The cannabis industry can confuse and confound as the mind-blowing influx of strains, pens, and CBD elixirs continue to dominate more and more glass-framed shelves. What will work for us? How to navigate all this? For a newbie, it can feel like _The Shining_ maze! That is where [SERRA](https://shopserra.com/) comes in, a community-first organization with insightful and informed guidance for consumers by leaders in the field. Created by Portland powerhouses, Cambria Benson and Karlee Eichenberger, SERRA is aiming to make cannabis procurement as commonplace as perusing a bottle of wine after work, or deciding what sort of dining out might match your mood. Benson’s driving force behind SERRA was to dismantle the muddled stereotypes around ‘cannabis’ users, a.k.a. the tropes in Seth Rogen movies. This approach is supported by a unique, feelings-based template that connects the nature of the plant with correspondent, selective benefits. Each strain unlocks so much potential! We had the opportunity to speak with the Founder and COO at the commence of this new decade, which will no doubt see dramatic shifts in how we celebrate and cultivate new ways of being.
**You’re the first company to create products based on feelings, specifically creativity, energy, focus, happiness, relief, relaxation. Why these six feelings?**
**Cambria:** Our feelings-based approach is an educational tool for someone who isn't familiar with THC or CBD percentages or stain names. Not only do we want to connect with cannabis experts, but we also want to relate with customers who aren't as familiar with cannabis. By considering how someone would want to feel, we designed our feeling system to help customers explore cannabis products tailored to the feelings they’re trying to achieve. We chose the moods because we believe there is a type of cannabis for every need. Thanks to science, we have a variety of different elements we can consider as guidance; we thought those six feelings were moods that covered all the bases and all the various self-care reasons for cannabis.
**How do specific strains tie a person to a specific feeling? For example, how do you accurately create “Focus” as a strain?**
**Karlee:** If that were a perfect science, it would be a much more straightforward answer; the beauty of cannabis is that it is a bit of an art form, and why art is such an inspiration to our brand. Cannabis interacts with each body chemistry a little bit differently depending on what you ate that day or the mood you're in. Our feelings model is a tool. SERRA is not prescribing anything; we’re helping people explore. It's why we call our employees (within our stores) 'docents' guiding the question, 'How would you like to feel today?' If SERRA can look at parts of the chemistry within the cannabis plant, then we can guide what we most commonly see as the answer to that question. While it isn't possible to guarantee an exact feeling every time, SERRA docents provide a dependable experience with a useful guide to help people feel comfortable with exploring on their own. That's the beauty: empowering people with enough information so they can ask their questions, start to be informed, and begin to curate their personal experience.
**Is there a certain strain you prefer?**
**Karlee:** I'm most excited to try our Relief Flower from the SERRA line; it's a 3:1 with a restorative high. What I love most about it is that it comes from a farm I adore, it’s cannabis grown in native soil by Moon Made Farms, a woman-owned farm in Southern Humboldt. From the growing processes to the aroma profiles, SERRA has worked for months curating cannabis products with premiere partners that uphold the integrity of SERRA values. Honestly, I can't wait to try all our flowers!
**Cambria:** Ooooh, yes. Me too! I use cannabis for a variety of reasons. I have my relaxing-at-the-end-of-the-day one. I have my get-me-through-this-workout. Help-inspire-me-at-home. For me, I am a big lover of the SERRA Focus Flower. It's a zippy high for the busybodies, multitaskers, and night owls; it's an amazing flower and one that I find myself highly functional on.
**What is being triggered in our minds or bodies that allows us to feel this feeling more energetic or focused?**
**Karlee:** The endocannabinoid system is what we tap into when using cannabis. There is science and variable data considered, as well as other elements that come into play. For example, the addition of coffee to our Focus SERRA Chocolate is that it adds a little boost, hence a more focused effect. Partnering with what we already know about cannabis and what we know about additional ingredients helps our staff guide a more well-rounded experience.
**What is the main difference between “relief” and “relaxation”?**
**Karlee:** Relief is more when we’re talking about CBD. For example, our SERRA CBD Lemon Ginger Gumdrops have a high CBD ratio and are perfect for recuperation or anytime restoration. Relaxation is for those who are looking for assistance in sleep and being able to unwind at the end of a long day.
