Meet our traders of the week: Lisa McWilliams and Phil James of HempWell Limited in Petergate
Each week we are shining the spotlight on the independent businesses that really make York special.
If you would like to nominate a York trader - or perhaps you run a local business and want to tell us what makes you special, you can tell us more via this online form:
This week's spotlight falls on HempWell Limited, of High Petergate, York, run by husband and wife team Lisa McWilliams and Phil James. They sell CBD - cannabidiol - products which are said to help with a range of problems including anxiety, stress, insomnia, chronic pain and arthritis.
Here is their story...
How long has the business been going?
We started our CBD business in 2017.
What does it sell?
We make and sell our own brand of health and wellness products using CBD extracted from hemp plants that we grew ourselves. This includes food supplements such as CBD oil, capsules and tablets as well as topical creams for muscles and joints. We also sell a range of CBD-infused gifts such as chocolate truffles, candles, bath bombs, gummies and a skincare line.
Why is this business is special?
Our business stands out from the others because we grew our own hemp and we manufacture here in York. We chose which EU certified seeds to plant and which organic farming methods to use and our CEO spent months on the farm growing the hemp. Once the CBD is extracted from the hemp, we manufacture at our labs in York Science Park and can proudly say that our natural herbal supplements and wellness products are Yorkshire-made. We work with other artisans in Yorkshire including a master chocolatier to make our CBD chocolate truffles and a candlemaker to make our hand-poured CBD candles so that we can be truly proud of supporting other small businesses in the area.
How has it adapted during the Covid-19 crisis?
To adapt to the Covid-19 crisis we opened our first retail store on High Petergate near the Minster, we were previously only selling online at hempwell.co.uk. CBD is known for its benefits to help manage anxiety and during the height of the pandemic we actually had people showing up at our offices trying to buy CBD! At that point we knew we had to open a retail space for people in York to come and get some information, sample the products for free and buy what they need.
Any awards?
Yes! We have just heard that we have won 'Best Hemp & CBD Products Retailer - UK' in the Global Health and Pharma Commercial Cannabis Awards! The results haven't been officially announced yet but we are thrilled with this news as it really shows all of the hard work we put into making the highest quality CBD products in the UK. Our Cooling Muscle and Joint Cream was also awarded one of the 'Top 15 CBD Products for Pain - 2021' by Origym.
What is your favourite story about this business?
We are always busy working hard behind the scenes so it's always incredible when a review pops up on the website saying that our products have helped to improve somebody's quality of life. We get lots of people say that it has helped them with their arthritis pain or it has helped their sleep or anxiety, but last week we had a review from a lady who said it had helped her with her post-cancer pain and everyone in the office was in tears! It makes it all worthwhile.
Be our next trader of the week!
If you would like to nominate a York trader - or perhaps you run a local business and want to tell us what makes you special, you can tell us more via this online form:
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