Better Teen Wellness Begins with Dara Wax

Wendy & Rich 0:01
Coming to you from the Freedom Federal Credit Union Studios, Hartford County Living presents Conversations with Rich Bennett. 

Rich Bennett 0:27
Teenagers are growing up in a world of constant screens, mounting pressure, energy drinks, disrupted sleep, and mental health challenges, that many parents are still trying to understand. But what happens when a mother stops searching for better answers and decides to create them herself? My guest today, Dara Wax, spent nearly 25 years working in global health before becoming the founder of Sam and Leo, a line of clean gummy vitamins created specifically for kids and teens, and named after her two sons. So what began with a mother noticing a mission option on store shelves, grew into a mission to better support young people and help families make more informed choices about their well-being. And they will hear Darrow's personal journey explore the realities facing teenagers and discuss how parents, businesses, and communities can play a meaningful role in supporting the next generation. How you doing Darrow? 

Dara Wax 1:32
I'm doing well. Thanks so much for having me. 

Rich Bennett 1:34
It is Sam and Leo, right? Or is it Sam 

Dara Wax 1:37
Yeah. 

Rich Bennett 1:37
and Leo? 

Dara Wax 1:38
Sam and Leo. I say Sam and Leo, but it's written Sam + Leo. 

Rich Bennett 1:41
Okay. Alright, Sam and Leo. We'll just say Sam, yeah, we're done. Alright, so before we actually talk about Sam and Leo, take us back to the moment when this stopped being just an idea and became something you felt you had to pursue. Not only as an entrepreneur, but as a mother. 

Dara Wax 2:03
Yeah. Well, so when COVID happened, I was not traveling as much. 

Rich Bennett 2:10
I got a good thing. 

Dara Wax 2:11
Exactly. I was traveling a lot and a 

Rich Bennett 2:13
Yeah. 

Dara Wax 2:14
big job and I was on the road overseas. And so there wasn't a lot of time to think about anything else. And when I was in traveling, I had been sitting on this idea that I was missing these products for my teens. It actually had started in some body care products, but then moved into the supplements and for different reasons, but really because I was seeing these tweens and teens starting to reach for energy drinks and for screen time issues. And I was like, oh, this is interesting, but also I had friends going through it. And then we all kind of felt alone and are parenting very isolated. I was wondering if we were all kind of dealing with the same issues, but also some challenging kids with different school issues and some OCD and ADHD and all the things. And I was like, well, let's look at it. And I'm not opposed to any parent's journey or medication, no medication like everyone's doing their own thing, but it didn't work for my child. 

Rich Bennett 3:08
yeah, 

Dara Wax 3:08
And so I was like, well, if it's not working for me, it must not be working for other kids. What else could we do? And one of the biggest things I've learned along the way, but also an underlying premise, is that we're not trying to fix these kids, we're just trying to support them. And 

Rich Bennett 3:20
yeah, 

Dara Wax 3:21
so what I was looking for tools to do that, and I thought, let's just try this. And I had to live my more time and started by just actually going white label, I'm going to a gummy manufacturer that had something close to what I wanted. 

Rich Bennett 3:35
Okay. 

Dara Wax 3:36
And thinking about, let's just see, did it that way, and some initial packaging, and there was some, there was enough credit validation there to then take the next step. 

Rich Bennett 3:45
Right. 

Dara Wax 3:46
The next production of what I wanted to do, but there was enough validation 

Rich Bennett 3:50
on. Yeah. 

Dara Wax 3:51
early 

Rich Bennett 3:53
Wow. So, with, so you were already looking for the gummies, but not necessarily that had, was that, that had something certain vitamins in it, or what? 

Dara Wax 4:05
Um, I definitely was looking for gummy because my kids wouldn't swallow pills. 

Rich Bennett 4:09
Right. And a lot of kids wouldn't. 

Dara Wax 4:11
Exactly. And they didn't like the taste and texture of other gummies. A lot of other gummies have, our sugar coated, or they're sticky, or they're mealy, or they have the fake sugar in them so that they didn't like the aftertaste and I'm like, if I'm going to compete with an energy drink, these need a taste good. And they need to be a quality gummy. So that was also the, the foundation was like, we need a different type of gummy than one that just tastes good. 

Rich Bennett 4:30
Right. 

Dara Wax 4:30
And I also didn't want to put it in a jar, because I didn't want it to feel like another vitamin or another medicine. It's actually in a pouch. 

Rich Bennett 4:37
Smart. 

Dara Wax 4:38
Yeah, so it has a child-resistant pouch, but it can sit on the counter, it can go in a backpack. They are all safe for an older because a 16 year old and 17 year old to be regulatory approval is the same as a kid, 

Rich Bennett 4:53
Yeah. 

Dara Wax 4:54
so you kind of need the same dosage. But for me, it was more about, I wanted a tool, I wanted something that my kids would take and I started with five, and there's so many more that I could be branching out to right now, but I started with five that I thought my kids would take and that other parents were looking 

Rich Bennett 5:12
for. Something you said there, which kind of shocked me. You didn't say child-resistant, it was almost like a child-proof pouch? 

Dara Wax 5:23
Yeah. 

Rich Bennett 5:24
How 

Dara Wax 5:24
It's 

Rich Bennett 5:24
do you 

Dara Wax 5:24
mostly 

Rich Bennett 5:24
make a 

Dara Wax 5:25
used 

Rich Bennett 5:25
child-proof 

Dara Wax 5:25
for, 

Rich Bennett 5:26
pouch? 

Dara Wax 5:26
yeah, well they developed it for cannabis use. 

Rich Bennett 5:30
Okay, 

Dara Wax 5:31
So that's, and for other uses, I guess, but I knew that it couldn't just be like a bag of chips opening. It had to be something that had some sort of formality for it to be sold on a shelf and feel safe for kids, 

Rich Bennett 5:42
yeah. 

Dara Wax 5:43
so because they taste so good, I don't want them just reaching in and taking out a handful of, 

Rich Bennett 5:51
because when I hear child-proof or whatever, it's, well, you're nowhere near my age, but as you get older, it's like we have to have the kids help to open 

Dara Wax 6:01
okay, 

Rich Bennett 6:01
bottles for us. 

Dara Wax 6:03
Yeah. Yeah. 

Rich Bennett 6:05
Are they really child-proof, are they a 

Dara Wax 6:06
Yeah, 

Rich Bennett 6:06
thought? 

Dara Wax 6:07
I'm sure they could get into them, but it's not like a four-year-old's going to be able to easily just open it up. 

Rich Bennett 6:12
So when you were looking for this, did your career in global health actually help out a lot? 

