowboarder and sports agent who was called “one of the most powerful women working in action sports,” Hot Nife captures Cali cool by using bright colors and retro ‘80s styling to brand their prerolls and vape pens. Inspired by the old-school method of “hot knifing” hash by pressing it between two red-hot butter knives to facilitate inhaling the smoke, Hot Nife steps it up a notch by offering refined blends of oil extracted from Sativa, Indica and Hybrid cannabis varieties meant to be sipped through a vape pen. Look for their new prerolls, which arrive in stunning pink and purple hemp papers, tipped with a shiny gold crutch for stylish appeal.

Om Edibles

Places To Find It:

• Dutchman’s Flat in San Francisco (topicals)
• Phytologie Wellness in Oakland (tinctures and topicals)
• Humboldt Patient Resource Center in Arcata (edibles)

Multiple Cannabis Cup winner Maya Elisabeth is one of the most admired founders in the cannabis space, with her visionary all-female collective garnering rave reviews for their Om Edibles brand. With a diverse product line that includes soothing topicals, tinctures, edibles and relaxing bath soaks, Maya connected with Whoopi Goldberg to launch Whoopi & Maya in 2016, crafting a brand aimed at relieving every woman’s monthly menstrual aches and pains. Recently, Om Edibles released a new line of sophisticated, vegan lychee blossom gummies, each with 10 mg of THC. Stock up on rich, spreadable cacao infused with either THC or CBD, along with soothing Lion’s Balm, Nighttime tincture formulated to aid sleep, and luxurious Lavender medicated epsom salt bath soaks.

Lulu’s Botanicals

Places To Find It:

• Satori Wellness in McKinleyville
• Foothill Wellness in Los Angeles
• Cornerstone Research Collective in Los Angeles

As the founder of mainstream raw chocolate company Lulu’s Chocolate, the idea of adding cannabis to her products came naturally to Lulu Bonner, who’s been a dedicated cannabis activist with over a decade of experience as a chocolatier. With a spin-off cannabis company dubbed Lulu’s Botanicals, Bonner combines her organic, raw, fair trade chocolate with cannabis oil and live terpenes from Higher Vision Cannabis to create an experience described as “next level.” Working with a master herbalist, Lulu creates effects-specific formulas designed to Awake, Arouse and Relax by combining cannabis and cacao with synergistic herbal blends.

Space Gems

Places To Find It:

• Harvest on Geary in San Francisco
• Cookies SF in San Francisco
• Satori Wellness in McKinleyville
• Humboldt Patient Resource Center in Arcata

Humboldt local Wendy LoveBird has transitioned her homegrown edibles company into the legal marketplace, successfully navigating the hurdles imposed by new regulations to triumphantly return her excellent products to the shelves of dispensaries this fall. With both sour and sweet varieties of Space Gems gummies in flavors including Grape, Mandarine, Peach and Cherry, these treats are made with high-quality vegan ingredients and infused with cold-water hash. Delivering ten mg of THC per piece with ten gummies per package, Space Gems also offers CBD-rich gummies as well as “Vita Gummies” boosted with Vitamin C.

Main art: Courtesy, Stephanie Hua
Secondary art: Courtesy, Humboldt Apothecary

Got more women-owned companies for readers to try? Share yours in the comments and maybe we can feature them next.