18 APRIL 5, 2018 RIDGEWOOD TIMES WWW.QNS.COM
Glendale cannabis entrepreneurs humbled by rapid growth
BY RYAN KELLEY
RKELLEY@RIDGEWOODTIMES.COM
TWITTER @R_KELLEY6
Ever since Chef Leighton Knowles
prepared New York City’s fi rst
meal infused with cannabidiol
(CBD) a year ago, the Glendale-based
cannabis entrepreneur and his team
have taken their company, Flower
Power Coff ee Co., to new heights.
The company was launched in 2017,
and within a few months Knowles has
taken his CBD coff ee, lollipops and
candies on the road to various expos to
share his vision, and had huge success
selling his products strictly online. In
2018, however, Flower Power partnered
with Caff eine Underground in
Bushwick and the cafe has suddenly
become known as the only location in
the city that sells legal, cannabis-infused
coff ee.
When the Ridgewood Times caught
up with Knowles on April 3 he was
continuing his travels, riding on an
Amtrak train from Massachusetts to
Ohio. Knowles described the success
and attention his company is receiving
as “humbling,” but he measures
the company’s impact through more
important factors.
“We’re helping people, and people
are seeing the vision behind the company,”
Knowles said. “The feedback
from the general public has been
really heart-warming. There’s a lot of
people living a lot better lives.”
The natural benefi ts of CBD have
driven this feedback, as the compound
found in marijuana plants is known
to provide relief from acute pain,
seizures, depression, infl ammation
and more. Unlike the more commonly
known tetrahydrocannabinol (THC),
there is no psychoactive effect or
high associated with CBD use. In fact,
the compound is commonly used in
medically focused cannabis products
and is legal in all 50 states.
Knowles, who has 14 years of culinary
experience, keeps his cannabis infusion
process close to the vest like any great
chef with a secret recipe. The most he
will say about it is that he uses only organic
hemp to make his products. But he
has created trust within his customer
base, and his team, which he said is
another key to Flower Power’s success.
“I think it’s the people we surround
ourselves with. We work very well as a
team,” Knowles said. “We’re like a little
family making sure everything is done
correctly from the beginning. Any issues
we hit head on before moving forward.”
It is actually a family aff air in part
because Knowles’ wife, Beth Knowles,
serves as a self-described “Jill-of-alltrades”
for the company, though she
is also an accomplished photographer.
The other two members of the team
are Dr. Craig Leivent, who has degrees
in pharmacology and botany and has
done extensive CBD research, and
Terry N. Bouvier, a business adviser
with more than 20 years of experience.
Since the launch of Flower Power,
Mr. and Mrs. Knowles have made appearances
at the NECANN Convention,
the New York City Cannabis Film Festival,
the Maine Cannabis Convention
and more. Knowles said that they oft en
dress up in costumes and roam the
fl oor of the convention centers, engaging
people in conversation about CBD.
Flower Power is consistently “one of
the busiest stalls” at the events, he said.
Knowles is always looking to make
connections with new small businesses
that share his “family fi rst” mentality
and his desire to help others enjoy a
better quality of life, and the company is
growing every day. He could not provide
specifi cs, but said that he is humbled by
his phone “blowing up” with people
interested in learning more about CBD,
and hinted that Flower Power can soon
be found on the stock market.
For now, Knowles is planning an
event at Caff eine Underground at the
end of April that will feature musical
performances and education about
the benefi ts of CBD, and he hopes other
small business owners will come to
connect with each other. No matter how
successful the company gets, Knowles
is just happy to be making a diff erence.
“To have a company that is in this
industry and is educating people
and saying, ‘You need to wake up and
smell the coff ee,’ it’s very humbling,”
Knowles said.
Photo via Shutterstock
Howard Beach woman delivers 160
Easter baskets to local children in need
BY SUZANNE MONTEVERDI
SMONTEVERDI@QNS.COM / @SMONT76
A Howard Beach woman led a
community eff ort to help the
borough’s children smile this
past holiday weekend.
In February, 24-year-old Queens
native Brianna Ferranti kicked off a
spring drive to create holiday baskets
for children in need. Aft er issuing a
call for donations to her local community,
she received enough donations
to put together around 160 Easter
baskets.
On March 31, the day before Easter,
Ferranti and her brother took the
baskets to the River Fund’s food assistance
center in south Ozone Park,
where they handed them out to children
from homeless or low-income
families.
Her second altruistic undertaking,
Ferranti led an “Acts of Kindness
Toy Drive” in her community late
last year. Aft er getting the word out
to local businesses and on social
media, more than 300 toys for kids
of all ages were sent her way. Ferranti
then delivered the toys to the Cohen
Children’s Medical Center in New
Hyde Park and St. Mary’s Hospital
for Children in Bayside.
“I did the drive right out of my
basement again,” Ferranti said. “I sat
there for hours wrapping. I wanted
each basket to be absolutely perfect.
My whole entire basement was fi lled
up with toys and gift s.”
One of Ferranti’s goals for the
spring drive was to get more of the local
community involved. A preschool
teacher Our Lady of Grace Catholic
Academy, Ferranti asked the director
of her program for help getting the
word out.
The pair sent out a newsletter to
the school community calling for
donations. Ferranti also brought the
experience into the classroom and
after-school program, where she
worked with students to put together
the baskets while explaining the
initiative.
A number of neighborhood
children and Ferranti’s family and
friends also stopped by her house
to drop off donations and help wrap.
Contributions included games, Lego
toys, coloring books, crayons,
stuff ed animals, egg coloring kits
and candy.
The experience handing out Easter
baskets at the River Fund center is
not one Ferranti will soon forget.
“There were about 900 families
lined up outside the door with grocery
carts waiting for groceries:
vegetables, proteins, water, cleaning
supplies,” she said. “And at the end of
the line, there I am, standing at the
stoop with the Easter Bunny … Most
of the kids there were really young
— two or three — getting these huge
baskets. They were all so happy. It
made me emotional.”
For her next initiative, Ferranti is
thinking of organizing a community
yard sale, where locals can donate
unneeded household items and families
in need can stop by and take them
home for free. She’s also looking into
organizing craft or musical events
at the borough’s children’s hospitals
and community centers.
“I have some pretty kooky ideas,”
she said. “I might branch out.”
Photo courtesy of Brianna Ferranti
Ferranti (right) builds Easter baskets
with a helper
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