Women In Wellness: Julianna Carella of Treatibles On The Five Lifestyle Tweaks That Will Help Support People’s Journey Towards Better Wellbeing
An Interview With Candice Georgiadis
There’s light at the end of the tunnel, although it’s a very long tunnel. I never imagined that 13 years after our founding date, cannabis would still be a Schedule 1 narcotic. We may be years away from full federal legalization but there has been tremendous progress in the past decade. This speaks to the necessity for activism as well as the success of the grass roots cannabis movement.
As a part of my series about the women in wellness, I had the pleasure of interviewing Julianna Carella, Founder and CEO of Treatibles and Auntie Dolores.
Julianna Carella is the embodiment of a successful serial entrepreneur; fearless, focused, driven and always ahead of the competition. Her story is noteworthy in that she’s built one of the world’s first medical cannabis brands and since 2008 has created not one, but two multi-million dollar enterprises. These brands are dramatically altering the quality of life for health-conscious consumers and their pets by both providing broad access to safe alternatives and educating the public on the therapeutic value of cannabis and hemp.
Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series! Our readers would love to “get to know you” better. Can you share your “backstory” with us?
In 2008, my daughter was approaching college and my career as a bookkeeper became stagnant. I saw an opening that existed in edibles within the cannabis industry and that’s when I decided to launch Auntie Dolores. I started making medical cannabis edibles for friends and relatives who suffered from various ailments and Auntie Dolores ultimately became one of the leading lifestyle cannabis brands in California. In 2013, my loyal customers began inquiring if Auntie Dolores products could be used for ailing pets, which led me to create Treatibles, the pioneer and current industry leader in creating full spectrum hemp CBD products for pets.
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you started your career? What were the main lessons or takeaways from that story?
The growth of the Auntie Dolores brand happened during a time when advertising for cannabis brands was illegal and yet within a year of our founding date, the demand for our products spread from the Emerald Triangle all the way to San Diego. Our success was made possible thanks to word of mouth, guerilla marketing and social media. The main lesson I learned was to never underestimate the ability to create brand loyalty and generate good will through direct interaction with our customers, even if the law makes it difficult.
Can you share a story about the biggest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?
The funniest mistake I made in business was doing an interview early on in our cannabis days and divulging sensitive details. The reporter asked me about how we managed the difficulty of operating on a cash only basis, being that we were denied true banking services. I jokingly stated that hiding cash to stay in business is not necessarily the easiest or best model, but a necessary one. The reporter then decided to write that I stash cash in my car every night. Once that story went to print, I started having male employees escort me to my car at night. Our kitchen was in East Oakland at the time. It’s a funny mistake now when reminiscing, but at the time it wasn’t so funny!
Let’s jump to our main focus. When it comes to health and wellness, how is the work you are doing helping to make a bigger impact in the world?
At Treatibles we believe that by being part of this industry and by educating the public on the benefits of CBD, we are making a positive impact each and every day. In a world where anxiety seems to be one of the most common complaints, we work tirelessly to advocate the calming benefits of CBD for ourselves and our pets, truly creating harmony for the whole family. We believe in this statement so deeply, it’s become our tagline.
Can you share your top five “lifestyle tweaks” that you believe will help support people’s journey towards better wellbeing? Please give an example or story for each.
- Stay on top of a supplement regimen that keeps your whole system in tip-top shape because our food supply has become less than stellar, and many common foods are denatured and lack the minerals and vitamins we need.
- Treat your pets with CBD when you treat yourself, to truly create “Harmony for the Whole Family”. Holistic approaches for a well-rounded and holistic outcome make for a happier pet and family!
- Recognize that everybody is a little different, including our pets. We can dial in their happiness requirements by experimenting on dosage.
- Don’t underestimate the power of good diet, exercise, and sleep — all things needed in healthy doses by human and furry family members!
- The microbiome is where immunity lies; keep yours and your pet’s microbiome healthy with the right diet and supplements.
If you could start a movement that would bring the most amount of wellness to the most amount of people, what would that be?
Cannabis and hemp have the ability to change the world in a good way so much so that I’ve dedicated my career to this movement. There are endless benefits and rewards that the plant provides, including a safer and more sustainable alternative to medicine, in addition to improving overall health and wellness. With the numerous ways the plant can be cultivated, extracted and researched, we have much more to learn about it’s uses. I’d love to end the stigma surrounding this miraculous plant, as it can bring calm, balance and ease to both humans and pets.
What are your “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started” and why?
- Banking challenges may slow you down, but they won’t take you down. It’s been a bit of a challenge running successful cannabis/hemp brands with limited banking. I look forward to some of this changing with hemp’s new classification.
- Be prepared to spend a lot of time studying regulatory compliance. To be a successful cannabis or hemp brand, it’s essential to be knowledgeable of current and changing laws for proper marketing and labelling of THC and CBD.
- Balancing both adaptability and tenacity is an ongoing effort. In any emerging industry, entrepreneurs need to be agile enough to manage the unexpected, while still maintaining a tenacious follow through on the original business objectives.
- Don’t be afraid to overcome the stigma. Thanks to the discovery of CBD and other beneficial cannabinoids, more and more opportunities are beginning to exist for entrepreneurs.
- There’s light at the end of the tunnel, although it’s a very long tunnel. I never imagined that 13 years after our founding date, cannabis would still be a Schedule 1 narcotic. We may be years away from full federal legalization but there has been tremendous progress in the past decade. This speaks to the necessity for activism as well as the success of the grass roots cannabis movement.
Sustainability, veganism, mental health and environmental changes are big topics at the moment. Which one of these causes is dearest to you, and why?
Mental Health is an area of special importance due to the potential impact cannabis can have on our mental health and how the plant is underutilized in this area. With a large percentage of our population on various anti-anxiety and anti-depressant drugs, we are not taking full advantage of the cannabis and hemp plants to address mental health issues. Hopefully the regulatory environment will ease up eventually so humanity can enjoy the full benefits of this plant.
What is the best way our readers can follow you online?
We’d love for your readers to keep up with our blog at Treatibles.com. We’re also very active on social media:
Facebook: Facebook.com/Treatibles
Instagram: @Treatibles
Twitter: @TreatiblesPets
Thank you for these fantastic insights!
Women In Wellness: Julianna Carella of Treatibles On The Five Lifestyle Tweaks That Will Help… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.