Dara Wax 6:19
I would say that it helped more in that being resourceful or just being curious that, 

Doing a lot of research online or where I'm going to go or like that makes sense to me from a price perspective or that doesn't or I knew that I wanted them made in the U. S., 

Rich Bennett 6:33
yeah. 

Dara Wax 6:34
because I wanted to be trust what was going in, even though it might be more expensive route to go. So there were things like that where I had done enough in my career to know suppliers or who I was working with, but also just that curiosity of what's next? Is this the right packaging? Is this an asking question? And then using my network of people saying, "Hey, I'm doing this now. Would you be willing to talk to me and talking to smart people who are doing other things?" 

Rich Bennett 7:05
So with this, and I wish I wouldn't have learned about this when my daughter was younger, because, well, it seems like mental illnesses, it is definitely been on the rise for teens, especially I think, Doring COVID, and since then. 

Now, with these gummies though, do they help with, because one of the biggest things we see is anxiety and depression? Do they actually help with that as well? 

Dara Wax 7:34
So we can't say they help. We can say like they support, but I do 

Rich Bennett 7:37
Which? 

Dara Wax 7:37
have one yeah.

Rich Bennett 7:38
Yeah. 

Dara Wax 7:39
Well , a couple things. So one, yes, I have one that is a relaxed gummy that has the Larian chamomile lemon bomb in it. So it's a chill like taking the three teas. 

Rich Bennett 7:48
Yeah, 

Dara Wax 7:48
So they definitely do help. And you can take it anytime a day like if you're stressed in the middle of the day or going to bed. And then one for the screen time is more just call, you know, bringing awareness to screen time. It definitely helps with eyes and dry eyes. I actually had an ophthalmologist by it a couple weeks ago, and he was like, I've never seen this as a gummy. So there's part of it is just bringing awareness to what's happening to say, 

Rich Bennett 8:08
right. 

Dara Wax 8:08
hey, you know, I'm talking about it, but the bigger issue is that mental health is as massive umbrella for so many things. You have anxiety, you have depression, you have, you have substance abuse, you have eating disorders, you have bullying, you have, there's so much that goes under mental health that it can't just be for one thing. And so a lot of it is just saying, hey, we know our kids are suffering. 

Rich Bennett 8:28
Right. 

Dara Wax 8:29
We, people suffering. But how can we support them, and this is one way, and when we also have a give back mission where we give back to nonprofits working in teen mental health. 

Rich Bennett 8:38
Really? 

Dara Wax 8:38
But yeah, 

Rich Bennett 8:40
it's awesome. 

Dara Wax 8:42
It's important to me, especially from that impact space and coming from that world, but I could stop selling gummies tomorrow and the mission would still be about supporting team mental health. And part of it was that you know, if you walk down any vitamin aisle, you see kids and you see adults, you don't see anything directly talking to teens. Even if it's okay for them to take it, they don't feel like it's made for them. 

Rich Bennett 9:02
Yeah, 

Dara Wax 9:03
And that's what I wanted to change is feeling that it was made for them, 

Rich Bennett 9:08
right. 

Dara Wax 9:08
even though I take them and kids can take them. 

Rich Bennett 9:10
All right. So if you don't mind me asking, are you retired from global? No, you're too young to be retired. You left the global health industry, 

Dara Wax 9:19
I worked until April of last year doing both jobs 

Rich Bennett 9:22
right? 

Dara Wax 9:22
and then April of last year, I was like, I can't do both anymore. 

Rich Bennett 9:25
If you don't mind me asking, what was it that you actually did for global healthcare? 

Dara Wax 9:29
yeah. So mostly I worked with for Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, and I worked 

Rich Bennett 9:33
Okay. 

Dara Wax 9:33
a lot in vaccine development, but I also worked in drugs and diagnostics, and in HIV, TB, malaria, Ebola, big scary things, um, and a lot of it worked with other governments, or how do we get, uhm, how do we develop new vaccines and drugs for these different 

Rich Bennett 9:52
right, 

Dara Wax 9:52
diseases, uhm, and yeah, so it 

Rich Bennett 9:56
okay. 

Dara Wax 9:56
was 

Rich Bennett 9:56
I gotta ask you this now there. Is that something you always wanted to do when you were back in school? 

Dara Wax 10:04
High school? Uh, I wouldn't say in high school, I think international. I love international work, and I knew I wanted to work internationally. So, uhm, the career just kind of led that way, through global health, to be international, and I think that's where it came from. Maybe I entertained being in the state department, or being a diplomat, or something like that, but, uhm, it did allow me to travel a lot. 

Rich Bennett 10:27
And now here you are just working on your business. 

Dara Wax 10:31
In Denver, yes. 

Rich Bennett 10:32
It's a big switch, isn't 

Dara Wax 10:34
It's a very big 

Rich Bennett 10:35
it? 

Dara Wax 10:35
switch. 

Rich Bennett 10:35
All right. 

Dara Wax 10:35
Uhm, and I would go back in a heartbeat. I love working in global health and seeing 

Rich Bennett 10:39
Yeah. 

Dara Wax 10:39
that impact. The world has changed a lot because of COVID and how people perceive global health. It, for me, it is, it can be a national security issue. There's 

Rich Bennett 10:48
Right. 

Dara Wax 10:48
tuberculosis and things like that. Things that we've had a long time that definitely need to be addressed. Uhm, and I never want to like have a conversation with someone who doesn't, you know, you're, how you think about vaccines or not, that's all, everyone has a personal choice of what to make. But we do have enough data to show that, uhm, old diseases and things that have been around for a long time have benefited from those treatments. And people in developing countries. Uhm, have the ability now with globalization to spread those things back to us. 

Rich Bennett 11:19
Yeah, 

Dara Wax 11:19
we get an airplane and you will get tuberculosis. So. 

Rich Bennett 11:23
Wait a minute. Well, I just got used to flying again. Do what now? Now you're scared of me. Okay. So. Did you actually go to score or take any courses for business management? 

Dara Wax 11:37
A little bit 

Rich Bennett 11:38
Okay. 

Dara Wax 11:38
more. International finance, not really an entrepreneurship or finance. I'm very comfortable quantitatively in Excel, like, looking at those kind of numbers. Uhm, and then I did maybe I some accounting courses so I can look at a profit and loss and a balance sheet like enough of that, but not in like starting a business like entrepreneurship is not my background at all, but I do say that I'm apparent and when I see it, I know it like is that going to, is that something I want? 

Rich Bennett 12:04
Yeah. 

Dara Wax 12:05
It's going to resonate with me. 

Rich Bennett 12:06
Which that's what gives you the passion for it. So when you decide it to leave your full time job and just go all in on this business, what was the scariest thing that you faced? Besides the fact that, oh my god, I'm doing this. 

