The hemp boom moved fast.
In the years following the 2018 Farm Bill, thousands of companies rushed into the market chasing the same wave. CBD was everywhere. Oils, gummies, topicals, drinks—if it could hold a label, someone was selling CBD in it.
Most brands were focused on scale. Few were thinking about what came next.
But in Hawaii, Jennifer Carlile and Jared Dalgamouni were already asking a different question: what happens when CBD stops being the whole story?
That curiosity would eventually lead them to build Rare Cannabinoid Company, a brand centered not on the cannabinoid everyone knew—but on the ones most people had barely heard of yet.
Before the Hemp Industry Exploded
The story doesn’t start with Rare Cannabinoid Company.
It starts with Hawaiian Choice, the founders’ original brand, launched in 2017. At the time, the focus was simple: broad-spectrum CBD products made with Hawaiian-grown hemp and local botanical ingredients.
But even then, Carlile says they were trying to approach cannabinoids differently.
“From the beginning, we never wanted to be just another generic CBD brand,” she explained. “We were already experimenting with terpene blends designed for specific effects.”
Then something interesting started happening.
Customers began asking questions.
“Some of our Hawaiian Choice customers began asking about cannabinoids like CBN and CBG,” Carlile said. “They had heard about them but didn’t really understand what they were.”
Those questions opened a door.
Seeing the Plant Differently
For decades, cannabis conversations revolved around two compounds: THC and CBD.
But the plant contains more than a hundred cannabinoids, many of which had barely entered public awareness. Researchers had been studying them for years, but the broader market hadn’t caught up.
Carlile and Dalgamouni started digging deeper.
“As we began studying rare cannabinoids, it became clear that they could potentially be even more effective for certain needs,” she said. “Things like better sleep, relieving soreness, or supporting a more positive mood.”
The realization shifted their perspective.
CBD didn’t need to be the answer to everything. Different cannabinoids could support different experiences at different times of day.
That idea became the foundation for Rare Cannabinoid Company.
The brand officially launched in 2020—right as the world was shutting down during the early COVID lockdowns.
The timing wasn’t exactly planned.
“Unintentionally,” Carlile joked.
But the moment was right.
Moving Beyond “CBD for Everything”
One of the earliest lessons the founders noticed was simple: people don’t experience wellness the same way throughout the day.
Someone might want energy and focus in the morning. Relief from soreness after physical activity. Better sleep at night.
“No one feels the same all day, every day,” Carlile said.
That observation pushed the company to develop formulations built around specific outcomes rather than a single cannabinoid.
Compounds like CBN, CBG, THCV, and CBDV became central to those formulations. Each one interacts with the body differently, opening the door to more targeted product design.
Around the same time, Rare Cannabinoid Company began building tools to help customers navigate this complexity. Their Cannabinoid Finder Quiz guides users through a few simple questions—what they want to support, whether they’re comfortable with THC, and what type of product they prefer.
From there, it suggests cannabinoids and formulations that may align with those needs.
Education became a major part of the brand’s identity.
“We’ve published hundreds of educational blog articles and worked with clinicians and retailers to help people understand cannabinoids,” Carlile said. “The science has been there for quite some time. Public awareness has just been slower to catch up.”
When the Market Started Catching Up
Today, rare cannabinoids are no longer obscure industry terms.
Consumers are increasingly familiar with compounds like CBN and CBG, and interest continues growing as more research and products emerge.
For Rare Cannabinoid Company, that shift has been both validating and surreal.
“When we started working with cannabinoids like CBN, CBG, and THCV about six years ago, most consumers had never even heard of them,” Carlile said.
Now they’re showing up across the market.
Seeing larger companies enter the space isn’t something the founders view as a negative. If anything, they see it as evidence that awareness of cannabinoids is expanding.
“The bigger picture is that more people are discovering cannabinoids and experiencing their benefits,” Carlile said. “That’s something we’re genuinely happy about.”
At the same time, the rapid expansion of the hemp-derived market has created new complications.
The rise of chemically converted cannabinoids—products developed primarily to navigate legal loopholes—has blurred the lines between natural hemp compounds and heavily modified alternatives.
For companies focused on plant-derived cannabinoids and rigorous testing, that environment can make things messy.
“Our hope is that the industry moves toward clearer standards that reward transparency and high-quality formulations,” Carlile said.
Building a Cannabinoid Company From Hawaii
Location matters more than people realize.
For Carlile and Dalgamouni, building a cannabinoid brand in Hawaii shapes everything from sourcing decisions to company philosophy.
“We’re extremely fortunate to have been born and raised in Hawaii,” Carlile said. “The culture emphasizes balance, respect for nature, and community.”
Those values influence how they think about the products they create.
Carlile compares Hawaiian hemp to Kona coffee. Coffee can grow in many places, but Kona coffee has a reputation built around its environment—the volcanic soil, tropical rain, and elevation where it’s cultivated.
Hawaiian hemp, she says, carries a similar sense of place.
“Our CBD comes from hemp grown on the slopes of Haleakalā, nourished by volcanic soil, rain, and sunshine,” Carlile explained. “That environment produces exceptional plants.”
At the same time, the company combines that agricultural foundation with modern manufacturing standards. Products are produced in cGMP-certified facilities, undergo third-party lab testing, and incorporate cannabinoids sourced from trusted farms across the United States.
It’s a hybrid model: island-grown ingredients, paired with modern cannabinoid science.
The Next Phase of the Hemp Industry
Few sectors of cannabis have evolved as quickly—or as unpredictably—as hemp-derived cannabinoids.
Federal regulations continue shifting, and companies across the industry are watching closely to see how the next chapter unfolds.
Rare Cannabinoid Company has taken a measured approach.
Many of their products contain no THC at all, relying instead on cannabinoids like CBN, CBDV, CBG, and THCV to shape the experience.
Others include low-dose THC formulations designed to deliver gentler effects.
“Our hope is that low-to-moderate dose THC products—around 2.5 to 5 milligrams per serving—will continue to be allowed,” Carlile said.
But regardless of how regulations evolve, the founders believe rare cannabinoids will remain part of the conversation.
“The cannabis plant contains more than a hundred different cannabinoids,” Carlile said. “We’ve really only begun to understand how they work and how they can be combined thoughtfully.”
In other words, the cannabinoid story is still in its early chapters.
The Long View
The cannabis industry moves quickly. Trends come and go. New compounds appear almost overnight.
But the companies that last usually take a longer view.
Rare Cannabinoid Company was built around a simple idea: cannabinoids are more complex—and more interesting—than a single compound could ever explain.
That belief has guided the brand from its early days with Hawaiian Choice through the rise of rare cannabinoids and the rapidly shifting hemp market that followed.
Regulations may change. Consumer awareness will keep evolving. But the plant itself still holds plenty of surprises. And for the people paying attention, the next discovery might already be growing.
All photos courtesy of Rare Cannabinoid Company.
