North Penn grads grow CBD online business
A pair of North Penn High School alumni have started a business they hope will help improve health across the region and beyond.
And the company’s name is no accident, because the goal of Thrive Flower is to make sure customers do exactly that: thrive.
“If they’re dealing with pain, inflammation, anxiety, or sleep, those are the four big things that CBD can help out with,” said cofounder Jake Wolff.
“When people come up to us at live events, they’ll ask about CBD, whether they’ve had it before or just want to try it out. Our goal is to find out exactly how it can work for them,” he said.
A North Penn High School graduate in 2013, Jake founded the business with older brother Judd (NPHS 2011), and their friends Colby Mills and Curtis Matthias in late 2018, with the goal of supplying high-quality products based on Cannabidiol, or CBD, a derivative of hemp plants. They’re online-only for now, and offer smokable options, edible options, gummies, lotions and creams, meant to relieve pain and help customers thrive.
“We knew about the CBD benefits before it all started becoming super popular. For example, our mom, she had a horrible issue with sleeping,” Jake said.
Prescription medications didn’t work, but a Thrive product did: “CBD and cannabis can be a healthy, natural alternative, with none or minimal side effects. So she tried out our CBD gummy bear, every night she takes one just before bed, and now she gets a full night’s sleep,” he said.
For those who are physically active — Jake said he plays hockey and the other three are all rock climbers — CBD can help with pain relief, inflammation and muscle recovery, and pain relief gel, cream and salve are available.
“If you apply CBD after a physical workout, it’ll really help you with muscle recovery, as well as lower any pain you may have,” he said.
While older generations may be more wary of trying CBD products, the company has posted an FAQ answering the most common questions.
“CBD isn’t going to get you high, and you won’t fail a drug test, and there are tons of medical benefits it can offer you,” Wolff said.
“You do not need a prescription, it’s 100 percent legal, and you can pretty much buy it anywhere — it’s been that way since 2018.”
How did their North Penn education
help the two brothers found the business? Jake says he “dabbled in a lot of different topics,” including engineering, math, and computer science, which gave him a solid footing when he shifted his focus to marketing in college.
“North Penn offers so many different extracurricular activities that you can get involved with and build social skills that will help later on in life,” Wolff said.
“They did provide a fantastic education for me, and broad horizons,” he said.
The company is based out of an office in the Kensington area, and had plans to open a storefront in the Northern Liberties section of Philadelphia before COVID-19 arrived last year. Their products come from all across the country, including North Carolina and California as well as Pennsylvania, and details on how products are graded, by a private lab in California, can also be found on their website.
What should those who are in the market for CBD products watch for? Typically, since CBD products are banned by online retailer Amazon, sellers will market “hemp seed oil products” instead, which bring few of the medicinal benefits that CBD does, according to Wolff. CBD products you see in gas stations and corner store retailers tend to be graded lower, he added, so lab test results can be the difference between a quality product and a lesser one.
“We make sure all of our products are well-graded, and high quality,” he said.
For more information on Thrive Flower visit www.thriveflower. com or search for “Thrive Flower” on Facebook or Instagram.