Dara Wax 12:24
Yeah. So really good question. I would say I have a lot of. So I didn't come from any money. I paid my way through college. I've been working since I was 13 and to and I'm divorced. So financially independent where I'm using my savings to pay for the 

Rich Bennett 12:42
Yeah. 

Dara Wax 12:43
business. It's not profitable yet. That's really scary. And that can, you know, talk about scarcity and abundance and having this abundance mindset where you're like, I'm going for this because I have conviction in it and I've had enough validation. Um, where people want the product, but to be a single mom and no income is really scary. 

Rich Bennett 13:03
Oh, yeah, I bet. It, uh, yeah, but you know what the thing is you have the passion for it. I'm going to say probably, you know, the forward to you, just you're all gone, because you have a purpose. You're doing this not just for your sons, but for other kids as well. And the fact that your acts also giving back to nonprofits, has that something you've always done something with nonprofits. 

Dara Wax 13:31
Yeah. My background has definitely been more in the nonprofit world. And I don't feel like I would want to have a business that didn't have some sort of impact or give back. It wouldn't fulfill me. 

Rich Bennett 13:40
Yeah. 

Dara Wax 13:40
Some other people are, you know, all about the business and bottom line and numbers, but this had to really have some sort of connection back to to nonprofit for me. So 

Rich Bennett 13:49
are your sons old enough to be helping out with the business 

Dara Wax 13:53
Okay. Yes. Well, they are old enough. They're 18 and 16. 

Rich Bennett 13:56
yet? 

Dara Wax 13:56
One's going after college next week. The names are reversed. The older one is Leo. 

Rich Bennett 14:00
Okay. 

Dara Wax 14:01
Um, they help when I make them they think they'd rather work for someone else than me. Um, and then when 

Rich Bennett 14:09
that feeling, 

Dara Wax 14:10
Yeah, and then when I get some sort of hit where like a Colorado avalanche player wants to invest or saw the gummies or had a nuggets player come by and try them or someone like that, then they think it's cool and they're like into it, but yeah, now we're on the shelf at Whole Foods Market and online and so that they think it's cool, but still getting them to to help is harder. 

Rich Bennett 14:34
All right, so any plans, I mean you got to actually have many different types of gummies are there, first of all. 

Dara Wax 14:40
we have five different kinds and 

Rich Bennett 14:42
Okay, 

Dara Wax 14:42
they come in right now. There are two pouch sizes. We have a 60 count and then we're just launching a 10 count and they're going to be in the Denver Airport and like the like Hudson news, WH Smith type of store. 

Rich Bennett 14:51
Wow, okay. So now the five different types, what are they? 

Dara Wax 14:57
So we have an energy, which is caffeine-free. So it's a B complex with a little biotin. It's my alternative to an energy drink. 

Rich Bennett 15:03
Right, 

Dara Wax 15:04
It's more like alertness. I take it. I love it. I have the relax one. Like I mentioned, the Valarian chamomile embam. I have one for eye health, which is made from lutein and zezanthin, which is marigold extract. It's been around forever as a capsule, 

Rich Bennett 15:18
yeah. 

Dara Wax 15:18
not as a dummy, and has like historically helped with my macular degeneration and things like that, but now the studies are there for like eye fatigue, screen time, dry eye. Then I have an immunity one. So elderberry, echinaceous, sea and zinc. I take that one every day, just good all around wellness and then we have a sleep one that has a tiny bit of melatonin and passion flour in B6 for like when you really can't settle or for travel. 

Rich Bennett 15:45
And these are also good for adults. All right, is there age limit? Let me rephrase that. No, 

Dara Wax 15:51
our 

Rich Bennett 15:51
in other 

Dara Wax 15:52
tagline 

Rich Bennett 15:52
words, 

Dara Wax 15:52
is for all young humans. So if you 

Rich Bennett 15:54
all 

Dara Wax 15:54
feel young, 

Rich Bennett 15:55
okay, but not not toddlers. 

Dara Wax 15:58
No, so the packaging and FDA requirements say make me say four and older. Most of that is because for chewing. So like the elderberry one, the immunity one, a toddler could definitely take that and nothing would happen to them. But legally, I have to say four and older. 

Rich Bennett 16:15
Okay, so it sounds like with these, it's a lot of, I'm not going to get the term right. Basically things from the earth that are in these. 

And not really chemicals. 

Dara Wax 16:29
N. And part of that is because you actually can't have a lot of innovation in kids products because you have to test, you have to have safety data 

Rich Bennett 16:36
Yeah. 

Dara Wax 16:36
and testing. And no one's going to test those products. 

Rich Bennett 16:39
That's, 

Dara Wax 16:39
No one wants to test those products on kids or pregnant women. An so there's actually not a ton of innovation that happens in that younger demographic because it has to be safe. 

Rich Bennett 16:49
yeah, 

Dara Wax 16:50
Even so much so that I had started with having the relax and had astragonda in it. And Whole Foods was like, no, there's not enough safety data in astragonda in kids. So they had made me change it. But, 

Rich Bennett 17:01
or heard of that. 

Dara Wax 17:02
yeah, they're really safe. And I also third party test every batch for heavy metals in toxicity. 

Rich Bennett 17:07
Oh, very small. I was going to say because a lot of things, well, I'm sure you already knew this. You see it with spices, depending where it comes from, they'll add lead to it. 

Dara Wax 17:17
Yeah, or arsenic or the thing. 

Rich Bennett 17:19
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. We don't want that. So any plans on adding to this not as far as gummies, but I don't know. Teas or powders or anything. 

Dara Wax 17:32
Yeah. There's definitely more gummies I want to add for sure. But also, I think if anything I would see more of the powders, like the electrolyte stick powder, 

Rich Bennett 17:41
Yes. 

Dara Wax 17:41
things like that, or are dissolvable on the tongue, something like that. Something that teens would take and go with for the most part. 

Rich Bennett 17:50
Alfie. 

Dara Wax 17:51
Yeah. 

Rich Bennett 17:52
I'm good. Let me rephrase that healthy coffee, like matcha or one that's not a coffee, but I mean, it seems like a lot of kids are into like these lattes. 

Dara Wax 18:02
Yeah. 

Rich Bennett 18:02
And I mean, I mean, I love matcha. Um, I know a lot of kids do. Are you do too? 

Dara Wax 18:08
I don't know if I would be able to put it on a shelf. 

Rich Bennett 18:11
Okay. 

Dara Wax 18:12
The energy or caffeine. That's where this also came in. So anything that's online or you're selling yourself, there's a lot more flexibility 

Rich Bennett 18:20
You're 

Dara Wax 18:21
or 

Rich Bennett 18:21
right. 

