Grant Kruft of Altura Wellness: 5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started Leading a Cannabis or CBD Business
An Interview With Candice Georgiadis
Keep your expectations reasonable and your goals within reach. This may not be agreeable with everyone but having goals to reach each month has been key for us. As long as the needle is moving in the right direction, we know we’re on the right path. Getting past small roadblocks each week instead of hitting a wall with no way around will help achieve steady growth.
As part of my series about “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started Leading a Cannabis Business” I had the pleasure of interviewing Grant Kruft.
Arizona native, Grant Kruft, founded Altura Wellness with his father in 2016. Kruft’s experience in the high-stress Accounting and Business Management world made him quickly realize that he wanted to live a different lifestyle; a lifestyle that was beneficial to himself and others. After personally experiencing the healing benefits from using CBD, Kruft saw an opportunity in the market to create something that was lacking in the CBD space — a clean and trusted household brand. Following extensive research while also encountering firsthand positive stories of healing and transformation with use of CBD, Grant knew it was time to become a part of something larger. Altura Wellness allows Grant the opportunity to help people in a way he didn’t know was possible. Never a fan of taking medications, Grant loves how Altura Wellness allows him to help everyone from people to pets improve their wellness in such a profound way. With Altura Wellness, Grant’s mission is to provide the cleanest, high-quality product on the market, break the stigma of CBD use and have a positive impact on the lives of Altura Wellness’ customers by creating high quality products.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Can you share with us the story about what brought you to this specific career path?
In my late-twenties I really started to focus on what kind of life I wanted to live and how I was going to achieve this life. Something that continued to present itself to me, was how I was spending my time. At the time, I had a great job with a company that was amazing to work for. However, at the end of the day I still felt handcuffed to a schedule that wasn’t mine to set. As I began working towards my overall goal of designing my ideal life, another area that was important to me was being able to work in an industry where the focus was helping people. At that point in time cannabis, and CBD specifically, were in the emerging stages of becoming more widely accepted and I saw an opportunity to help shape this industry. Founding Altura Wellness not only gave me the opportunity to design my life how I wanted, but to branch out into other areas that I was searching to grow in.
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began leading your company? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?
Persistence is everything. When we first started to reach out to facilities to help with the manufacturing process, we’d been turned down by 19 out of 20. The legality of CBD was very much a grey area so not many Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) facilities would even talk to us. In the end, the connections we made, and partnerships we created have turned out to be some of the strongest. This hurdle of working with the right partners led us to talking with hundreds of manufactures. The facilities who were open to working with CBD we’re all very transparent and gave us the opportunity to meet in person and walk through the facility. The GMP certification isn’t just about paperwork but how clean a facility is, so having the opportunity to tour the facilities in person was crucial. Persistence was the key to getting our product where it is today, because sometimes you must turn over a lot of rocks to find that gem.
Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?
When we first started cultivating hemp in the early stages, we were very quiet about the company and what we were doing. As the company grew and we began bringing products to market, I was still hesitant to bring it into conversation. Over time and the more often CBD came up I started to realize that people were not only open to talk about it, but they were very excited to learn more. Now, I bring it up as much as I can and am almost always able to help answer someone’s questions. Don’t be afraid to talk about what you do. This is a great way to connect with people, allowing you to scope out trends based on what people are asking and what types of products they like. This is also a great marketing tool that allows you to build a level of trust with a potential customer.
Are you working on any exciting projects now? How do you think that will help people?
We always have a few irons in the fire and are currently in the research and development stages of things. We’ve seen great success with our most recent product, specifically designed to help you sleep. There was a lot of research done in the early stages not only from an ingredient standpoint, but how it would be marketed to produce the level of sales needed. Developing products that will not only help people but can also effectively be marketed and sold is one of the hardest challenges.
None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story?
The growth of our industry, especially after the farm bill of 2018 was passed, increased at a breakneck speed in late 2018. What we saw was a constant stream of get rich quick schemes grandiose business ideas enter the industry. We had a group pursue us as a partner with all sorts of promises and dollar signs in their eyes. Sometimes it’s hard to see past the reality of a situation, and over time the agreement shifted making it clear what their true intentions were. Sticking with this partnership would have required us to compromise our values, and that is just something we were not willing to do. In hindsight, even after all the investment of time and money we had put into this possible opportunity, walking away was one of the best decisions we made. It’s not always the people that help lead you to success but also the ones that help make your focus clearer. My advice is to continually step back and look at the opportunities. There are a lot of people out there that will not align with your morals, ethics and how you want your company’s reputation to be written in stone. That’s something you don’t get back.
However, I have also had some incredible mentors too along the way who were there to listen and offer advice after having an honest conversation. When they don’t have any skin in the game and are truly looking out for your best interest it is very clear. Having these people around you who aren’t afraid to tell you when you’re wrong or help steer you in the right direction are incredibly invaluable. Sometimes just having someone to talk something through with helps you find clarity in your own mind.
This industry is young dynamic and creative. Do you use any clever and innovative marketing strategies that you think large legacy companies should consider adopting?
