About

We provide natural, and legal, health solutions with our curated selection of top-quality CBD products. KANNA was founded in 2019 in Charlotte’s South End neighborhood, fueled with a passion to educate people about the positive health benefits of hemp/cannabis. Our customers come to us all the time with questions about where to start, what to try and how it all works. What we put in our bodies matters. We’re here to help you find a solution to what ails you and offer a selection of both ingestible and topical CBD products. We know first-hand about the impact this powerful plant has had on our lives and what it can provide to you.

Quality is our top priority. It’s why we require all our vendors provide a full panel Certificate of Analysis, which is the most comprehensive level of testing available, to ensure you know exactly what you’re getting with our products. 

Mindy Coats, Co-Founder

Mindy has a tremendous passion for hemp and its ability to help people with a wide range of issues. Her educational and professional background in the healthcare and hospitality industries prepared her for her eventual transition to entrepreneurship where she shares her knowledge about hemp and cannabis with her customers.

Prior to launching KANNA, she led the west coast sales efforts for two vertically-integrated cannabis companies in the Las Vegas recreational market. While there she immersed herself into the industry, learning everything she could about the benefits of cannabis as well as regulation and distribution. It was during that time that she had her “aha moment” and realized that she had the opportunity to not only serve the public, but also to make a change in the world by helping others with natural wellness. She is very excited to share the knowledge she gained with her fellow North Carolinians and foster an inclusive culture among other CBD business owners.

Mindy felt that having a brick-and-mortar presence for KANNA was just as important as an e-commerce channel so she could be face-to-face with the community. Using her sales experience, she is passionate about the educational aspect of CBD and wanted to create a safe and welcoming environment for customers to explore and discuss their wellness.

“I use the Vitality and Clarity CBD tincture every morning to get my mind focused and ready for the day, and I enjoy our Tranquility oil at night to help me sleep. After a good workout, I use the Cooling Gel for stiffness in my neck and knees – it works wonders.”

Mindy graduated with an associate’s degree in business administration from Cape Fear Community College in Wilmington, NC, and attended the University of North Carolina at Wilmington to study communications. She later graduated from Kaplan College with an associate’s degree in dental assistance, which propelled her into the medical field. In addition to several positions in the hospitality industry working at local Charlotte breweries and as a professional golf caddy for a national golf organization, Mindy worked at Lineberger Orthodontics where she was a treatment and financial coordinator.
When she’s not at the shop, Mindy enjoys being outdoors, spending time with Sam and their families, golf, playing volleyball, listening to audio books about how to grow and be a better businesswoman and cooking for friends. She also loves gardening and has future plans to create a cultivation operation at KANNA where she can tend to her own hemp plants.

Sam Bruton, Co-Founder

Sam has been passionate about the benefits of cannabis since first being introduced to it while in college. Through his own personal health journey of managing ADHD and discovering the calming effects of CBD to help him focus, he saw first-hand how this plant could be an alternative to traditional healthcare, without any side effects.
While attending the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, he began training for the football team but injured his meniscus. He had lingering inflammation and stiffness in his knee and started experimenting with CBD. Sam was so impressed by the immediate relief he experienced from a CBD-infused cooling gel that he knew he had found his remedy and was able to continue his athletic lifestyle.

“I keep the KANNA Cooling Gel in my gym bag and encourage anyone with acute joint pain, inflammation or sore muscles to give it a try.”

In his junior year at UNC-Charlotte, Sam launched his own retail clothing brand, Jester Label. He later held a number of service positions for companies around North Carolina.

Prior to co-founding KANNA with Mindy, Sam studied real estate and became a broker with Keller Williams. Through his work at KANNA, he hopes that everyone will learn about CBD and remove any unnecessary stigma about this therapeutic plant. He personally selects all of KANNA’s flower and enjoys sharing his knowledge of the various strains with his customers. One of his favorite strains for daytime focus is the Hawaiian Haze, and at night to aid with sleep, he enjoys the Suver Haze or the Abacus.

Sam was born and raised on a farm in eastern North Carolina and carries an appreciation for land and growing crops. He shares Mindy’s dream to one day have his own cultivation source of hemp to supply KANNA.

When not at work, Sam enjoys outdoor sports, snowboarding, travel and promoting and living a healthy lifestyle.