Work / Hemplucid
From an idea to seven figures a year. With no paid ads.
Hemplucid started as a concept. We named it, packaged it, built the site and grew it through search, in an industry where ad platforms said no.
The story
In 2016, every CBD brand looked the same, the ad platforms said no, and nobody trusted a new name.
It was 2016. The rules around CBD were murky, the big ad platforms rejected anything CBD, and customers had no reason to trust a new name. Most brands in the space blended together: the same amber bottles, generic names and forgettable logos.
If we couldn't buy attention, we would earn trust in the open. Make the product look as clean as it is. Give every product line a clear audience and voice. Then win customers through search, where people were already asking questions.
Hemplucid wasn't a rebrand. It was an idea. Ballard Branding led the full creative and marketing launch, from naming and product line strategy to packaging, the website, SEO and social, over three years.
What we did
Three moves that built the brand.
01
Naming and a brand family
Before anything could be designed, it needed a name people would remember and trust. We built one brand with room to grow into several product lines, each with its own audience. Line extensions took Hemplucid into new categories, like pets and sports, where new buyers were already looking.
- Named the flagship brand: Hemplucid
- Named the product lines: NUWater, Roxy Pet CBD and Kalki Sport CBD
- Built an identity, voice and packaging for each line
02
Packaging nobody else had
Every competitor used the same amber dropper bottle. We went the other way: a clear bottle that shows the product's natural color. Transparency became something customers could see before they bought.
- Designed industry-first clear bottles
- Broke from the look every competitor shared
- Matched print and digital pieces to the same transparent idea
03
Website, search and launch
With ads off the table, the website and search had to do the selling. We built a fast store, wrote content around the questions people searched, and worked around social platform limits.
- Designed and built a performance eCommerce site
- Grew traffic with organic SEO and zero ad spend
- Built social content around platform restrictions
- Partnered with Lamar Odom to launch a branded product line
More moves
Everything we did to earn trust.
Retail
A sample box that opened doors.
Before a buyer said yes, they held it. A branded sample kit showed off the packaging and made the pitch for us.
Trade shows
Booths and store presentations.
Trade show booths and in-store presentations put the brand in front of buyers and shoppers where they decide.
Booth reconstruction.
Brand line
Live Life Again.
A tagline about what hemp can help people get back. Paired with an outdoor, active look, far from the dark vape-shop feel.
Video
Kitchen counter, not vape shop.
Clean, fresh, wholesome videos. No big clouds. Every one taught something.
Education
A video and blog series that answered questions.
People were searching to understand hemp. We gave them clear answers and earned the traffic.
Behind the scenes
We filmed the extraction.
Showing how it is made built the same trust as the clear bottle.
Illustration of filming the facility.
Authority
Side by side with industry leaders.
Interviews, articles and videos with experts aligned Hemplucid with the people shaping the market.
Illustration of the industry interview format.
Social
Social built around questions.
Posts invited questions and answered them, so the brand felt like a guide, not a sales pitch.
The result
Once people understood hemp, the obvious answer was Hemplucid.
Want your brand to be the obvious answer?
Talk to Jared
Want this kind of thinking on your brand?
You work with Jared directly. Pick whatever is easiest.
Prefer email? jared@ballardbranding.com
Three years later
7 figures
a year in revenue, grown from zero, with $0 spent on advertising.
Why it worked
“Every roadblock, from platform bans to legal gray areas, got a creative answer instead of an excuse.”