Dara Wax 18:21
like you can tell parents, give them all data you have, and then they can make a decision for yourself. When it comes to being on a shelf, like Whole Foods or any other store, then there's more liability involved. And they put you through a much more rigorous problem where they don't want anything on their shelf that could possibly lead to any kind of issue. And so unless I was to change it to an adult product, and I would make it, I'd have to make it 18 and older. 

Rich Bennett 18:43
All right. So we did you launch this? 

Dara Wax 18:48
The vitamins were just um, 2023 is when I started. 

Rich Bennett 18:53
So only three years. Yeah. Right. Yeah. 20. Yeah. We're in 26. 

Dara Wax 18:58
Yeah. COVID was when I kind of started the idea of the company and the skincare and then pivoted to the vitamins in 2023. 

Rich Bennett 19:06
Okay. So with these, 

uh, because we know how allergies are, it seems like Everybody's got 

Dara Wax 19:14
yes. 

Rich Bennett 19:14
some type of allergy mainly peanuts. I know pollen you didn't did you know you know you said be Be 12 

Dara Wax 19:23
complex. Yeah 

Rich Bennett 19:23
be complex not be pollen 

Dara Wax 19:25
No, just pollen Okay, 

Rich Bennett 19:27
are these I guess allergy free is that the right word? 

Dara Wax 19:33
Yeah, I would say allergy friend allergens friendly 

Rich Bennett 19:35
Yeah, 

Dara Wax 19:36
um there 

Rich Bennett 19:36
okay, that's it. Yeah, that's what 

Dara Wax 19:37
Again, 

Rich Bennett 19:37
I meant 

Dara Wax 19:37
yeah They're vegan gluten free low sugar and all right So free from the top nine allergens. So there's no nuts, no oils, no seeds In them the only allergens I've come across as if someone has like a fruit allergy because they I use real fruit juice for them um, but That's the only allergen 

Rich Bennett 19:58
Nothing pasteurized 

Dara Wax 20:00
nothing faster. 

Rich Bennett 20:01
It's really 

Dara Wax 20:02
Mm-hmm. 

Rich Bennett 20:04
Okay, who were your first test subjects 

Dara Wax 20:06
this? 

Rich Bennett 20:06
on do your kids 

Dara Wax 20:08
Me my 

Rich Bennett 20:09
my well you 

Dara Wax 20:10
and my kids. Yeah um, and then quickly from there just friends and friends kids But I kind of knew right away once that my kids liked them because they were so picky about their gummies That they these taste different than other gummies um So 

Rich Bennett 20:26
I two part question for you Yes Yeah, and I want to talk about Sam and Leo and the product so the first time that they tried them And said that they liked them What what was going through your head? What how were your emotions and everything would you save 

Dara Wax 20:43
Um 

Rich Bennett 20:44
yourself? 

Dara Wax 20:46
yeah, I'm so measured about so many things in the business that I probably need to get more excited because I'm always like thinking the next five steps ahead Um, and I'm working on that because I do need to celebrate the wins more I'm like, oh check next thing, 

Rich Bennett 20:58
Yeah, 

Dara Wax 20:58
but that's just how I've operated. I think I was like Right Let's do this like it was kind of like a there was no waffling of going your no going. It was like we're doing this um even the first vitamins I had bought as like a white labeled testing 

Rich Bennett 21:15
mm-hmm 

Dara Wax 21:16
The flavors were there for them like they liked the flavor and I thought okay now I know Which direction to head that way and then we can make a better gummy. So it wasn't like a Blackway on off. It was like a progression of like this is the trend we're going towards 

Rich Bennett 21:32
And once you've seen it work in how did you feel? 

Dara Wax 21:37
um Because 

Rich Bennett 21:39
I know as an entrepreneur you're feeling one thing But as a mother I'm sure you're feeling something completely different 

Dara Wax 21:47
it's there's a lot of emotion 

Rich Bennett 21:49
Yeah, 

Dara Wax 21:49
because it's you're still scared You're like there's still so many more steps to go, but like we're doing it It was more of this like a conviction and confidence in myself To 

Rich Bennett 21:58
wait 

Dara Wax 21:58
keep doing it because I have no one to turn new. I'm a single mom solar entrepreneur There's no one else to say yes or no to because it's ultimately and I'm self-funded right now Um and by and by choice um 

Rich Bennett 22:09
Yeah, 

Dara Wax 22:10
I 

Rich Bennett 22:10
well. It's 

Dara Wax 22:11
think 

Rich Bennett 22:11
good. 

Dara Wax 22:11
it 

Rich Bennett 22:11
You don't 

Dara Wax 22:11
was 

Rich Bennett 22:11
have to pay back any investors 

Dara Wax 22:13
Right, right right now. 

Rich Bennett 22:15
I'm sorry. Go ahead. 

Dara Wax 22:16
We'll see if how long I can manage that for and I think that was the other part is like I don't owe it to anybody else, but my 

Rich Bennett 22:22
Yeah 

Dara Wax 22:22
kids and me right now and that felt really good um I think there's always when you're an entrepreneur this push and pull of speed of do you raise money and go fast and like You know, it's a lot of this is bring at this point. It is brand awareness and marketing because people love the product And once people try it they're 

Rich Bennett 22:39
Mm-hmm, 

Dara Wax 22:39
in Versus kind of a more slow organic of like one foot in front of the other people trying it and Different there's different versions of slow. I'm in 50 whole food stores like other people in three years, right people say like that's not so slow but for me it's like kind of what's next coming I 

Rich Bennett 22:55
yeah 

Dara Wax 22:56
think knowing also so just a quick thing on the Whole Foods Whole Foods has an accelerator where they take 10 brands out of 1600 a year and I'm one of those 10 

Rich Bennett 23:04
wow 

Dara Wax 23:05
brands To get that validation and like to be selected for it was a huge voter confidence to keep 

Rich Bennett 23:11
yeah 

Dara Wax 23:11
going And to get the support from them to get on the shelf. So that is also what changed A lot for me was to go from no stores to Whole Foods and have that support behind me um Was more of a like okay. They like the gummy there. It's a clean gummy like Yeah, 

Rich Bennett 23:28
it anybody can order because Creg me a firm but Whole Foods is owned by Amazon correct. 

Dara Wax 23:33
correct. So it's on Amazon. It's on 

Rich Bennett 23:35
Yeah 

Dara Wax 23:35
Walmart marketplace 

Rich Bennett 23:36
Oh, it's on Walmart. Oh 

Dara Wax 23:38
Yeah, we're on Walmart too Ticktuck shop and um, 

Rich Bennett 23:42
I guess I need to ticktuck more, don't I 

Dara Wax 23:45
We're just new on ticktuck shop and then a thrive market. 

