Fri, Nov 25th 2022 09:40 am
Shop Small: Niagara County businesses ready for Thanksgiving weekend
Part II of II
By Joshua Maloni
GM/Managing Editor
Nov. 26 marks the 13th annual Small Business Saturday. The concept, crafted by American Express, is “Dedicated to supporting the diverse range of local businesses that create jobs, help boost the economy, and enhance neighborhoods around the country. Small Business Saturday was created by American Express in 2010 in response to small business owners’ most pressing need: getting more customers.”
This is part two of NFP’s series highlighting local merchants. Find more profiles online at www.wnypapers.com.
ONE HEMP HOLISTICS
It’s been nearly five years since cannabidiol (CBD) became legal to sell to the general public, and customers have learned a thing or two in that time. Namely, over-the-counter hemp products don’t make one high, but can aid in relieve of pain, stress and anxiety.
What people might not know is how CBD can help achieve homeostasis.
The One Hemp Holistics website states, “The endocannabinoid system (ECS), comprised of cannabinoid receptors, endocannabinoid molecules, and their metabolic enzymes, is a crucial molecular system that the body uses to help maintain homeostasis. Therefore, there is a direct link between using hemp-based CBD products and the functioning of this ECS molecular system.”
Owner Kari Bullman said, “It’s pretty simple, to be honest, because your receptor system, your endocannabinoid receptor system, is throughout your entire body. So that’s why, if you look at a chart and see – we’ve got these bubble charts throughout the store that kind of show that, ‘I came in here for pain, but it’s also going to affect how my anxiety levels are.’
“It’s analgesic; it’s an immunosuppressant; it’s anti-inflammatory; it’s antibacterial. I mean, from a synergistic perspective, the whole plant has a synergy, too. CBD is the major molecule; then there’s minor endocannabinoids, and THC (tetrahydrocannabinol) is one of them, along with these minor cannabinoids like CBG, CBN. They all have these properties. So, when your receptor systems take on this entire plant, your body does achieve homeostasis, because it’s affecting every regulatory, physiological system that you have. You’re less anxious; you have less pain; you have less inflammation. Your endocannabinoid system really can regulate that with the hemp product.”
It was this knowledge that prompted Bullman to open her Niagara Falls store in 2018.
“We specialize in the therapeutic properties, the health benefits, what hemp-derived CBD can do,” she said. “So, people that do come to our store really do get full-on education, not just walking into … like a ‘big box’ retailer, picking up a tincture or a gummy and not really knowing how to use it.
“We specialize in that. And honestly, we got into the business purposely, because we know the benefits of hemp. It was a passion for us to want to get into the industry and to continue to farm it – kind of a seed-to-sale scenario. That’s what we do. We began as retailers, went ahead and got our license to cultivate hemp, and also manufacture hemp. So, people walking into our store will get a seed-to-sale product. They know the source.”
In fact, the products sold at One Hemp Holistics are exclusive to the store.
“What I like about how we do things – and still being a small kind of retailer – is that when you walk through the door, you get specialized care. We make our customers our family,” Bullman said. “We didn’t want to carry other proprietary brands; we wanted to do that ourselves.
“It is special that everything that you purchase at the store – everything that comes into the store – is locally grown by us, and locally manufactured. I would say that’s really what makes us unique.
“And we stand by our product 100%. When you come in the store and you see any one of us, you know that we touched the product personally.”
Something else that might surprise readers – “And what’s really cool about our store – is that we have a handful of doctors recommending people to us; because doctors are definitely more on board with how hemp interacts with the body, and the safeness, and the non-toxicity of it for more-generalized disorders like anxiety and pain, arthritis, immunosuppressive support,” Bullman said. “When pharmaceutical remedies aren’t working, they really are getting on board with more natural, holistic approaches.”
Customers can try these hemp-based CBD products on Thanksgiving weekend.
“We have little giveaways, while supplies last,” Bullman said. Patrons can claim a 10-milliliter topical sample product or a five-count gummy.
In addition, $50 gift cards come with a $10 bonus.
“That’s always great for gift-giving,” Bullman said.
“And then we do have gift ideas, more style products, like candles, bath soaps,” she added. “The gummies are a great purchase for people saying like, ‘I want my mother-in-law to try this. But I don’t understand a tincture, or a capsule; give me something that she would understand.’
“We have tea, we have body stuff. Those little-more-practical items, as well, for people to give CBD a try.”
One Hemp Holistics is located at 2023 Military Road, Niagara Falls. Visit online at https://www.onehempholistics.com/.
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About Small Business Saturday
Nov. 26 is the 13th annual Small Business Saturday, proudly backed by American Express. Dedicated to supporting the diverse range of local businesses that create jobs, help boost the economy, and enhance neighborhoods around the country, Small Business Saturday was created by American Express in 2010 in response to small business owners’ most pressing need: getting more customers.
This national holiday shopping tradition is dedicated to celebrating small businesses and driving more customers through their doors on the Saturday after Thanksgiving.
Learn more at and connect on ShopSmall.com, instagram.com/ShopSmall, facebook.com/SmallBusinessSaturday.
About Shop Small
Shop Small is a year-round movement that supports small, independent businesses and calls attention to the valuable and distinct contributions they make to their communities and the economy. Shop Small celebrates small businesses ranging from retail stores and restaurants to fitness studios and salons, and everything in between. The Shop Small movement was spurred by the widespread participation in Small Business Saturday.