Today we’d like to introduce you to Kary Radestock.
Hi Kary, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
I feel like I’ve spent my entire career training for my current role as CEO and Founder of Hippo Premium Packaging. I worked my way up the ladder for almost 20 years selling print/packaging for what ended up being a large Fortune 500 printing behemoth. I saw an opportunity to help the newly forming cannabis industry and wanted to shift my efforts from mainstream…but my company got cold feet about the industry and asked me to stop. I knew from the bottom of my heart that my path belonged in cannabis, so I quit my job two months shy of my 20-year anniversary and started a sole proprietor business.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey have been a fairly smooth road?
Obstacle free? Not at all! I’ve never felt so blessed and cursed at the same time! Haha! Early on in the business, we had so many successes, it was dizzying! I was asked to co-write a feature article reviewing the nation’s best cannabis packaging for High Times magazine (which put us on the map), and started building the Hippo team and the Hippo brand. In 2017 I was named Cannabis Women of the Year, we exhibited at MJ Biz Con, became involved in the National Cannabis Industry Association (NCIA) and sales were growing at 300% YoY.
But things got tough when the Vape Crisis hit in 2019. Many folks in the cannabis and packaging industries were deeply impacted by the crisis – then the bottom fell out of the Canadian stock market, which affected valuations and funding for all North American companies. After that, Covid hit, which affected everybody! Although our Hippo has become a bit leaner over the past year, we are recovering nicely from the difficulties and thriving once again.
At this time, I am honored to be serving as the Chairperson of the NCIA Marketing and Advertising committee working with some of the best marketing minds in the business. I’ve also been named a Juror to help select the best brands in the space for the Clio Cannabis awards and also a judge for the prestigious PAC Global Awards honoring the best packaging in the nation. But my favorite part of my job is working with my amazing team to create beautiful packaging for our customers to help them compete in this crazy cannabis market. I love the creative process and I love making beautiful things.
Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about Hippo Premium Packaging?
Hippo Premium Packaging specializes in custom child-resistant packaging for cultivators and manufacturers in the cannabis and hemp industries.
As experts in managing color and maintaining brand integrity, we offer our customers a single-point solution, so they can spend their time managing their business instead of overseeing multiple suppliers.
Hippo also has an extensive network of national and international suppliers, so our clients receive unique customized child-resistant packaging solutions in weeks, rather than months.
Whether our clients need barrier bags, jars for concentrate or flower, exit solutions, tubes, pre-roll containers, tincture packaging, child-resistant boxes or any other type of packaging, Hippo has the expertise to deliver.
Also, on board, we have a talented creative team for designing company logos, packaging and collateral. Plus, we have a compliance officer who will review labeling/packaging regulations of the final art before going into production to give our customers a second set of eyes.
My Hippo team has decades of experience and has worked with some of the biggest brands in the world. With this unparalleled expertise, we are able to help cannabis and CBD companies create powerful brands with spectacular packaging that stands apart from the competition, sells more products, and enhances customer loyalty.
Contact Info:
- Email: kary@hippopackaging.com
- Website: hippopackaging.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hippopackaging/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hippopackaging/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/HippoPackaging
- Other: https://www.pinterest.com/hippopackaging | https://vimeo.com/hippopackaging
Image Credits:
Hippo Premium Packaging
Mae (Mind At Ease)
