Company Announces First Female Owner of its New Location in Charlotte, North Carolina
By Heather Collins
Franny Tacy, the CEO, and Founder of Franny’s Farmacy, a retail hemp and CBD dispensary, isn’t afraid to get her hands dirty, especially when she’s on her farm in North Carolina. Inspired by her passion for regenerative agriculture, Franny quit her corporate sales & marketing career in pharmaceuticals in 2016 to grow hemp for food and fiber. Without knowing it, she became the first female hemp farmer in North Carolina in more than 75 years.
Today, Franny manages the vertically integrated companies under the Franny’s Farmacy corporate ‘hemp-ire’ umbrella, which includes the farm, production facilities, retail stores and dispensaries, plus other business aspects. The company focuses directly on the production of hemp from seed to shelf and believes in cutting out the middleman, which provides cost savings to customers at the retail level.
“When I first started, I loved that hemp was illegal. I acquired a license to grow hemp for research, but the reality of labor, money, and risk came into play after the first year. I had to find a viable business opportunity for the beloved crop. That’s how Franny’s Farmacy was born,” said Tacy.
Franny knows that it takes grit, tenacity, a whole lot of luck, and an eclectic mix of passionate employees to live out the dream she envisioned when she first bought her uncultivated land in 2012.
Franny adds, “It just made sense to create quality CBD and hemp products at a reasonable price. Although I was already following my hobby by making cannabis products for my ‘book club,’ I knew right away the marketplace needed a safe, clean, regulated, and friendly retail/CBD dispensary that provided customers with easy access to hemp products.”
In 2018, Franny pivoted and started growing hemp for cannabinoid production, and that’s when she opened her first Franny’s Farmacy Dispensary in downtown Asheville, North Carolina.
“There was no e-commerce in cannabis at that time. So I saw an opportunity to educate people about hemp, specifically from our team. Together we are a collective group of experts, not to mention trustworthy reliable resources in the industry.”
With more than eight franchised retail locations throughout Georgia, South Carolina, and North Carolina, including a store in Westport, Connecticut, Franny’s Farmacy is leading the way to ‘high-end’ CBD products in a safe, clean, and approachable dispensary retail space.
Putting the Farm in Farmacy
Armed with a former career in pharmaceutical sales, Franny recalls that leaving a corporate career for hemp farming made perfect sense.
“My goal is and will always be to help people feel better, live better, and do better business, but do it with hemp,” said Tacy. “Franny’s Farmacy strives to make an invisible impact on bringing the highest quality and most reliable CBD and hemp products to people, straight from the field to the shelf.”
The word got out about Franny’s mission and her commitment to helping people achieve their health and wellness goals through hemp. One customer that took notice was an executive turned stay-at-home mom, Sondra Hellund.
“My boyfriend was always talking about the amazing service he had at Franny’s Farmacy in Greenville, South Carolina. There was nothing in Charlotte at the time that even resembled his description of the location,” recalls Hellund. “I knew I just had to check it out, and when I did, I was blown away by the staff’s wealth of knowledge and their passion for hemp.”
With Hellund’s interest level piqued, she immediately looked up Franny’s website and clicked on the franchise button, and shared her interest in becoming an owner/operator of the company. In less than a few months, Sondra became the first female franchise owner of Franny’s Farmacy in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Franny boasted her excitement for Sondra’s interest to collaborate. “I am always looking for ways to provide business opportunities for others through our retail franchising sector. Having Sondra on board is big news!”
The 1,400-square foot Charlotte location is set to open in late Summer in the South-End neighborhood of Charlotte. It will be perfect timing for the Southern Hemp Expo, which takes place a few hours away in Raleigh, North Carolina, September 2-4, 2021.
Franny’s Farmacy Future
As the second half of the year emerges, Franny and Sondra are looking forward to paving the way for more retail franchise operations as the company expands.
Franny predicts, “Collaborations, mergers, and big brand recognition will be big in 2021. I am optimistic about the emerging opportunity in hemp for fiber, bioplastics, and food. These are the next curves to ride. Hemp is and will remain the greatest opportunity to revitalize our agro-economies and communities that America has ever seen.”
Sondra adds, “We’re excited to bring something new to communities this year that don’t have access to hemp and CBD. The Charlotte area will be pleased with the sleek, sophisticated, chic look and feel at the new Franny’s Farmacy location. I am very pleased to be a part of a woman-owned, hemp-centric company that truly wants to help people feel better.”
If interested in learning more about Franny’s Farmacy’s franchising, investor, or wholesale opportunities, visit frannysfarmacy.com.
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Heather Collins is an Account Manager for Compass Natural Marketing and has been working in communications and marketing in the natural products industry for the past twenty years. Compass Natural serves in PR and programming for NoCo Hemp Expo and Southern Hemp Expo. Collins serves as a Contributing Writer of the weekly Let’s Talk Hemp Newsletter, published by We are for Better Alternatives. Contact heather@compassnaturalmarketing.com.