Rich Bennett 23:48
Yeah 

Dara Wax 23:48
I don't sell. Only with financial world we'll be onboarding the thrive market 

Rich Bennett 23:53
soon Have you thought about and and we really haven't dove deep into your story Uh, but have you thought about especially for this helping the kids and everything Write in the book or actually start your own podcast as well. 

Dara Wax 24:09
So really good question. So I did think about a podcast early on because I had all of these challenges before Whole Foods happened. I had the challenge after challenge. 

Rich Bennett 24:16
Right. 

Wow. 

Dara Wax 24:36
Uhm, I was still working full time at 

Rich Bennett 24:38
time. So I just, ok, 

Dara Wax 24:38
the The bandwidth was hard. And so I chose then to just be on a lot of pop-up, like reaching out to podcasts and 

Rich Bennett 24:44
smart. 

Dara Wax 24:44
talking about the story and set of starting my own. The book idea is definitely there because my life story and like career is, is a 

Rich Bennett 24:54
want, 

Dara Wax 24:54
story that people 

Rich Bennett 24:54
yeah, 

Dara Wax 24:55
they have told me they want to hear and then adding the business into it. So while I'm living it, it feels to, to real-right now to be writing it, but I definitely have that idea to write the, the book at some point. 

Rich Bennett 25:07
You're listening to the conversations with Rich Bennett. We'll be right back. 

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Well, for young women entrepreneur, I could see you being a very good role 

Dara Wax 27:28
model. Thank 

Rich Bennett 27:29
And for the mental health industry as well, 

Dara Wax 27:31
you. Yes. 

Rich Bennett 27:32
because you're making a difference. It's 

Dara Wax 27:34
Take that. 

Rich Bennett 27:35
speaking of which, because this is something I always love to hear from people. 

With your product, with Sam and Leo, the gummies. Can you... And now I don't know how often you actually talk with anybody that has tried it, if so, can you share a feel good story from somebody that has taken in? 

Dara Wax 27:59
Yeah. It happens a lot that I get them, and we try to capture them. From each one of them I 

Rich Bennett 28:07
Some of... Yeah. 

Dara Wax 28:07
would say. But some of them are around kid confidence and going into test test anxiety. So taking the relaxed ones, gummies before test, or something stressful at school, and parents reporting that the kids felt less stressful, less anxiety going into it. So whether it's placebo or not, I can't say that I have to be careful what I say, but having a tool or something to go do that says, "I got this" or "it's going to make me feel better." I've heard that from that school perspective. 

Rich Bennett 28:39
Right, 

Dara Wax 28:40
Then the energy one, a lot of parents with younger athletes, have been using it because their kids are reaching for not the best drinks. Or 

Rich Bennett 28:50
yeah. 

Dara Wax 28:51
things with a lot of sugar in them, or whatever to get them through really competitive sports, and having an alternative, they say, "it's just a world of difference," because we're all very beat efficient. All of us could use more b vitamin in our life, but to have that gummy to go to, and having an alternative that's cleaner, parents just love that for sports and not... 

Rich Bennett 29:08
Yeah. 

Dara Wax 29:08
athletic things. And then the sleep one. I get a lot of comments about how it's a gentle sleep. They don't feel groggy the next day. They feel like even though it's one milligram of melatonin per gummy, with the passion flower it just feels gentler and they feel safer giving it to their kids. I know my kid takes it every day. So I know, like I'm giving it to my own kids. So I know that it works. 

Rich Bennett 29:29
I would think it's also safer than taking just regular melatonin. 

Dara Wax 29:33
Yeah. Well, and I'm testing it. 

Rich Bennett 29:35
Yeah. 

Dara Wax 29:35
It's a clean, I mean, it's cleaner, all that kind of stuff. And so those are just good things to hear, but a lot of it is also taste and texture. So a lot of these kids have sensory issues or they don't like like my kids. And so a lot of it's like it's the only immunity gummy they will take because it doesn't taste on the flip. One thing I will say, they are higher price point. I would love to be able to lower the price. But they're more expensive to make right now. And they are cleaner and they have organic ingredients and whatever. And there's a reason why they're a better ingredient. I would love to be able to lower the price because kids really enjoy taking them. And when they're going otherwise parents are going to cost go and buy the big jars or they're buying what's on sale and it's cheaper. And the number of times I've heard parents say that I bought 10 different gummies and my kids won't take them. And they're sitting in the cabinet is real. And so yeah. 

Rich Bennett 30:27
There. Let me ask you this. 

Kids that are going through anxiety, 

depression, bull, anything, PTSD that are sleep deprived that are I'm sure you can vouch for this. You're seeing cases where these energy drinks and kids are just falling down. I think there were ones in there a couple cases where like not coronary. Yeah, cardiac arrest. 

Dara Wax 31:04
Yes. 

Rich Bennett 31:05
So let me ask you this. When it comes to that, which you're talking about kids' health, mental health, physical health, what's the price we put on that? 

Dara Wax 31:18
Meaning for as a parent as 

Rich Bennett 31:22
a parent for society or whatever. 

Dara Wax 31:25
You'll do anything. Right. You'll 

Rich Bennett 31:26
Right. 

Dara Wax 31:27
do anything to save your kid or protect your kid or try anything. And you also will listen to anyone you feel as an expert. 

Rich Bennett 31:35
Right. So you can't really put a price on health, right? 

Dara Wax 31:37
Right. 

Rich Bennett 31:38
So then your products aren't too expensive. 

Dara Wax 31:41
I would agree with you. But a lot of it's just getting that brand awareness out there and getting people to try it. Because yeah, once people are in, there's 

Rich Bennett 31:50
yeah, 

Dara Wax 31:50
no question about it. It's just getting them to try 

Rich Bennett 31:52
it. Have you? And now I know, especially being a single parent, it can be hard getting out to speaking to different groups, organizations or whatever throughout the country or even the world. Actually, can people in other countries purchase this yet or not 

Dara Wax 32:11
In 

Rich Bennett 32:11
yet? 

Dara Wax 32:11
countries, you have access to Amazon. 

Rich Bennett 32:13
Okay. 

Dara Wax 32:13
There's certain countries that have agreements that can buy US products or Amazon without a fee. They do like New Zealand, South Korea. There's some random countries that sell. 

Rich Bennett 32:22
Okay. All right. So with that, how are you? How's the marketing part so far? Besides just getting on podcast? 

Dara Wax 32:31
Yeah. No, it's a lot of Instagram, Facebook, a lot of that. 

Rich Bennett 32:35
And okay, 

Dara Wax 32:36
serving ads on that. And then I do a lot of the sampling myself. But so two other groups that were in with pediatric dentists because the vitamins don't stick to your teeth and usually dentists tell parents not to give their kids gummies. So I went to the pediatric dental convention in Vegas this year. And so getting more out to the dental community. It's also the place dentists are the one place that teens go twice a year still for checkup because they're getting their teeth cleaned 

Rich Bennett 33:05
right. 

