Honey Honey, High: Meet The Two Best Friends Behind Potli
Potli… It’s kind of a play on words, but it’s also a really straightforward explanation of what best friends Felicity Chen and Christine Yi are making: honey with some THC in it.
First, they take raw, USDA organic, Grade A wildflower honey then add premium cannabis, resulting in a sweet concoction that addresses a myriad of health concerns, both mental and physical.
Potli extracts their cannabis using clean, solvent-less Co2, which ensures purity. Each batch is one of a hundred and is grown and packaged in Northern California. With 96 mg of THC in a jar of Potli, users can tailor their experience accordingly. They recommend a teaspoon (~3 mg) for a microdose and a tablespoon (~8 mg) for a full dose. Use a little Potli and you can expect to feel uplifted with a light cerebral high. Potli’s blog is full of suggested uses including: in chia puddings, teas (Christine and Felicity especially love it in matcha!), baked goods, cocktails — even ice cream!
Since interest in CBD has soared in the last year, Potli recently added CBD honey to their line. “The thought behind our CBD dominant (and CBD-only with our industrial Hemp-based infusion) honey is that many people are excited to dip their toe in cannabis but are afraid of psychoactive impacts. We found that many think back to that pot brownie they tried in college that made them feel terribly out of control of their own minds and bodies.” Christine and Felicity wanted to change that narrative by not only providing a THC option that didn’t leave people feeling out of whack, but also provide a CBD option where the psychoactive component was out of the question completely. And it’s been wildly popular. As Felicity points out, “our CBD infusion is our most popular and we can't wait to keep delivering on this wellness-based promise!”
There’s something really sweet about two best friends taking the leap into the business world — and Christine and Felicity’s story is definitely sweet, made even sweeter by — what else? — honey. The two first met at Boston University when they were randomly paired as roommates. “If you told us when we met all those years ago that we would start a company together we would have probably laughed it off, but we're so thankful to work together and are so proud of each other now,” says Christine. Even communicating with them on email, you can tell they work great together and truly share a passion for what they do. Before Potli came to be, Christine was a management consultant at PwC while Felicity was in business development at Gilt and UberEats. “The combination of our experiences has given us the right balance of macro-level strategy and micro-level operations to develop, start, and grow a business,” says Christine. But it wasn’t until Felicity realized she might know how to help her mom, an asthma patient, that Potli began to take shape.
Honey, a well-known ayurvedic remedy is also “antioxidant-rich, anti-fungal, and soothing, making it ideal for helping colds and sore throats. Combined with the powerful anti-seizure, anti-cancer, anti-anxiety, and anti-inflammatory properties of cannabis, Potli is a highly adaptive and versatile addition to your daily routine. It is also fantastic for treating a wide range of physical and mental conditions,” says Christine. For Felicity’s mom, who is asthmatic, honey could reap many benefits from something like Potli. But Felicity’s mom, who immigrated to California from Taiwan in the late 70s, wasn’t too keen on using a product that also included THC. As Felicity explains, when her mom first got to America, “the focus was on survival. Any vices — like drinking and smoking — were attached to people who were distracted and weren't going to be successful in an unfamiliar place. And so, my mom grew up super laser-focused on family and work. Smoking is still taboo in my family, but they now understand cannabis as an edible and as a medicinal/wellness product. My mother said, as long as you are helping people, I support you. And that's exactly what I'm doing, helping people.”
As most people who help people feel their best, Felicity and Christine agree that hearing from clients is their favorite part of the job. “Both honey and cannabis are powerful healers in their own rights so combined, you really get a versatile and delicious product that almost everyone can find some benefit for.” A woman recently wrote to HoneyPot saying that her mother, who is developing Parkinson's disease, was gaining better control of her movement and motor skills by using Potli. “Cannabis is not an easy industry to be in, but knowing that our product is improving the quality of lives for even a small group of people out there makes it all worth it,” says Christine.
Felicity and Christine look forward to a future where the cannabis industry (and cannabis users) are no longer stigmatized. “We want to make it safe and accessible in a way that promotes small businesses, social justice, and equality. We want legalization to occur — but in the right context — where everyone, especially minority groups who have been negatively impacted by the criminal classification of marijuana, has a chance in this industry.” And they’re putting in the work to get it there.
For now, you can find these two Queen Bees crafting Potli infused cocktails and mocktails for summer. Says Christine, “They're great for sharing and never fail to serve as a conversational piece in and of itself at a social gathering!” We’ll cheers to that!
