Vlasic Pickle family branches out into CBD for pets and people
The name Vlasic drums up a certain vinegary image: a pickle-bearing stork, a crunchy snack and Michigan agricultural history. What it might not inspire, are thoughts of cannabis products.
But that’s exactly what the Vlasic family is doing. Under the name Vlasic Labs, the family behind the largest American pickle brand is taking on a new mission of making CBD products for pets and people alike.
Rick Vlasic of West Bloomfield, and his son, Willy Vlasic, 28, of Farmington Hills, co-founded Vlasic Labs four years ago to offer safe, high-quality, non-psychoactive cannabis products.
In an interview, Willy Vlasic said he was a licensed caregiver in the burgeoning cannabis market for a few years, but his parents were hesitant to jump aboard, being raised in an era when cannabis products were illegal. After some convincing and legislative change, Willy Vlasic said his family came to believe in CBD as an alternative health product to aid things like sleep and chronic pain.
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“As it became legal in Michigan, my dad started to take it more seriously from a business perspective, and my mom started using the topical ointments and creams and even her mom was using them,” Willy Vlasic said. “I couldn’t believe that members of my family were using something that had come from a derivative of cannabis, that had anything to do with cannabis, but that is kind of how they became to get warmed up to it.”
Willy Vlasic began with a small-time CBD extraction business but wanted to step it up to the next level and start offering an in-house finished product. Willy and a business partner had the idea to call the company Vlasic Labs, paying homage to their family history of successful business. His father, Rick, who co-founded the company with him and serves as CEO, had to think about it.
“My dad went into a week of deep thought on whether we should take that step or not,” Willy said about attaching the family name to the company. Willy said he and his family talked to his grandfather, Robert Vlasic, who built the pickle company into the American legacy it is and sought his permission to use the name.
“We told him it was CBD and it didn’t get you high — it wasn’t marijuana. And he was just so excited that we wanted to use the name and carry on the family legacy and do family business, you know. It was just a bonus that we were going to be helping people and providing help to people. We got his blessing and we marched forward.”
And as they’ve marched forward, the business has been going well, Willy said.
“The family name is being held to a high standard. At the end of the day we want to provide products that are quality, and safe consistently, but they’re affordable.”
Willy Vlassic said he saw a hole in the market, where CBD products were associated with under-the-counter sales and underregulated products sold at gas stations. At Vlasic Labs, his goal is accuracy in labeling and well-tested products that can help people.
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“I’ve gotten to product into 59 new stores in four states in the last week, and that’s great, you know, business is cool and we want to do good family business,” Willy Vlasic said. “But when I give one old lady our roll on (product) and she tells me it helps us with her pain, like, that makes me more happy than any sale or store placement or distribution.”
On top of selling products to help people, they sell CBD dog chews and USDA Organic pet peanut butter. He said he’s been giving his dogs the product for years and credits it for keeping them happy and healthy — and perhaps employed.
“My dogs even use the product. That’s my dog, Yogi, on the bags. He’s our director of canine affairs,” Willy Vlasic said.
And Ozzy, the 14-year-old Golden Retriever on the peanut butter packaging, enjoys the CBD, too, helping with joint pain and anxiety in thunderstorms and fireworks shows, keeping him sharp on the job.
“Ozzy, he is our chief morale officer and he takes his job very seriously,” Willy Vlasic said.
Breaking news reporter Liam Rappleye can be reached at LRappleye@freepress.com
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