We had the good fortune of connecting with Davina Kaonohi and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Davina, what is the most important factor behind your success?
The single most important factor behind the success of Element Apothec is our people. Our people (co-founders, consultants and advisors) are truly what sets us apart from our competitors. We are passionate, knowledgeable and we truly care about making a difference. We share the same values and hold ourselves and each other accountable to do the best we can everyday. Our people are behind our products and every decision we make to ensure we are building a company based on trustworthy qualities and providing the best products we can for our customers.

The best businesses have been created by bringing together great passionate minds with strong values to solve a problem. One person can’t possess all the skills and knowledge to make a business successful but together you can bring different perspectives, ideas and experiences to build a successful company. Our team’s passion, values, expertise, heart, skills, abilities, and experience are our superpower.

What should our readers know about your business?
Element Apothec is an award-winning, global wellness and beauty brand focused on positively impacting the quality of life through functional plant based products and wellness education – all while doing good for people and our planet. Our mission is to bring integrated healing to the world.

We approach our business with an indigenous mindset from the focus on preserving the land, deep ESG focus, building a business for future generations, kinship and community and truly being proud of what we offer.

Element Apothec was started from the ground up due to a need for clean, safe and effective products.
We were born in Lola’s kitchen. When, nearly a decade ago, our founder’s Great Aunt Lola couldn’t find safe products to help her with symptoms from multiple medical conditions, a dire prognosis and everyday stressors, she took her health into her own hands and created products that helped her and countless others. Over 8 years she created over 43 custom formulations to help people live better lives everyday.

Her dream was to have our me take over and bring her products from the kitchen to the world and have an impact on the quality of life of so many people. We are on the path to accomplish this as we launch into Europe and also expanding into some Asian countries.

It’s not been an easy challenge but it’s one we are committed to fulfilling. As a brand in the CBD/Cannabinoid space we have many limitations on advertising and so it can be hard to reach our customer. Additionally there continues to be a lack of education around the benefits of CBD and other cannabinoids. There also have been brands that have pushed out low quality products causing some trust issues with consumers. And there also continues to be stigmas that exist around CBD and Cannabis due to prohibition and things like reefer madness.

To overcome these challenges we work hard to build trust with our customer. We are meeting today’s conscious consumers where they are – not because we have to but because it is our mission. Every decision we make is defined by its impact – social, environmental, organizational. In every way we are actively designing for the qualities of trustworthiness: high-quality, clean, vegan products; third-party certifications; deep ESG focus; Pending B Corp; ethical decision making framework; compliance; sustainability; transparency. It is who we are and how we operate. Period. We create doctor formulated and efficacious products that really work. We have an unmatched focus on education with a proprietary cannabinoid & wellness education platform, extensive library of educational FAQ videos, blog posts, and literature created to inform and uplift the consumer and public at large. Our goal is to help consumers truly understand these ingredients and how these types of products can fit into their everyday wellness routines to help bring balance back to their bodies and their minds.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
An itinerary of land and sea and everything in-between. I am a nature lover but also admire art so this would be a combination of both.

On the list would include:
A day sailing from Marina Del Rey to Malibu
A visit to the Meditation Gardens
A stop at the Huntington Library
A visit to LACMA
A hike in Malibu
A beach walk at Point Dume
and a day trip to Laguna Beach

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
The shoutout goes to our other two co-founders, David Crowther (Chief Operating Officer) and Dr. Swathi Varanasi (Chief Scientific Officer). Without these two by my side we would not be here. We have built an incredible brand because of the passion and experience we each bring to the business and everyday we get to help people with whole body wellness. Also my mom, Dottie Phillips, my son Koa Fernholtz and my siblings are my biggest fans and supporters. My son started his own online business and to see how we looks up to me as an entrepreneur makes me want to do my best everyday.

Website: https://elementapothec.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/elementapothec/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dkaonohi/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCD_SwdvMvFh7NPjMg7-2_OA/featured

Image Credits
Element Apothec, Inc.

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