With her down to earth nature, Christine Yi had a mission to create an elevated life for everyone. She manifests this mission in Potli. The company roots itself in holistic and eastern medicinal standards in order to provide the highest quality products including all types of cooking items. Christine followed her expertise in branding and online strategy as Potli was born. She is passionate about overall wellness and reflects this desire in each and every product. But what exactly makes Christine’s vision and company so unique?
How did you start Potli?
My best friend Felicity and I started working on Potli in 2017. At the time, all we knew was that we loved weed and wanted to start making creations of our own. Her father had started beekeeping in her backyard in the east bay area hills for her mom, who’s asthmatic. We thought about how infused honey is such a perfect product- it’s sweet, it’s healthy, and perfect in so many delicious creations. In ayurvedic medicine, honey is considered one of the most powerful vessels for herbal remedies. We started with a THC infused honey and never looked back. We didn’t know all that would come and what it would take to start a cannabis brand on the eve of a recreational market, but honestly I’m glad we didn’t!
What is the Potli mission?
Our mission is to help empower people’s health. We want to create delicious, meticulously souced, super high quality ingredients that can seamlessly integrate into people’s wellness routines. We want to move cannabis from the stash on your dark, bottom drawer to the middle of your kitchen island! Which is to say, bring cannabis use to the forefront in spite of any negative stigmas, and help rewrite the narrative for what it means to be a cannabis user.
What is one interesting thing about you that your followers wouldn’t know?
Oh god, I’m such an open book with an addiction to compulsive IG story posting that if someone were following me they probably know more than they would like. Maybe something that would surprise people is that I never ever dreamed of being an entrepreneur. It wasn’t even a career path I contemplated until Potli was well on its way. I thought I’d just be climbing a corporate ladder somewhere up until a few years ago, and I was happy with that strategy. My parents owned their own businesses and seeing them go through all the ups and downs turned me off to the prospect. But reflecting on it now, I’m someone who truly can’t stop starting things. Whether that was clubs in college or internal initiatives in my corporate job. I can’t help it. Yet somehow I never translated that to entrepreneurship until I found myself in that role unintentionally.
How do you stay healthy and well?
I’ve only recently learned how important movement is. Like, I always knew but didnt understand that exercise is so important to emotional well being. I’m the last person to find out, haha. Not to say that I’ve never stepped inside a gym, but I’d always looked at exercise as a purely physical endeavor. Since moving back to California after 8 years on the east coast, where I walked a lot every single day, I’ve learned to literally just take walks. Whenever I start to feel unwell I just take a walk. Simple as that.
I’m also unfortunately someone who operates between two extremes. I’m either laying in bed and eating chips and drinking soda or I’m doing two-a-day workouts and making wellness-blogger-worthy concoctions absolutely packed with superfoods and adaptogenics. I should be more moderate and well rounded but where’s the fun in that?
What is the one trend in the wellness space you find to be a little “eye-roll emoji”?
Hahahah what an amazing question. There are so many, even within my space of CBD. But if I had to pick on one right now, it’s natural skincare. Skincare is complicated, and active ingredients need to be stabilized and paired with the right ingredients to ensure safety and efficacy. A lot of “natural” and “organic” and “clean” skincare brands are trying to frame chemicals as a scary term, when in fact, when done correctly, they can be safer than a lot of natural products on the market. I’m all about simplifying, and nature is the source of so many amazing active ingredients. But just because something is made purely from plant extracts doesn’t make it better than something made in a clinic.
What is the one health product you think everyone should own?
Aside from our holy grail Potli CBD honey… I’d say a gua sha tool. They’re inexpensive, portable, don’t need recharging, and everyone can benefit from lymphatic drainage. I love using them in the morning when I have important events to help depuff my face, but I also swear the facial massage helps.
You can find more of Christine here and here, and more of Potli here.
