Today we’d like to introduce you to Bailey Weickum and Jahna Martell.
Hi Bailey and Jahna, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
We are Bailey Weickum & Jahna Martell, and we are the babes behind Redeemer Small Batch. We are a family grown & women-owned CBD and lifestyle brand based deep in the heart of Austin, TX. Our family grows hemp in Colorado, and we make a line of vegan and organic CBD products from their harvests. We use a patented zero-solvent extraction process to make our oil– which means we are introducing zero chemicals.
We like to say, ‘We fell in love, and the rest is CBD.’
Jahna and I, (Bailey) met through a mutual friend about 10 years ago and were a perfect match. We both came from strong single moms, cared about the same things, and helped each other grow. At the time, we both were working for other people but knew that at some point, we wanted to start a business of our own. Neither of us saw our life long-term, including working on the corporate ladder. Bailey comes from a family of entrepreneurs on her mother’s side, and Jahna has a deeply entrepreneurial spirit. We jokingly come up with new business ideas all the time, but up to starting Redeemer, we didn’t have a concrete plan or timeline. The opportunity to start Redeemer Small Batch came, and we ran with it. If you had told us 5 years ago that this is what we would be doing now, I don’t think we would have believed it, but we are so happy about where we are and excited about where we are going.
My (Bailey) family started growing hemp about 6 years ago and, being generational farmers, didn’t really have the desire or bandwidth to take on the retail and distribution side of things. My uncle came to me with the idea, and said if we were interested, that the opportunity was wide open for us to work together. We started researching heavily and experimenting with the hemp in our daily lives. After having incredible experiences of our own, finding relief from arthritis, anxiety, and trouble sleeping, we knew that this was something we wanted to share with as many people as we possibly could.
So, we got to work; we got a small loan from Beth (Bailey’s Mom, our investing partner) and started creating the CBD brand that represented us. Our industry is a sea of green where it’s very rare to find a women & LGBTQ-owned brand, and there were very few brands out there where we saw ourselves reflected.
When we started this company, we knew sustainability needed to be a primary focus all the way through, from our farming practices & compostable packaging to the way we grow. We launched in 2020, about a month before the pandemic hit here in Austin, it was not an easy time to start a company to say the least. Over the past 4 years, we have grown from a tiny e-commerce brand to a brick-and-mortar, and we couldn’t be more proud. We have focused heavily on creating lasting partnerships, and our brick-and-mortar space is no exception. This opportunity came from a collaborative effort with The Future Front (to whom we attribute so much of our early success) and The Little Gay Shop. The three of us share a building on the corner of 12th and Chicon at 1900 & 1902 East 12th St. The Future Front runs a creative community space whose goal is to continue creating opportunities for artists and creatives, funding community cultural events, developing community-building educational resources, offering subsidized access to space & nurturing free, public arts programming. The Little Gay Shop is a queer marketplace selling art, apparel, books, magazines, and much more from exclusively queer artists. Through our collective efforts we are hoping to build an inclusive neighborhood hub for all.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back, would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
We’d say running a small business of any kind comes with bumps in the road. Especially for those of us who launched businesses in and around the pandemic. Being a business owner requires a special kind of creativity and fortitude; it’s not easy.
Of the challenges that we have faced since launching Redeemer Small Batch, a couple stand out. One being the time in which we launched, which was about a month before the Pandemic hit here in Austin. It’s hard to get the word out about your business when everyone is stuck inside, so we had to pivot our launch plans to reach new customers. One things we did was a weekly outdoor yoga series with Black Swan and The Far Out Lounge, which really helped us get face time with people (safely).
Another is our inability to market in traditional channels, which was something that we didn’t realize when we started a CBD/ hemp brand. Marketing quickly became a place we had to get really creative, and we still continue to face issues. Even fully legal and compliant CBD/ hemp brands like ours are not allowed to market on channels like Google, yelp, Facebook, or Instagram. We also are very restricted in what we can and cannot say, although there is tons of clinical evidence of the power of this plant. This makes it very difficult to speak freely in public channels about what CBD is, how it works, what it can be used for, and how it can help.
It has forced us to get creative in our marketing efforts; we have leaned into building an in-person community to combat the digital red tape. Community building quickly became a pillar of our brand, and we have created so many amazing partnerships, collaborations, and friends through these efforts. We rely heavily on in-person pop-ups, classes, and happy hours to create one-to-one opportunities to discuss how the plant works, how it can bring relief to the things that weigh on our daily lives, and how it can be used for leisure.
Every month, we host an ‘All Bodies’ dosed yoga series where we give free CBD to all attendees to enjoy during the class, and then after, we have an open dialog about CBD and how it can aid in your practice and daily rituals. It has been a wonderful way for us to reach people and allow them to ask questions and all grow and learn our understanding together.
We’ve been impressed with Redeemer Small Batch, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
We are one of the few women and LGBTQ+-owned CBD brands in the market, and that, paired with the single-origin hemp that is grown by our family, makes us truly unique in our niche.
We care about our customers, and for those who are new or curious about CBD and adding it to their daily rituals, we want them to know the following about Redeemer:
1. Our customers can count on our quality always being in the top tier of products. This is paired with transparency about our practices, our ingredients, and our testing. They will always know where their CBD comes from, how it’s made, and what’s in it. There is not enough transparency in our industry, and it leads to a sea of questionable and unsafe products. That will never be the case at Redeemer.
2. We guarantee them the opposite of the inaccessible, anxiety-inducing grow bro environment that can be found in most head shops and dispensaries. We are welcoming, knowledgeable, and truly care about matching people with the product that is right for them. They leave not only with a product but with a deeper understanding of how CBD can help them and a place to turn if they have questions along the way.
3. Whether it’s a pop-up, a takeover, or the shop, we try to provide them with a unique and memorable experience where they can connect with a community of like-minded individual exploring plant wellness.
If we knew you growing up, how would we have described you?
I was decently outgoing, did well in school, although I wasn’t particularly interested in most of it. I played on the basketball team but hung out with the art kids. I suppose I was a bit lost of purpose in those days, but enjoyed my friends deeply and have many fond memories of the silly things you do as a teen. I spent a lot of time on our family farm, helping out, but also floating the river and enjoying the freedoms of having that much open space. I didn’t get into much trouble, or at least didn’t get caught 😉 Personality-wise, I’m a true Capricorn, hardworking, problem-solving, intuitive, a bit reserved, and determined–so I am a formidable card player.
As for Jahna, she played sports (also basketball,) played the flute in the marching band, and was a great student. She is more introverted but always enjoys spending time with her friends. She similarly grew up on a Ranch in Johnson City and spent time helping out and enjoying the wildness of the Texas hill country. She is a Gemini and has all the beautiful qualities they hold. She is playful, intellectually curious, passionate, and wonderfully empathetic. She also has a bitingly quick wit, which makes her a dinner party favorite.
Contact Info:
- Website: redeemersmallbatch.com
- Instagram: @redeemersmallbatch
- Facebook: facebook.com/redeemersmallbatch
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/redeemer-small-batch-austin
Image Credits
Ashley Posthuma
