“It was always about building a community” – Savage Cabbage CBD five years on

Five years since launching Savage Cabbage CBD, Jade Proudman is one of the UK’s leading CBD experts, working closely with the world-famous Charlotte’s Web. As the brand marks its fifth anniversary, she reflects on the progress so far and looks forward to a new chapter.

It was Charlotte Figi, the little girl who created a movement and kick-started the world’s CBD industry, who finally convinced Jade Proudman it was worth a shot.

Charlotte, who suffered from a rare form of epilepsy known as Dravet syndrome famously discovered that a CBD oil, produced by Colorado growers the Stanley brothers, helped keep her seizures under control and vastly improved her quality of life.

Diagnosed with chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS/ME) at the age of 14, Jade has battled her own health issues, including epilepsy and arthritis over the years. At her lowest point, she recalls barely being able to leave the sofa due to the side-effects from her medication.

But after watching Dr Sanjay Gupta’s CNN documentary following Charlotte’s journey, Jade was finally persuaded to try CBD.

“I was reluctant to try it, as I’d had a negative experience of cannabis when I was younger, but seeing this little girl on the screen, taking these oils and doing really well, it convinced me,” she explained.

“The fact that it had such a positive impact on my own health, triggered a eureka moment for me and I realised that I needed to tell people about it.”

Jade launched Savage Cabbage in 2016, a time when little was known about CBD and misinformation even led to accusations that she was using “drugs”.

Jade Proudman, founder and CEO of Savage Cabbage

But in a short space of time Jade was supplying products to customers around the world and building a community of people, many of whom were suffering and needed support.

“It was always about building a community for me,” said Jade.

“I’d never run my own business before, and I just thought, if I was that person at the end of the phone, what would I need? 

“We hit 44 countries without any paid advertising, that was all through communications, chats on Facebook and word of mouth here and there.”

In the early days, Jade partnered with Realm of Caring (RoC), a non-profit organisation setup by Charlotte’s mum Paige Figi and the Stanley brothers to support families around the world to gain education and understanding of cannabinoids. 

Her relationship with Paige and the brothers blossomed, and led to Savage Cabbage becoming the official UK distributor of Charlotte’s Web hemp CBD oil for the last four years.

Jade was devastated when Charlotte passed away on 7 April 2020, at the age of 13.

She had been due to fly out to Colorado to meet her in February, but the outbreak of Covid-19 meant she was unable to travel. 

“It’s very difficult to grieve for someone when you’re not directly related or connected to them,” she said. 

“Charlotte was just incredible, when she passed I just felt this void, I didn’t know what to feel, it was like a punch to the gut.

“As a company, Savage Cabbage put out a letter to Charlotte, saying that we would continue to run with this torch and I committed to do my very best to keep her legacy going. I maintain that to this very day.”

Despite not getting the chance to meet Charlotte in person, Jade remains close to Paige and the brothers and Savage Cabbage recently donated £5,000 to help RoC host Rock the RoC, a virtual tribute concert to mark the anniversary of Charlotte’s death. 

It’s not the first time the brand has stepped up. Over the last five years Jade has donated in the region of £50,000 worth of products to those who need support in maintaining access to wellness products.

As Savage Cabbage prepares to move into the next stage of business development, Jade is exploring the potential for a more structured approach to the charitable arm of the brand moving forward.  

She also now offers personal consultations with customers through the website, a role which she describes as not a million miles away to her former career in social work.

She said: “Although I left social work when I got sick, I’ve actually stepped back into it but just wearing a different uniform. 

“We’ve tried to be responsive and flexible to customer needs and to go that extra mile to ensure that they get those needs met. The customer journey is the most important part of what we do.”

The strategy seems to have paid off, with Savage Cabbage just about to launch in Europe and plans to expand its product offering to concentrate on the growing wellness sector beyond CBD.

“We’ve seen rapid growth in the wellness sector,” said Jade. 

“Now is the time to reflect and reconsider what is available for the UK consumer. People are switching to a more self-care approach to life, they don’t want to be at the doctor’s every five minutes.

“I want to focus on additional health and wellness products that are not necessarily CBD-related but are of high quality and new to the market, but we’ll take our time with it and make sure we get it right.”

Jade has carved a career in the industry as a CBD expert in her own right, a regular on the expo and cannabis conference scene (pre-covid restrictions) and holds advisory roles with respected educational organisations, such as MedCan Support.

Savage Cabbage is also continuing to collaborate and grow its valued partnership with Charlotte’s Web.

“Deanie [Elsner, CEO and president of Charlotte’s Web] is an amazing woman,” said Jade. 

Deanie Elsner, CEO and president, Charlotte’s Web

“The fact that she and I are working together demonstrates two strong women in a very male dominated industry, acknowledging and recognising each other’s skills, and commitments, and combining our efforts to grow our outreach.”

And Deanie sent her congratulations to Jade from across the pond.

“On behalf of Charlotte’s Web, I congratulate Savage Cabbage CBD upon its five-year anniversary and sincerely thank Jade for the vitally important work she has done to open up access to hemp CBD wellness products in the UK and beyond,” she said.

“We’re excited to continue our partnership with her as we work together to expand our reach internationally. The ‘Wellness Awakening’ taking place is a global phenomenon, and we intend to be a hemp CBD leader around the world so that access to these botanical products will be possible for millions of wellness seekers.”

But Jade’s experience as a woman – not to mention a patient – navigating trials and tribulations of the cannabis industry, has not been without its challenges. 

“I think a lot of people have made assumptions that I was not cut out for this and underestimated my abilities,” she said.

“You’ve really got to believe in yourself because it’s a challenging industry, but if you look hard enough there’s always good people around you who will help.”

Starting from the kitchen table in the Proudman family home, Savage Cabbage has grown into a dynamic team, with 10 forward-thinking individuals now in senior management roles, to ensure the brand continues to go from “strength to strength”.

“I didn’t do this by myself, without my community and my team, we wouldn’t exist,” said Jade. 

“If you have got the right people around you, you will go from success to success.”

And there’s one little girl who Jade keeps especially close.

“Charlotte’s always with me in my heart when I’m speaking to parents, families and individuals,” she added.

“She kick-started this whole industry, without her and the Stanley brothers would there be a CBD industry like there is today? I don’t think so.”