While the industry is young, dynamic and creative, ultimately, we have to focus on who our customers are. “Where do we reach them?” “How do we speak to them?” “How best do we service them?” are questions we are always asking ourselves. While our products appeal to a wide variety of demographics, we still have a clear target audience. We had to trust our gut on who that was in the early stages and now have a very honed target market. Ultimately, is goes back to the basics of trying to create a relationship with our customers and building trust over time. We’ve stayed away from flashy marketing and taken a long-term approach to grow the company and its reputation. There have been several opportunities to go for a big impact type strategy but that is just something that doesn’t resonate with who our target demographic is.
Can you share 3 things that most excite you about the Cannabis industry? Can you share 3 things that most concern you?
The first thing that excites me is the growing access to cannabis and marijuana. For decades, cannabis has been demonized and the stigma around it very strong. With recreational marijuana becoming increasingly legal in the U.S., it has helped with that stigma. The second thing that most excites me is education. As the industry has matured over the years, there are more and more resources out there to help educate consumers. This has also helped the ‘bad eggs’ go away, allowing consumers to now find quality resources on how cannabis may help them. The third thing that most excites me is that the industry is still growing. There is such an opportunity to help people discover the positive benefits of CBD and educate them on how they can incorporate it into their live.
However, what also concerns me about the industry is also the fact it is still growing. After the 2018 Farm Bill passed, there were a flood of companies that came to market. What helped spur this was a glut of CBD oil from the excessive raw hemp that was grown the year after. White label manufactures flooded the market with cheap, ineffective product. Anyone with a credit card could spin up a bottle and sell the same product hundreds of other companies were also buying and labeling. Most of these were and still are not efficacious products. Another area that is troubling to me is the claims that companies are making about the benefits of CBD. I can sit here and tell you story after story of the positive benefits of CBD, but they aren’t clinical studies and may not be the same for everyone. The FDA over the years has cracked down on incredibly outrageous claims made by companies, but they don’t have the resources to get all of them. It’s overall detrimental to the industry when you have companies that are playing out of bounds and possibly putting someone at risk. When you only have one shot to show someone that CBD does do wonderful things, these products took a potential, benefiting customer out of the market. Lastly, the biggest concern I have is the lack of standards in the industry. This ranges from cultivation and manufacturing to how the product is marketed. There are so many terms tossed around when marketing these products that can oftentimes just be very confusing for a consumer. This can be a major turnoff to purchase when you don’t know specifically what is in a product or the actual amount of CBD and cannabinoids you’re taking. Over time this has gotten better but there is still work to be done to keep companies accountable.
Can you share your “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started Leading a Cannabis Business”? Please share a story or example for each.
- Know when to say yes, know when to say no. Take the time to do your research of vendors, suppliers, manufacturing partners trying to pitch their services. There is a lot of noise in the industry, and you must focus on what it best for your company and customers.
- Understand your target customers and know how to reach them. Market research can and will point to nearly any demographic you want it to. However, look at the cost to reach them and what it will take to acquire the customer. It’s important to find the lifetime value of your customers. You can adjust your branding and marketing to meet the demographic you have the best opportunity to reach.
- Start small and plan steady growth. Your path will change, and your business model will become more focused over time. Steady growth has proven to be best for our brand and we continue to hone in on our demographic. Most cases I’ve seen with rapid growth and product placement didn’t last past a quarter or two.
- Have a reliable and consistent supply chain. As the industry matures, some companies will cease to exist. Having the consistency in all your channels along with backup suppliers and manufacturing partners will pay dividends sooner than you expect.
- Keep your expectations reasonable and your goals within reach. This may not be agreeable with everyone but having goals to reach each month has been key for us. As long as the needle is moving in the right direction, we know we’re on the right path. Getting past small roadblocks each week instead of hitting a wall with no way around will help achieve steady growth.
What advice would you give to other CEOs or founders to help their employees to thrive?
First off, be adaptable. The CBD space has changed so drastically over the years, and will continue to shift, so if you cannot move with it then you will be left behind. Don’t be afraid to change your mind and go in a different direction than originally planned. Lastly, trust your gut. If something or someone sounds too good to be true, they most likely are. However, don’t forget that your employees are still the heartbeat of the company. Take the time to know about their lives and recognize their contribution to a company’s success will pay off in the long run. Be generous around holidays and find grace when life and personal problems arise. We’re all human and being human from a management standpoint will bring them in closer to the company.
You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂
One of the most lifechanging things for myself is to be able to take time to be with myself and just reflect. I keep a steady routine of trying to walk every morning for about 45 minutes to an hour. Sometimes I’ll listen to a podcast, but mostly I just enjoy the peaceful silence. Our brains need time and space to wander, reflect, dream, and contemplate. I feel that if people took more time to be comfortable to be with themselves and not plugged in or looking for constant instant gratification there might be a little more calmness in the world. Great things come when you can spend time inside your own head. Take the time to check in on how you feel and not be afraid to keep asking the question of why. When you ask yourself why enough times, it’ll help get to the root of the problem. From there with clarity, you can start to make decisions or changes.
What is the best way our readers can follow you on social media?
You can check us out on Facebook and Instagram @AlturaWellness to learn more about us and to educate yourself on CBD. We pride ourselves in educating our audience so that they can make an informed decision and it’s been a great way for us to connect with our audience and learn more about them and what questions they have.
This was very inspiring. Thank you so much for joining us!
Grant Kruft of Altura Wellness: 5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started Leading a Cannabis… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.