In the past few months, a product called GOODWITCH has been making waves in New York City, gaining popularity among high-end professionals, many of whom work in fashion. GOODWITCH’s schtick? It’s weed lip balm. Oh, and it’s all-organic, too. “I consider it to be a health-and-lifestyle product,” says GOODWITCH’s founder and manufacturer, whom we will call Megan to preserve her anonymity.
“I am a natural cosmetics junkie. I really like using [high-end
stuff],” she continues, sitting on her kitchen counter. “And, I wanted to make
something [for people] that I would want to use.”
Megan started making GOODWITCH products early last year but just recently began to mass-market the products for underground distribution in Brooklyn and Manhattan. Yes, the lip balm soothes chapped lips, but it has also gained popularity as an incognito pot product
that sheds the “stoner” association while still giving the user all the
benefits of being high. “I want to take the feeling that it’s an illicit drug
out of it,” Megan explains.
GOODWITCH recently got picked up by Secret Fleet, a prominent underground weed delivery service in Brooklyn and Manhattan with ties to affluent professionals who work in media and fashion (in order to become a customer, you usually need to be recommended by a current client). The co-founder of the delivery company, whom we will call Abe, originally met Megan in a theater collective a few years ago, and was reintroduced last year by his ex-girlfriend, a prominent fashion designer who has shown her collections during Fashion Week. “[Megan and I] always got along, and it was really fortuitous,” he says. “I had a company that was really growing, and she had products that brought a new edge to our company — [they] diversified our product line.”
Although a fairly traditional array of bud is offered by Secret Fleet,
GOODWITCH gave the company an edge for a new demographic.
“She has picked up on that organic, raw movement... [and that appeals] to a wide range of consumers,” Abe explains. “Her products bring a little bit of sophistication to what we are doing.” And, the numbers don’t lie: GOODWITCH has sold nearly 400 units through Secret Fleet since being picked up roughly six months ago.
Abe also explained that GOODWITCH is the perfect introduction into marijuana culture, appealing to the tidal wave of newcomers as something more modest and casual. “You aren’t drinking everclear and hitting the bong; you put on [lip balm] and have a cocktail,” he says.
The easy-going nature of GOODWITCH has spilled over into
Brooklyn’s LGBT community, too, making an appearance in more intimate situations.
“I heard kids say [the lip balm is] great for kissing,” Abe says.
Megan also likes to concentrate on the medicinal qualities of GOODWITCH,
and sees herself as an apothecary for the modern consumer. “I really enjoy tailoring and doing special orders [for certain
clients],” she says. One of her customers was severely beaten while traveling
in Central America and as a result has chronic, debilitating migraines. He
tried everything. “The spray is the only thing that really helped him,” Megan
explains. “For him, it’s medicine, which is what I like about it.”
Overall, Megan sees GOODWITCH as the perfect product line for
the average joe with an imaginative side. “I think one of the reasons why it’s
really popular with people who work in offices is that you can control the
effect, especially for someone who has a creative job or who wants to break up
the day,” she says. “It’s like a cup of coffee. That’s how I think of it. It’s
not just a ‘get stoned’ type of thing.” Here is where we see the relationship
between how GOODWITCH is consumed and why Megan started producing it in the first
place: “I think about this as a creative project,” she says, smiling. “I like
how there’s a little bit of magic to it.”