Dara Wax 33:05
every six months. So trying to get into more of the dentist office and dentists are so they're so like no, we've told everyone for years not to do gummies. Now we're like, okay, now we can do with the salmon leo gummies. We can do it. No one else this. And then therapy like teen family therapists. We can add to them to have a basket. You know, that's when kids are walking in four to seven p. m. every day for for therapy. And they've got their energy drink or they're tired just to have a basket of samples there. And then like I said, athletic groups. So trying to reach out to teams or travel sports or travel clubs 

Rich Bennett 33:38
Right. 

Dara Wax 33:38
to get them samples. But as a team of one plus a little bit of help, it's I'm just starting this semester with a few interns who are gonna make more content for me. But that's it's that's how to get it out 

Rich Bennett 33:51
more. So with the some of the kids that have taken it, have you talked with their parents and maybe see if their parents would be ambassadors more or less where they could go talk to like the school counselors and 

Dara Wax 34:05
That's 

Rich Bennett 34:05
all. 

Dara Wax 34:06
a good idea. It's been hard to find people who have- it's almost like I need a- I need a, um, a cadre or like a- a parent- Ambassador group to- 

Rich Bennett 34:16
(yeah.) 

Dara Wax 34:17
But it has to- what I found is I couldn't even pay people to do my sampling right now, because there's so many people have questions about the products, what's in it? How does it help- is it vitamin D or beer? And I- to really train someone like- to be able to go out and replicate that from me right now is a huge lift. And so- I need to find people who can really talk with, um, authority about their products and understand them beyond just like- it's a great gummy vitamin and to help my kid, because parents are so- even if they're not careful, they are careful about asking those 

Rich Bennett 34:52
Right. 

Dara Wax 34:52
questions. 

Rich Bennett 34:53
Well, yeah. 

Dara Wax 34:54
They're like, give their kid an energy drink, but they won't give themselves a gummy vitamin, right? And so- that's the hardest part is being able to have that information for people. 

Rich Bennett 35:02
Actually, if you know what- do you think that possibly- because medical marijuana a lot of this is in gummies? Do you think that maybe that's the issue? Maybe why a lot of parents won't do that? 

Dara Wax 35:16
No, I think it's- parents are tired, and things haven't worked, and um, they need- they- it's almost- so there's like two things happening. It's almost like you need to get them earlier, like the 9-10-11 rolls before they're teens. So that's one group. Then you kind of have to let teens find it on their own, like, you can't- they don't want to be told what to do. So I tell a lot of parents just to leave it on the counter and let them find it. 'Cause it's fun, it looks good, it tastes good. And so, kind of self-discovery is the other part of it. You can't- a- a parent telling a teen to do 85% of teens won't- don't take any supplement. And so that's the other part of it. So it's almost like I need to find teens as well who want to be ambassadors, or like college. 'Cause that's why I'm trying to do more content. Um, 

Rich Bennett 36:07
okay, so what about teen organizations? Whether it be scouts or- Now this is World-Wat- International 

Dara Wax 36:16
yeah. 

Rich Bennett 36:17
Leo Clubs. Leo Club, yes. But the Leo's are the young kids. 

Dara Wax 36:23
I didn't know that. 

Rich Bennett 36:24
Yeah, there are- yeah. There's are the kids between 12 and 8. And some of the clubs even have what they call the club program, which is for kids under 12. 

Dara Wax 36:34
Interesting. 

Rich Bennett 36:36
'Cause, I only knew that because I've been a lion for a- A long time. For 26 

Dara Wax 36:42
yeah. 

Rich Bennett 36:43
years. And one of the things, it was just sighting hearing was our big focus. Well, they added also mental health in there. 

Dara Wax 36:54
Wow. 

Rich Bennett 36:55
And I- yeah, I think even though we don't have our Leo Club anymore. 

Dara Wax 36:59
Yeah, 

Rich Bennett 37:00
I mean, this is something I would definitely push. Because also, just here in my community, I talk a lot with a lot of the nonprofits for, you know, adults and recovery. And which also is a struggle on the kids. 

Dara Wax 37:17
yeah. Yes. 

Rich Bennett 37:17
Um, 

Dara Wax 37:18
Sure. 

Rich Bennett 37:18
the schools. We always, you know, talk, oh, I could- okay. I'm gonna be your marketing and invest. 

Dara Wax 37:25
I love it. Um, no. I mean, we're trying to make inroads to any of these. And the other part of this is it is demographics that need a little bit of disposable income to try them. I also give coupons. I'm happy for people to try them. Um, but it has been finding people who are willing to- but I think if you have the club or the parent connection 

Rich Bennett 37:47
Yeah. 

Dara Wax 37:47
and other parents are doing it, that peer connection, that's super helpful. 

Rich Bennett 37:51
Now, can you take the- the gummies together? 

Dara Wax 37:56
Yeah. Then I never interact with each other. 

Rich Bennett 37:58
Really? 

Dara Wax 37:58
Yeah. So you could take all of them. 

Rich Bennett 38:00
Now, and how often should you take them in day? 

Dara Wax 38:04
So each one's a little different. Like the energy one could really be taken a couple of times a day if you were feeling needed a lift. Like, because it's not as so much B vitamin that it's gonna- Do too much for you. 

Rich Bennett 38:14
Okay, 

Dara Wax 38:14
I mean, if you're a little kid, I wouldn't, but as a teenager, would be fine. It's so in the morning or like after school before homework and it won't keep you awake. The same with the Valerian, the relaxed one. Like if you're stressed before school, you could take a little bit and same at the end of the day. The immunity one is once a day 1 to 2 of the gummies. I kind of do it, by depending on like if it's cold and flu season, I do too. And like, 

Rich Bennett 38:35
right. 

Dara Wax 38:35
if it's not, I do one. The eye, and the same eye gummy is every day, once a day, every day. Um, and then, um, the sleep one is just 1 to day. Like 

Rich Bennett 38:48
neat. 

Dara Wax 38:48
as 

Rich Bennett 38:49
Before you go to bed, 

Dara Wax 38:50
Yeah, 

Rich Bennett 38:50
I 

Dara Wax 38:50
before you 

Rich Bennett 38:50
guess. 

Dara Wax 38:51
are bad. Yeah. So it's a little bit of like some of them are like immediate and some of them are more preventative. 

Rich Bennett 38:57
This- This is just amazing. This is- Where were you years ago when I needed you? I mean, 

Dara Wax 39:03
Well, 

Rich Bennett 39:03
come- 

Dara Wax 39:04
that's it. I couldn't find it. That's 

Rich Bennett 39:05
Yeah. 

