Brands landing on the shelves at Saks Fifth Avenue and Space NK don’t usually undergo a reboot six months after their launch. But Lauren Gannes isn’t your usual founder. The entrepreneur decided to kick her luxury cannabis fragrance brand Highborn up a notch shortly into its existence.
“I realized that there was an opportunity to revisit the brand and the story, and deepen the narrative and the connection to a community that has been supporting us from the beginning and, then, also to potentially acquire a new community,” says Gannes.“I saw an opportunity to simplify some of our packaging, which minimized our eco footprint, and an opportunity to deepen our story, and walk the user and potential user through the experience of bringing more ritual into their own lives like I had in my own life when I created Highborn.”
“We’re no longer just a fragrance company. We’re about celebrating senses.”
Highborn started with Aromatic Body Mists in two fragrances, earthy Défumé and spicy floral Salomé. The two initial fragrances were quickly joined by scents in rollerball vials called Anointing Oils. Gannes estimates it cost less than $5,000 to get off the ground, an amount covered essential oils, packaging and freelance design assistance. Time was definitely the heartier investment. She registered Highborn as a company in 2013, and it wasn’t until five years later that it debuted.
Half a year into Highborn’s availability, Gannes expanded the brand into CBD with a cannabis-infused version of its Anointing Oils. “When I started Highborn, it was not a CBD company. It was a wellness fragrance company with very high-end premium ingredients,” she says. “CBD was really a natural progression for us.”
In February last year, Highborn scored its first retail partnership with swanky members-only club Soho House. Luxury retailers Space NK, Nordstrom and Saks Fifth Avenue soon followed. Gannes shares that most of Highborn’s business development was inbound in 2019 and says she considers herself “so incredibly lucky because I realize how rare that is.”
With the relaunch, Highborn moved from sticker labels to labels printed directly on glass bottles. On top of that change, it transitioned from simple black block lettering for its logo and product names to sophisticated and florid script in black and white with pops of color for an upscale aesthetic. The brand enlarged its assortment beyond fragrance by releasing 4.-oz. body oils. The Salomé and Défumé body oils with 200 milligrams of full-spectrum CBD are priced at $58, but are sold in a non-CBD option as well for $50. Another fragrance, the neroli- and blue tansy-tinged sweet citrus Moon Saber, is now in the mix, too. Highborn’s 10-ml. Anointing Oils containing CBD retail for $72, while their non-CBD counterparts retail for $40.
“It’s crucial to continue to see where I can push this on my own.”
The brand’s formulas are made with organic, sustainably-sourced and extracted essential oils, and Reiki-charged crystals. Gannes plans to keep creating Highborn products. “I opened [with] aromatics and cannabis, and I thought this was a way for me to explore additional body care but, then, also deepen the ritual,” she explains. “It goes beyond body care. It’s about other things that we enjoy through our senses, whether it’s candy or smokeables, eventually. We’re no longer just a fragrance company. We’re about celebrating senses [and] bringing it full picture.”
Highborn has expanded and rebranded without external funding. In a CBD sector that’s growing, investors have been pouring in, and Gannes reports she’s been approached by outsider backers. Although a cash infusion is tempting, she’s opted for Highborn to remain self-funded for the moment. “Right now, where we are, it feels like it’s crucial to continue to see where I can push this on my own,” she says. “It’s about spending smart. I really like having full creative control. I think, eventually, it will make sense to partner, but, with the right people [with] capital that I think will be complementary to our process and our ethos. [I want to make sure] that it’s very much in alignment with the energy that we’re creating at Highborn.”
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