Q & A With Vance Global
(The contents of this article does not reflect the beliefs of Midwest Distribution.)
Knowing my experience in the wine world and my abilities to taste, smell and blend wine, they asked if I was interested in dabbling with making flavors that they could possibly use. I started just like anyone else by coming up with recipes and learning from the mistakes. Coming up with a new recipe would take me 20-30 attempts. Nowadays I can almost visualize the percentages and the outcomes in my head. During this process my good friend left Space Jam and in 2015 we ended up creating the brand Verdict Vapors. Verdict Vapors has grown into MEGA E-Liquids and our newest line Mints Vape Co. The brand in total consists of 17 flavors, with the most notable award winning Best Dessert – Apple Crumb, Best Coffee – Coffee & Donuts, and Best Cereal Rainbow Cookies. The vape industry has been unique and challenging to say the least. Being a part of an industry that had no regulations and had so much rapid grow helps you learn a lot of decision making and whether to be proactive or reactive. We have learned more than money could ever buy and continue to push forward as long as possible.
How did the name Vance come to represent the company? Is there any special meaning behind it?
Being honest we felt that the name Vance Global rolled off the tongue very well. Making it memorable while adding to our very sleek product and image of our company. Spending hours thinking of a name we came to the conclusion that Vance global was a winner for a few reasons. Using the letter V which by the way is a very much underutilized letter makes us different and separates us from the crowd. Creating such an appealing yet kind of mysterious name gave us the opportunity to not be so limited in the market.
Unlike most of our competitors who use words like “CBD” and “hemp” in their name basically restricting them from any other markets. We figure not being tied down allows us to divulge into other markets in the future and allows us the freedom to grow. This only gives us a wider range of what we can do with the brand while not being restricted or having to change our name in this process. We would have to say how versatile and memorable is what truly makes the name Vance Global special and stick in the mind of all of our great clients.
Have you found this product has impacted your customer’s lives? Can you share with us any positive transformation stories because of your product?
Yes, we get tons of emails every day. These emails come from people of all walks of life telling us how our product changed their lives. We’ve had customers who’ve suffered years of anxiety and now being able to have more peace of mind and the ability to relax. There have been a lot of customers who have said that it has helped with their digestion. We’ve also had many customers who suffer from chronic pain that has kept them up for nights… finally being able to get a good night’s rest because of smoking our product. More specifically we had a customer who had a severe illness that kept him up most nights throughout the year and was finally able to receive all the benefits of CBD because of how potent and fast acting our products are. There have been people who never thought they’d be able to quit smoking and have been able to leap over this hurdle by smoking “Vance’s” instead. Not only that but we’ve gotten plenty of emails regarding people not having to take their pain medication anymore because of our product. One email in particular really got to me… it was a young college athlete who never thought he would be able to play his sport again due to chronic pain. As soon as he started smoking “Vance’s” his whole life did a complete 180 and he was able to do everything he used to be able to do again. All of this because he decided to take a chance on something All because he chose the right CBD product. So yes, I’d say our product has had numerous transformations and fixed many of our clients problems.
What were the challenges you faced early on with starting Vance Global?
I would have to say shipping was. Every shipping company was extremely strict about their shipping laws. It was very challenging to get a shipping company to ship a CBD product like ours. We honestly had products early on getting seized by USPS only to have an apology letter and our product sent back. After looking for companies we started working with USPS and soon after we started connecting we made up an agreement. In this agreement USPS white listed us in their shipping system and they also gave us there shipping guidelines for hemp. Another major challenge was we had to start a distribution network in a new industry. It made it difficult to find interested buyers or inform the consumer what CBD is and how it can actually benefit you in so many ways. So convincing and educating was a huge part of us building out our distribution network. This consisted of long hours of talking business with farmers, smoke shops, vape shops, gas stations, and grocery store owners. But after working hard and building ourselves up we were able to build up a massive distribution network.
You started this company at a young age, what difficulties did you face because of that?
Being as young as we were (21) we found out that it was harder to be taken seriously by older people involved in the industry. They would try to take advantage of us in almost every single way just because of our age. On top of that since we are young it was actually impossible for us to get a credit line so no loans period. We built our company from the ground up selling a quality product and with money we saved from working long hours at other jobs before we started Vance Global. In the end we came out on top and will continue to come out on top by always providing the best product and always having the most knowledge in this industry.
