By Kaleigh Fasanella
Happy Asian American Pacific Islander month, everyone! We’re extremely proud to be an AAPI-founded brand and part of such an amazing community of humans with roots from all over Asia. We were honored to be included in CNN Underscored’s round-up of the best AAPI-founded beauty brands alongside some seriously incredible companies, which made us think: Why not do our own featuring cannabis brands? So naturally that’s exactly what we did. Without further ado, check out some of the coolest AAPI-led cannabis brands currently on the market right now — and don’t forget to shop and support them this month and moving forward.
Leune
Founded by Nidhi Lucky Handa in 2018, Leune is a California-based cannabis brand that offers a high quality assortment of edibles, flower, vapes, and pre-rolls. Their beautifully packaged products can also be found in dispensaries across Arizona, Maine, Missouri, New Mexico, and Montana. Their best-selling Gem Drops are super tasty, well-balanced, and feature added health-boosting ingredients like vitamin C, vitamin B, and spirulina for an extra dose of nutrients. Follow them now @leunebrand.
Stiiizy
A household name in the cannabis industry, Stiiizy was founded in Los Angeles in 2017 by
Tony Huang, Samuel Cho, and James Kim. The award-winning company offers a wide variety of top-notch products, including flower, pre-rolls, different types of vape pens, extracts, and edibles — all housed in Instagram-worthy packaging, we might add. Stiiizy is currently available online and in-store in California, Washington, Nevada, Michigan, and Arizona. Here’s hoping they expand to even more states! Follow them now @stiiizy.
Pure Beauty
Founded in 2017, Pure Beauty is a sustainable cannabis brand based in Los Angeles with products available online nationwide. They sell an enticing assortment of pre-rolls, vapes, joints, and cannabis-infused beverages, the latter of which comes in a delicious array of flavors like passion fruit, pineapple, mandarin orange, and papaya. We’re also huge fans of their minimalistic, millennial-friendly packaging that makes it even *more* tempting to buy. Follow them now @purebeautypurebeauty.
Sundae Flowers
Sundae Flowers (and its sister brand, Sundae School) was founded in California by Dae Lim and Mia Park in 2017. Their premium cannabis products — and clothing — are available nationwide and include Asian-inspired flavors like lychee dragon, golden pear, and sour yuzu. The brand’s delectable hand-poured edibles are also made with only the highest quality natural ingredients and don’t contain any artificial dyes or unnecessary added sugars. Follow them now @sundaeflowers and @sundaeschool.
Mellows
Founded in San Francisco in 2015 by Stephanie Hua, Mellows offers low-dose, gourmet cannabis-infused marshmallows in mouth-watering flavors like chocolate malt, peanut butter pretzel, raspberry rose lychee, and orange dreamsicle. Every batch is hand-crafted in SF and contains just 5mg of THC each so there’s no need to worry about going overboard. They’re delicious and uplifting — not to mention a true culinary work of art. Follow them now @getmellows.
Potli
Founded by Christine Yi and Felicity Chen, Potli offers high quality organic edibles in ultra-satisfying chew form. Each edible also includes beneficial ingredients like honey (from their very own hives!), hemp, CBD, amazake (a digestion aid), and ginger to further enhance their wellness effects. Oh, and as you can see, the packaging is dreamy, too — we love the dedication to detail. Follow them now @getpotli.