**What is your cultivation method? Lighting, irrigation, environmental controls?**
**Karlee:** Within California, SERRA is engaged with partner cultivators to curate an incredible flower assortment. We have specific standards within each farm we partner with in terms of soil, fertilizers, and the overall growing methodology and sustainability considerations. From lighting to irrigation, there's value in a controlled environment to provide efficiency, and there's the incredible value of sustainability in sun-grown cannabis. We are looking for cultivation partners able to do the best version of each cultivation practice.
**What is the biggest challenge you’ve had in the cannabis industry?**
**Cambria:** Just being a part of an industry that is new and growing and evolving with a lot of regulations is a challenge. Our timelines often take longer as we’re doing our best to always be compliant and thoughtful while keeping our focus on the consumer. One of our core values is to connect deeply, and we begin and end our product creation meetings with just talking about our cannabis evolution and that of our consumers. We want to make sure that what we’re creating is the kind of quality our customers would expect from SERRA.
**What do you hope to accomplish or change within the cannabis industry?**
**Karlee:** I was inspired to join Cambria as she set out to destigmatize this industry by creating a cannabis brand where people could be inspired and get creative with cannabis in their life. When I first started, there weren't cannabis brands we experienced or saw that Cambria and I connected to personally, so that was an exciting mission to jump in and create. SERRA hopes to open the cannabis audience to more and more people in a way that is free of stigma and stereotypes and introduce cannabis as something that can be essential to all types of people. Cambria and I are both moms, so developing a brand to be well-rounded and to have cannabis be part of a well-rounded life has been particularly crucial in the evolution of our industry.
**Cambria:** Since building the SERRA brand, I've always wanted to try to change the stereotype of who the cannabis user is. I think there is a lot of stigma around who is a cannabis user, and with SERRA we wanted to let people evolve and feel inspired to bring cannabis into their daily lives and be proud to use it! I hope the industry shifts in a direction like wine (where we are familiar with who the grower is, what kind of grape it is). I hope it can become a consumer good that we are mass-educated on, and people feel empowered to use.
**Los Angeles is very much centered around concepts of wellness-how does SERRA breathe in a (new, refreshing) perspective into this space?**
**Karlee:** That is a great question! Wellness is essential in the SERRA mission of creating and curating products that are thoughtful, accessible, and transparent. With direct access to all our sourcing partners, SERRA inspects all our ingredients (especially the cannabis ingredients) with great care and consideration. With very specific guidelines, we leverage industry experts that look at every crop we are procuring. By inspecting and establishing quality standards, SERRA makes sure that our labels are showcasing the farms and our sourcing partners. We think cannabis is something that has a remarkable story, and it matters where it's grown and how it's grown, because SERRA believes growing practices go beyond industry standards.
**What from the SERRA line would you personally recommend for someone who doesn’t consider themselves a CANNABIS AFICIONADO?**
**Karlee:** The evolution of our products is reflective of many new cannabis users' journeys. Our product line started with chocolate bars, and we created it with the best chocolate maker we could find right here in our Portland backyard (Woodblock Chocolate). We were able to pull from both our own personal experimentation and also able to let our friends and family explore cannabis for the first time in a high quality, pure ingredient-based edible product. That was the very first introduction to cannabis for many people, and one we continue to recommend.
As we've grown, and as we continue to educate in this space, we found that our customers are evolving and wanting to try new things, like products that are still discreet and easy-to-use. Our all-in-one vape pen is coming out with our launch in LA, and I'm incredibly excited to be able to share that with consumers who wanted something quick and easy. We're also launching our flower and pre-roll line highlighting the purest form of cannabis. Our customer evolution is like my own, as I now truly appreciate a stunning flower. I think it's a great example of how people beginning to explore cannabis become more open to trying new things, and everyone's experience is unique.
**Are there any other women in the cannabis industry that you admire?**
**CAMBRIA:** So, SO many! We aim for a large percentage of our product coming from female-founded farms, or the edibles, or the accessories that we create in partnership with them. 30% is the minimum threshold that we set for ourselves, 30% of the products on our LA shelves and brands that we carry (outside of our own) are women-owned or led. As Karlee said, Moon Made Farms and Kikoko and Juna, these ladies and brands are doing such a fantastic job. I’m inspired every day by this industry.
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Creative by [Stink Studios](https://www.stinkstudios.com/)
Photographed by [Luca Venter](https://lucaventer.com/)
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