You’re from the great city of Milwaukee Wisconsin, how has Vance Global impacted your community and the city of Milwaukee at large?
Since it started, we brought in a new market that has brought in different kinds of jobs requiring different skill sets. For instance, we currently have 26 employees and the product has been spreading like wildfire… we’re a key part of putting the great city of Milwaukee on the map. We’ve developed an economic advantage for Wisconsin being as we are one of the main pioneers for CBD. Legislation in Wisconsin can get pretty slow, so bringing in CBD “cigarettes” is something big for the state itself. It shows movement and growth not stagnation instead we’re as a state leaders in this ever-growing market. This being the truth the state will be able to make more money and be a part of the cannabis and CBD revolution. We’re also so glad to have our headquarters be home grown in such a great state. A state that deserves so much recognition on the amazing things that were made here and continue to be made here.
In the all-natural blend, we see they are infused with Lavender herb – what is the reason behind this? What are the benefits of adding Lavender to a CBD cigarette?
With lavender’s natural benefits it was the sure winner amongst other blends we tried. It has always been similar to CBD not only doing what CBD can do for the body but also, it’s known to relieve asthma symptoms. As well It can help with hair growth and be a big factor in keeping your skin healthy and youthful. The taste also went very well together with creating such a smooth blend.
It gives off an aroma like smell basically giving off the vibe of the product. We felt like it was the perfect amount of CBD and lavender for interested consumers to fall in love with. We grow at a steady rate of about 35% a month just showing how our customers aren’t just one-time users but true believers in the product.
Vance’s style and overall branding are clean, powerful and trendy – separating itself from the traditional image we see and think of when we think of hemp products. What was the inspiration behind this?
Basically, we see ourselves as CBD “cigarette” and “preroll” critics. We try all of our competitors’ smokes taking into mind how much the products cost and how much CBD per “cigarette” determining the quality of a product as a whole. It makes us very happy to smoke our competitor’s brands because it gives us firsthand experience on how terrible these lower tier products actually are. It honestly gives the CBD “cigarette” industry a bad rap because they aren’t in it for the people or the product, they are just in it for the money. We easily came to the conclusion that our product was the most effective, efficient, and economical. Being that our product is the one of the most inexpensive priced products in the CBD community. For $14.99 you get 1000 mgs of CBD per all-natural blend pack for the Pure you get 1,500 mgs of CBD per pack. It’s just a price that no one can beat. For example, a lot of CBD oil will go for about $60-$80 for that exact 1,500mgs! Isn’t that insane? We just couldn’t settle for that and we knew we had to create a product for the more educated consumers while introducing the new consumers to the healthiest and most relaxing way to smoke. All in all, what we had in mind was a product that us being educated consumers could see ourselves buying. Our inspiration was to get it done right knowing that no one in the community was able to do it the way we could.
What would you tell someone who has not experienced CBD before but is interested in trying your products for the first time?
We’d tell them to try it out! Smoking a “Vance” put in the simplest terms feels like a warm hug or maybe that feeling of having a snow day as a kid … you get to sit back and be able to relax pushing all your stress away and treat yourself from a hard day’s work. Whatever was bothering you or whatever you needed to make your day better smoking a “Vance” could provide that. Going with our premium product would be the best way to feel the effects of CBD in the shortest amount of time. Every product after would just be like trying to chase a “high” that you could never reach… unless of course you smoked a “Vance” again.
What can we expect to see from Vance Global in the year 2020 and beyond?
Expect to keep seeing us provide the highest quality and most economical products in the CBD market. We’ll continually provide all the benefits that CBD has to offer while continuing to expand not only in the US but globally! We are planning on staying at the top of the market in the CBD community making sure everyone has a great experience with it. We’ve been working on a cannabis line of “Vance’s” which is going to spark curiosity into everyone’s mind. We truly believe that staying pioneers in the industry fighting for higher quality products at lower prices shows character and we want people to know that we’re giving them a product they deserve. We’ll keep innovating and we will never disappoint. That is a Vance Global promise.