Dara Wax 39:05
why- 

Rich Bennett 39:06
Well, well, I don't want to say when I needed you because as an adult, I can take it too. 

Dara Wax 39:11
Exactly. 

Rich Bennett 39:12
And 'immunity' is, well, let's face it, we all need help with our immune systems, I believe. So it wouldn't be a bad thing to take it and sleeves always a struggle with a lot of people. Um, okay. With, I'm just amazed by this and I haven't even tried it yet. I mean, I'm, 

Dara Wax 39:33
I... I'm 

Rich Bennett 39:33
I, 

Dara Wax 39:33
happy to send you some samples. 

Rich Bennett 39:36
I, I'm, I'm already going to go online, I'm already on the 

Dara Wax 39:39
Oh, 

Rich Bennett 39:39
website looking at it because I have to buy melatonin for my daughter a lot. Even though she's 24, uh, she still has a heart and she works full time at a daycare, at a daycare. 

Dara Wax 39:50
She needs immunity. 

Rich Bennett 39:52
Yes, 

yes, because we're going to a daycare, she gets sick a lot. Um, 

Dara Wax 39:57
yeah. 

Rich Bennett 39:58
But also, she has a tendency not to go to sleep until late and then get up early. 

Dara Wax 40:03
Yeah. 

Rich Bennett 40:04
And actually, with, 

Dara Wax 40:05
And, 

Rich Bennett 40:06
go ahead. 

Dara Wax 40:06
yeah, nine has, even though it's only one milligram per gummy because of the passion flower, I tell people, 'cause some people used to take you five, 10 milligrams of melatonin 

Rich Bennett 40:14
Yeah. 

Dara Wax 40:14
and nine, all of them. I tell people to just do two gummies and that's usually you'll feel it. So you need less melatonin than other gummies out there. 

Rich Bennett 40:22
What exactly does passion flower do besides probably tastes good, because it just 

Dara Wax 40:26
the 

Rich Bennett 40:26
sounds 

Dara Wax 40:27
passion, yeah, so passion fruit is the flavor passion flower is, um, it's more of like it's kind of like that's like sedative chill relaxing. 

Rich Bennett 40:35
Yeah. 

Dara Wax 40:36
Um, and it doesn't leave you with that groggy feeling. 

Rich Bennett 40:39
Okay. So when you started this with all the different gummies and all the things that are going into it, what's been one of the biggest, uh, shocking things to you that you learned about? Like I just found out about passion flower, which, 

Dara Wax 40:52
Yeah. Uh, some of that, I mean part of us was that kind of the on shelf versus not on shelf that 

Rich Bennett 40:58
yeah, 

Dara Wax 40:58
like I could still ask for Canada kids all day long, but if it wanted to be in Whole Foods, I could not. Um, and so knowing what is more acceptable for retail versus not has been the biggest learning and then to go do the research to say I actually need clinical studies of every ingredient to show Whole Foods that it's safe in a kid. And so if I don't have a clinical study, like I don't have to do the clinical study myself, but someone have had had to do a clinical study to show that it was safe. So like there's no mushrooms like in the kids program, you know, kids products because there's not data on it yet. 

Rich Bennett 41:30
right. 

Dara Wax 41:31
Um, you're not gonna find a five, five, 10 milligram melatonin gummy for a kid because it's not safe. So that kind of stuff. But if I was online and just selling on Amazon, I could sell anything I wanted basically. 

Rich Bennett 41:46
Wow. Okay. 

Dara Wax 41:47
I know. 

Rich Bennett 41:48
So with as far as being a, I'm going to have to term, term a new phrase here, although it's probably already is a phrase. A mompreneur. That's probably somebody I probably use is that don't they? 

Dara Wax 42:05
Yes, it is a 

Rich Bennett 42:07
Okay. 

Dara Wax 42:07
mompreneur. Mompreneur. 

Rich Bennett 42:10
Since when you first started this and decided to go full time, how much more confidence do you have now in this? 

Dara Wax 42:20
Oh, so like so. A lot of it is. I'm going to admit a lot of it is external 

Rich Bennett 42:26
Yeah. 

Dara Wax 42:26
validation that makes me have the confidence because I think it's a great product. I love it. I'm seeing the results, but to hear it externally is what helps me go or, um, to get Whole Foods buyers to say, you know, the people who work at Whole Foods. 

Rich Bennett 42:40
Right. 

Dara Wax 42:40
Have that confidence like you're going to kill it. Or when people see it, when I'm in the store giving out samples, they're like, oh my gosh, this is such a great product. I can't, you know, you're going to kill it. I hear that a lot. Or, and I love hearing that. I don't feel it quite yet because it's still my savings account and me, you know, putting myself into it. But hearing that validation really helps. And then hearing the kids like like people want to take it and they like it. That helps a lot. But had I known the real intricacies of consumer package good and selling into retail, holy cow. Like, if people knew, you know, what the margins are and who's making the money. It's not the brand. Like no one's walking into a store to buy a basket full of vitamins. 

Rich Bennett 43:24
Yeah. 

Dara Wax 43:25
Um, they're getting it online for the most Maybe they discover in a store so I get the validation that I'm on the shelf there, but, you know, success for a vitamin company is really low bar in a store. They expect you to sell one per store per week is success. And that's not going to make, that's great, but that's not going to make any money. 

Rich Bennett 43:45
No. 

Dara Wax 43:46
Um, so the real thing is that, is the volume more stores and online. 

Rich Bennett 43:55
Yeah, and you need to get it out in front of people's faces as a God. It's got to, I'm just, it's, it's, it's got to be hard. Being a, a solar per nor with a product, this damn good. And you're the only person and to get it out there in the word in front of people where they can see it all the time. Um, Yeah, you need ambassadors because yeah, I mean, you think about, I like, I love going to farmers markets. I could see if, well, maybe kids won't go to farmers markets as much. 

You need ambassadors there. 

Dara Wax 44:52
Oh, 

I need someone who knows the product really well because it's a great place to get awareness. People to try it to sign up, but it's a lot of time commitment. You 

Rich Bennett 45:02
yeah, 

Dara Wax 45:02
need someone who's willing to stay there for many hours and maybe not even have that many sales there, but it's awareness raising and so that's the other reason why I was trying to get to the dentist and to the people who have a bigger reach than me, because those are, um, those touchpoints. And that's what I'm hoping for having some of this college, these college kids and interns with some more content that me, you know, hoping to go viral on some of these content that people see it. But I love this idea of the Lions Club block the Leos and some of these other places that are already talking about mental health. Yeah. 

