Melissa Connolly joined The Healing Rose a little over three years ago, and manages wholesale accounts as the company continues to grow into new markets, including New York. An avid believer in the healing powers of plant medicine and benefits of CBD, Melissa shopped at The Healing Rose before she worked here. 

She brings that passion for the product and consumer perspective to her work with retailers, just as she did for three years working the lab to produce healthful topicals. 

The conversation below has been lightly edited for length and clarity.

What is your role now, and what was your role when you started at The Healing Rose?

I recently stepped into our Wholesale Account Manager position after being on our Production Team for the last couple of years. 

I really love it. It’s something a bit different for me, so I’m learning a lot all the time. It lets me get up close and personal with our accounts. It’s nice to put a face to the name and see our products in stores. I really enjoy it. 

Lately, I’ve been focusing on expanding our wholesale partnerships in Maine and in New York. I also work with our existing dispensary partners in Massachusetts to set up custom in-store displays, and that’s been really fun creatively!

We’re a small team, so we all wear a lot of hats depending on what’s needed. Depending on what Production needs, I can hop into the lab to assist them. Having that background is really helpful because I can pop in and help out when they need it.

Different states have different regulations around CBD – New York is very different from Massachusetts. How do you manage that with wholesale accounts?

That’s a great question. For me, the first thing I’m looking to see is what do we need as a company to be able to sell into these new states, especially ones who are just getting their cannabis policies up and running.

As far as selling anything CBD, you typically get a lot of buyers who are like: “Oh, my customers are really here for more THC.” 

At that point, it’s really more about just hammering home the beneficial properties of CBD, and showing that not everybody is just walking into the dispensary to get high – they may be there just to relieve stress. Maybe they need something for their chronic back pain, or their arthritis. 

We can’t, as much as some would like to be, be high all the time. CBD is safe for use during the day, when you’re at work, when you’re around your kids, grandkids, et cetera.

Knowing how it can help people specifically with certain illnesses and certain conditions really just drives it home. 

Many people think that CBD only calms you down, and is a stress reliever, but there’s so much more that you can use it for. It’s so versatile. It really is the epitome of plant medicine.

Had you worked in CBD before joining The Healing Rose?

No. I started at The Healing Rose because I had been a customer for several years, and loved the products. I got to know the company background a little bit more, and I met Laura and Zach at a couple of community events. I always said to myself: I live too far away to work for them, but one day, maybe something will line up.

Lo and behold, a few years later, something lined up. I moved to the area, and I just sent in an application and a nice cover letter.

I said: I really love all your products. I’d love to work for you. I love the vibe, the company, the mission. 

Here I am, three years later! It was definitely a “speak it into existence” moment for me.

Do you have a favorite product from The Healing Rose, and is it different now from before you joined the team?

Before I started here, my favorite products were the bath soaks. That’s what I was ordering most regularly before I worked for The Healing Rose. 

Now that I work here, it’s the tinctures. Hands down. I start every morning with the Uplift Oil. It really clears the brain fog, gets me ready for the day, and keeps my energy up throughout the morning. I am not a morning person whatsoever, so that has been a total game changer for me. I use that more than anything else.

What’s your favorite part of working at The Healing Rose? Any favorite stories?

My favorite part of the job is the expos and the conferences that we go to. We meet a lot of different people from all walks of life. They’re from all over the country – all over the world – and we’re all just as passionate about plant medicine. It’s a really cool space to be in.

The vibe that we have with the team is better than any other work environment that I’ve ever been in. I’ve been in the working world for more than 20 years now. 

Here, everybody really gets along. We always have a good time, whether we’re out at expos or putting the nose to the grindstone back in the lab.

We’ve made up a game that we play at expos when it’s slow. It’s literally flipping a rock on the ground – different sides of the rock. Depending on how slim the side of the rock is, you get more points. At one of our longer shows last year, we made a tournament out of it.

Who won that tournament?

It was either Megan or me. We all just make the good times happen, whether we’re stressed because we have a lot to put out, or we’re trying to pass the time at an expo that doesn’t have a ton of traffic. We enjoy spending time with each other.

Besides a wonderful team, what excites you about coming to work every day?

Some of the most impactful moments for me while working for The Healing Rose have come through customer feedback. It really drives home why we do what we do, and the care that we take to do those things. 

We get feedback from cancer patients or people with debilitating mobility issues that they haven’t been able to move certain ways in years, and then they try our salves or massage oils, and they’re getting some of that mobility back. Just knowing that we’re able to help people on such a deep, day-to-day, life-changing level means a lot to me. I’m glad to be involved with that – with helping people that way.