About The Brand: Astraèa & Co is an eco-conscious wellness lifestyle company dedicated to bringing you healthy, honest, and sustainable products. It is their mission to enhance the health of our bodies, and the environment that surrounds them.

Woman-owned and family-operated, Astraèa & Co offers a range of functional beauty and wellness products that are ethically and mindfully made. Care, inclusivity, and sustainability are at the heart of their values. As such, they focus on formulating premium products that are good for our bodies, our fellow humans, and our environment.

Astraèa & Co Founder Tamar took a moment to chat with Etain about the brand and their products available at Etain legal medical cannabis dispensary locations near you in New York. 

What’s the meaning behind the Astraèa & Co brand name?

Astraèa & Co., derived from Greek mythology, was named after the goddess of purity, justice, and precision. The last immortal to live with humans during the Golden Age, she later ascended to the heavens to become the Virgo constellation. Named after this Greek goddess of innocence, Astraèa & Co aims to embody all her values in every product we offer.

Purity - We only use purely derived, clean, and sustainable ingredients to create products that are produced without any toxic ingredients that could harm our bodies or our planet.

Justice - We only offer ethically made, cruelty-free, eco-friendly products that have been created in a way that elevates the welfare of the environment, animals, and humans, while driving change and initiative through positive social and environmental impact. 

Precision - Excellence and quality are at the heart of our company. Our products are mindfully created with fine tuned attention to detail, resulting in products that are nothing short of premium.

At Astraèa & Co we believe ethical products shouldn’t compromise on quality. In fact, we know that eco-consciousness and luxury can coexist — they do so in nature, and in our products. This is what we call Conscious Luxury (i.e. products made with life in mind).

We are redefining luxury, as the perfect collaboration with Mother Earth. We do this by deeply embodying our values, all the way From Seed to Sou:

• Clean, ethical, and sustainable ingredients
• One tree planted with every product sold
• 1% donated to charities in need (Astraèa Foundation)

Learn more about our Sustainability Journey and our promise to only use sustainable packaging and carbon neutral shipping.

What made you decide to create Astraèa & Co?

My husband and I each have over 18 years of experience independently in the industry as cultivators, manufacturers, product formulators, ingredient suppliers, service providers and consultants. We felt it was time to finally go direct to the consumer by bringing a highly pure, conscientious, and effective brand to the space.

Together, we have founded several solution providing startups, focused on strategic management, sustainability, community-based supply chains, and circular economies in the cannabis industry. We have built programs and distribution solutions for our clients, resulting in a robust technology and ingredient supply company for several years. Then, once COVID hit, we noticed the industry took a turn for the worse. Customers began to only buy our lower quality ingredients to put into their highest selling skincare products, and despite our strong advice and urging, they focused exclusively on margins. We were tossing and turning, and really couldn’t sleep at night. We decided it was time to put our knowledge and experience to work to create something truly wonderful for consumers and that’s when Astraèa was born.

Honestly, my husband and I miss how wholesome the industry used to be. Despite its legacy tactics, it had a sweet cumbaya culture and tribal mentality. Relationships were built on trust and honor, but, admittedly the industry’s broad market was only an illusion then, lacking in security. Unfortunately we can still remember over 15 years ago like it was yesterday, when we were just farmers, literally running from predatory helicopters in the Humboldt County redwoods. We have overcome a lot, I'm speaking for the industry of course. We’ve gone from the unspoken language of mutual trust and underground networking, all the while fearing police and robberies, to dealing with corrupt partners, corporate vultures, and eventually friendly branding wars, and the stock exchange. However, with all this growth, the industry is still just simply focused on helping people through their mental health and personal wellness journey.

As we see it, the industry has evolved to be mainly focused on marketing, while there’s an expanding gap in quality. Driving brand awareness through education and an emphasis on purity, we plan to close this gap sustainably.

What’s your favorite product in the Astraèa & Co line?

That is a very hard question to answer. I personally cannot live without our Clarity Oil every morning for focus and gut support, or our Dream Oil so I can fall into a deeper, more restful beauty sleep.

Since starting the brand, what’s been the biggest lesson you’ve learned as a women-owned business?

Firstly, despite my position within the company, people can’t help but acknowledge the man standing beside me as my superior no matter their gender or title. It is a deep issue, systemically. I have learned to use this to my strategic advantage.

Secondly, as the cannabis industry is becoming more male dominated than ever before, it has become harder to navigate investment and relationships. Instead of women coming together, there are cliques and scenes, resulting in a more competitive landscape. While navigating this landscape the biggest lesson that I have learned is to directly seek out and support empowered women that inspire me and others, in not only cannabis, but the beauty and wellness space.

How do you Take A Moment?

By practicing mindfulness paired with some diamonds or high terpene dabs to promote relaxation. When I need to step away from higher stress moments or anxious thoughts, I do rely on our Tranquility Oil, paired with a good hike or simple meditation. Then I usually take a deep breath, and remember why I started this hectic but fulfilling journey in the first place.

Shop Astraèa & Co at Etain NYC, Kingston & Syracuse legal medical cannabis dispensary locations.