Rich Bennett 45:34
Yeah, because I mean you see this and I'm afraid I just saw this with my nieces girl scout trip to get one of their badges. They had to do with put a thing on and they were, they were all taught, each one talked about a different thing. One was CPR. The other one was allergies, mental health. This, this is, yeah, this could be a big, big plus. So besides whole foods and Amazon, where else can people buy, I'm, is there a website. 

Dara Wax 46:02
Our website shop salmon Leo.com 

Rich Bennett 46:05
is it the 

Dara Wax 46:06
and 

Rich Bennett 46:07
end spelled out or yeah, 

Dara Wax 46:08
so yeah. All everything spelled out shop Sam and Leo, we actually off currently offer 50% off your first order and free shipping on our website. Um, just to get people into our website and into our world. Um, because a lot of people go to Amazon and then we're on Walmart marketplace. 

Rich Bennett 46:27
Do you say this stuff was 

Dara Wax 46:31
expensive? It's 60 gummies for $2, 999. 

Rich Bennett 46:33
That's not expensive 

Dara Wax 46:34
at a month, a few months. I don't think so either. But when you're up against some of the other brands on the shelf that are 1299 or 1999. 

Rich Bennett 46:43
All right. First of all, You and I know those brands are. 

Dara Wax 46:50
yeah. 

Rich Bennett 46:50
And 

Dara Wax 46:51
our kids will take 

Rich Bennett 46:51
them. Yeah. And like, you know why they're sitting on the shelves in the stores, because they're still sitting on the shelves and hooms 

Dara Wax 46:59
exactly. 

Rich Bennett 47:00
That's why this is a, this is amazing. And I have some ideas I want to run by you when we're done as well, because I want to see this succeed. I want to see you succeed. Um, and, I want to see it take off so make it so big to where you can retire and Sam and Leo can take everything over and run it for 

Dara Wax 47:21
Totally. 

Rich Bennett 47:22
you. 

Dara Wax 47:23
That's what I want to do. Or salad. 

Rich Bennett 47:24
I think out of work. I so are there. Is there anything you would like to add before that you picked the last question? 

Dara Wax 47:30
Sure. No. I love interacting with people. People have questions. They want to reach out samples or organizations you work with or nonprofits. We love partnering or even we give back. So if you sell through your, you know, do an event and we give percentage of that to the event. Love that kind of partnership and sending samples out to people. So always feel free to find my email address on our website. Um, we can put in the show notes as well, but happy to connect with people. 

Rich Bennett 47:55
I have a funny feeling my listeners are going to be hearing from you again, my faith. 

Dara Wax 48:00
I know happy to. 

Rich Bennett 48:00
I know they will be. All right. So here's how this works. I have a hundred questions here. Don't worry. I'm not going to ask you all 100. But they're broken up into five categories. And most of the time when people pick the question, it's somehow another aligns with what we've been talking about. So I need you to pick a number between one and five. 

Dara Wax 48:22
Four. 

Rich Bennett 48:23
Four. Okay. Now I need you to pick a number between 61 and 80 

Dara Wax 48:31
73 

Rich Bennett 48:32
73 

Wow. Okay. It doesn't really align with what we've been talking about. But this is an interesting question. I haven't seen this one yet. If you could spend a year living in a completely different culture. Where would you go and why? 

Dara Wax 48:53
Oh, it does is relevant because it's my international background. 

Rich Bennett 48:58
I live on. Yeah. Yeah. I knew that. 

Dara Wax 49:03
Um, but it's hard for me because there's so many places in the world that I love a year. I would do. 

Huh. 

This is so hard for me because I- there's so many places in the world I love. There's a part of me at this point in my life that would just love to be in Europe for a year. You know, put me on an ocean, Portuguese ocean for a year, and in a little village, and I'd be fine. 

Rich Bennett 49:43
Yeah. 

Dara Wax 49:47
There's so small off the beaten plate, off the beaten track places. But, like, and having been in the mountains for so long, I'm ready for some coast beach time. 

Rich Bennett 49:57
I can understand that you get tired of the mountains for a while, you went to beach just like when you're on the beach for a while, you get tired of the beach, you want to be 

Dara Wax 50:03
Exactly. 

Rich Bennett 50:03
in the mountains? I'll take the mountains any day over to beach times. That's- that's just me. I'd rather deal with bears than sharks. 

Dara Wax 50:11
Oh, 

I'd- 

Rich Bennett 50:17
I'm the- I'm the idiot that would try to pet 

Dara Wax 50:20
the bear. 

Rich Bennett 50:20
The bear would look at me and be like, 'Hm, that's 

Dara Wax 50:23
Yea. 

Rich Bennett 50:23
dinner in lunch'. 

Dara Wax 50:24
I'm 

Rich Bennett 50:25
going to be full, so- dar, I want to thank you so much. Those of you listening, when you go to the website or Amazon Whole Foods, whatever, and you purchase salmon, or whatever, coming you take. Make sure you go to the website and leave a review too. And also, let me- contact me and let me know what you thought, because, like I said, you're going to hear Darryl again because we talk about mental health a lot on here, we do, round tables. And I think she would definitely be a good addition for those round tables, especially. Darryl, thank you so much. 

Dara Wax 51:03
Thanks so much for having me. It's a great conversation. 

Rich Bennett 51:05
What really stood out to me in this conversation is that Dara is not trying to fix teenagers. She wants to support them. As a mother, she recognized that teens are often caught between products made for young children and those made for adults, even though adolescence comes with its own physical, emotional, and mental health challenges. That realization inspired Sam and Leah, named after her sons, and grew into a much larger mission of helping young people feel seen and giving families more thoughtful wellness options. Dara's journey is also a powerful story of courage and conviction. She left a career spanning nearly 25 years in global health, invested her own savings, and built the company as a single mother and solo entrepreneur. From developing clean third-party, tested gummies to be selected as one of only 10 brands for the Whole Foods Local and Emergin Accelerator Program, she continues to move forward because she believes deeply in what she is building. Just as importantly, Sam and Leah supports nonprofits working in teen mental health and welcomes partnerships with organizations that share that purpose. If this conversation made you think about the pressure facing our young people, take time to check in with the teenagers in your life. Listen without judgment, remind them that they do not have to face everything alone and seek qualified professional help whenever it is needed. You can learn more about Dara, explore Sam and Leah, and connect with at ShopSam and Leah.com. If you try the products, consider leaving review because reviews can make a tremendous difference for a growing purpose driven business. Until next time, I'm Rich Bennett, thanks for listening and remember, every great conversation starts with someone willing to listen and someone willing to share. Now it's your turn. Join the conversation by sharing episode, leave in a comment or reaching out to me directly. Take care. Be kind to one another, and I'll talk with you again soon.