Charlotte’s Web has always been a company driven by a mission: to bring the healing power of nature to people in a way that benefits our species and our planet. We’ve come a long way toward that goal, and we have a lot more work ahead of us. Earth Day is the perfect time to reflect on where we’re going, how we got here, and where it all began.
The Mission: Help One Little Girl
When young Charlotte Figi developed a rare form of epilepsy, our founders felt compelled to do their part to help. They believed in the power of nature to heal, and that led to the development of their Original Formula—a CBD extract that proved so life-changing for little Charlotte that when word got out, a waitlist of over 15,000 people quickly developed. That raised a new challenge: how would they grow enough hemp to serve that many people?
Much-Needed Farming Expertise
For our founders to succeed in helping those 15,000 people, they needed someone with experience in farming at scale. They found Ray Sitorius.
Ray took a leap of faith to leave behind the world he knew and start over as a hemp farmer. Along the way, he got one heck of an education as he shifted his operations to use older technologies and more sustainable practices.
A Difficult Growing Season
A year of extreme weather led to a particularly difficult growing season, causing Ray and our founders to reevaluate the feasibility of their mission.
Ultimately, they reaffirmed their faith in the land and trust in the earth to bring forward a productive yield. But the difficult year confirmed the fact that, as Ray says: “No matter how much you think you’re in control and you do it right, Mother Nature is gonna tell you what you’re gonna get, when you’re gonna get it and how much.”
Ray Introduces More Modern Farming Technology
In the beginning, our founders didn’t know anything about large-scale farming. They started out on their hands and knees, with shovels in a field. Ray introduced them to modern, mechanized technology that helped speed up and increase their yield—helping them harvest enough hemp to begin serving the waitlist of people waiting for their full spectrum hemp extract. Everyone learned a lot in the process, and they still strive to innovate and do better every day.
A Shift Toward More Sustainable Farming
In 2017, Charlotte’s Web began the transition to organic farming practices to regenerate the soil and ensure that the fields can continue to produce the same high-quality crop year after year.
Charlotte's Web Answers the Call
Some people go their whole lives looking for a purpose, but Ray has found his calling. He wakes up every day knowing that he’s helping to improve the quality of life for tens of thousands of people around the world—and he’s just getting started.
What began as a mission to help one little girl has evolved into something much bigger, but the intention at the heart of Charlotte’s Web has never wavered: to be stewards of nature and unleash the healing powers of botanicals with compassion and science, benefiting the planet and all who live upon it.
Ready to Begin Your Journey of Healing?
If you’re ready to experience Charlotte’s Web CBD, try the Original Formula that started it all. Since we started serving others, we’ve evolved and expanded into new formulas, strengths, and other forms of CBD to deliver the healing power of hemp in a variety of ways. Explore our best-selling gummies, capsules, topicals, THC-free options, and more.
