While many industries took hits during the pandemic, Covid-19 set the stage for brands within the wellness industry, like Uncle Bud’s CBD, to grow.
Customers “were coming to us not necessarily because of hemp and CBD, but because they wanted hand sanitizer. “From just buying hand sanitizer now we’ve gained a longtime customer,” said Bruno Schiavi, Uncle Bud's CEO, on the Glossy Beauty Podcast this week.
Schiavi co-founded Uncle Bud’s in 2018 with Garrett Grella, a sufferer of arthritis since he was 14. “I wanted [Grella] to be the pillar of the brand,” said Schiavi, who added that his co-founder is “at the forefront of every campaign” along with mega ambassadors including basketball player Magic Johnson and actress Jane Fonda.
“We wanted Uncle Bud’s to be a brand for the people,” from 15 to 99 years old, said Schiavi. “We have everything for everybody, again, from pain relief to sun care to anti-aging, to pet products, [to] personal wellness,” ranging from $2.50 to $46.99 retail, he added. 
Before launching the brand’s DTC site in January 2020, Schiavi ensured that Uncle Bud’s CBD was “linked to big national retailers” like Walmart and The Vitamin Shoppe. This was largely for awareness, but also to combat the still challenging digital landscape that exists for hemp and CBD brands. As for the future, Schiavi hopes to expand Uncle Bud’s reach even further as he looks to increase penetration in China and launch in Australia.
“We have a strong plan for the next two to three years in terms of making sure that we grow our DTC business, making sure that we grow with the customers, and also expand with new customers," ” said Schiavi.