I had the incredible opportunity to ask Clara Herbaut. 27yr old super CannaBabe, cannabis marketing expert, cannabis educator & founder of Herb & Co, Barcelona's number 1 CBD brand...(I'm girl crushing hard. What a bad ass) a couple of questions for a bit of insight into her green world & how shes turned her passion into her pay check.
During Covid Lockdown, Clara created a couple of wonderful cannabis education videos you can find on her Instagram page. The first 'BluntTalk' video covers 4 Tips to Get Into The Cannabis Industry, How To Convince Your Mum That Cannabis Can Be Good For You & Debunking The Indica Sativa Myth. I highly recommend. I found them charming, engaging, educational and very interesting. I am so excited to see what she produces in the future. Let's kick this off with the question I will as everyone featured...
- When & how were you introduced to Cannabis? Did you know about the Herb before?
I was introduced to cannabis when I first arrived in Barcelona in 2013. Weirdly I haven’t try cannabis before my 21 years old. I discovered cannabis with the Spanish Cannabis Social Club and I felt in love straight away with its culture and community and of course with the plant itself which totally change my life from that moment.
I did know about Cannabis before but I was never surrounded by it so I knew alcohol first which is deeply integrated (too much) into the French Culture. Today I believe it is a scandale that I could legally get drunk at 16 but cannabis was never on my sight.
- What does cannabis do for you? How does it benefit your life personally?
I am an hyperactive so cannabis has the best calming effect on me. After consuming cannabis I can finally sit behind my desk and focus on work or just chill at home without getting crazy with my extra energy and anxiety that comes with it.
For a few years I can also get easily stressed from my job position and even though I am a happy person in general, my mood can switch really quickly to be very down and Cannabis is my best ally to uplift my mood again.
Cannabis is a huge help for me to go through life and its challenge.
- What are the current laws in Barcelona/Spain on Cannabis?
Cannabis is regulated in Catalunya meaning you have the right to grow your plant at home and smoke it there. If you don’t have the capacity to grow then you can give the right to the cannabis social club to grow your plant and therefor you can consume your production there. Cannabis social club are private and reserved for member!
Nevertheless consuming cannabis outside these two environment is forbidden as carrying it on you or selling it.
CBD is only legal under topical form ( only cosmetics - ingestion is prohibited)
- How did you get into marketing?
I get into Marketing at 18 as it was my really first passion before Cannabis. So I studied Masters and MBA to become an expert.
I got really lucky with my first job after graduation as I became the Marketing Manager of HARMONY, the very first company to launch a CBD product in France and become a leader in Europe.
That is when, for two years, I could learn, experiment and improve myself with cannabis marketing to make it my speciality today.
- When did you move to Spain? What’s your connection with Spannabis?
I have been attending a maximum of cannabis trade show during the last 3 years and Spannabis is my favourite! The vibe and excitement during the fair is just unbelievable and this is the best place to meet the community and make yourself a name (I am not link to them on a professional level)
- What is Erasmus?
ERASMUS is a It's a Education exchange programme for students to go study abroad so for me it was a year of studies in Barcelona I never came back from. I was supposed to come back to France after a year in Barcelona but I never did and I never regretted it!
- How did you get into cannabis education? Public speaking must have been scary to begin with?
Being in the industry I quickly realize that people still had a lot of fake ideas about cannabis and the first step that has to be taken to make it great again in people’s mind was to break the cliché still strongly attached to it after years of prohibition based on lies. And the only way to change people opinion is through education.
I understood the power of education thanks to my mum. She was the first one to believe cannabis was bad for you and could make you schizophrenic. But after educating her and explaining her the plant, its history, its different compound ect.. She is today the first one to advise CBD products to her friends.
So totally I am totally convince that cannabis acceptation will come through education which is our best ally to change the world !
Public speaking was indeed scary to begin with but being on a mission and mastering my subject made it easy!
- How long have worked within the cannabis industry and how did you get to where you are now?
I put my first foot in the cannabis industry in JUNE 2016 as the Marketing Manager of Harmony. For two years we worked our asses off to built the company that became the Europeans leader in 2018. When I left to become a cannabis business consultant and worked on building a new CBD company called THE TREE CBD which is today the most represented brand in Barcelona
In March 2019 I decided to launch Herb & Co , the first marketing agency for the cannabis industry in order to help a maximum of new business to get in the cannabis space.
- How did you 'turn your paycheck into your passion'?
A loooot of work!! My three years in the industry was NON STOP. I was working 7 days a week big schedules, was attending all the cannabis trade shows, read everything I could find to educate myself… It was a non stop hustle.
- What is Herb & Co? What does your job entail?
Herb & Co in the first marketing agency dedicated to the Cannabis and Hemp industry in Europe. With a team of consultant, we are helping new business to get started in the cannabis industry and established business to grow.
We are helping with all the marketing strategies from web development , SEO, social media to offline marketing at events.
- What are you currently working on in the cannabis industry?
At the moment I am working on a new project called “HIGHERED” and that would be a job platform for the cannabis industry! I also work on pushing herb & co to become a leader in its field and keep on spreading cannabis education through social media!
- That sounds amazing. When will 'Highered' be launched? Will its launch include the UK for jobs within the CBD industry here?
- What is your advice to someone who is scared of cannabis or had a bad experience in the past and is unsure if they would like to try it again?
I would said to them that cannabis is really a personal experience and the bad experience come from the fact they didn’t find the good cannabis strain or product fitting their need.
My advice is always to experiment and when doing so, start low and go small
THANK YOU SO MUUUUCH FOR THESE AMAZING QUESTIONS <3
If that wasn't enough of this talented driving woman for you, you can find her on Instagram @clara_herb. Don't forget to check out her wonderful BluntTalk videos on IGTV. You can also find her Cannabis Marketing agency, Herb&Co @herb_and_co.
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