HOLMES BEACH – Offering a wide variety of CBD products and more, Morgan and Ben Bryant recently celebrated the two-year anniversary of their Live Naturally store in Holmes Beach.
The Holmes Beach residents opened Live Naturally in 2019 and their product offerings continue to expand as they enter their third year of operations. Located at 5337 Gulf Drive, Suite 200, Live Naturally is the business on Anna Maria Island that specializes in CBD and other hemp-derived products.
CBD is a cannabinoid derived from hemp plants but it contains zero or minimal amounts of THC – the psychoactive ingredient that makes marijuana users feel high or euphoric. CBD products are regulated and legal.
When discussing the benefits of CBD, Morgan said, “It has relaxing properties and many other different helpful properties for the body. We are born with endocannabinoid receptors, so the body is naturally very receptive to CBD. We have a lot of people that use CBD for sleep and it can help the body internally in many ways as well.”
“We have our topical CBD cream called ‘Keep Movin’ Cream’ that’s our biggest seller. We ship it to one customer who has fibromyalgia. She said she’s never had anything help her as much as our cream has,” she added. “We had a lady who had shingles and our cream gave her a lot of relief. I use it for my back with two herniated discs, and it provides incredible relief. It sells for $39.99 and several of our customers’ testimonials can be seen at our Facebook page.
“You can also take CBD internally. I sing in front of large crowds of people sometimes and I’ll take a little bit to feel more relaxed. It’s nice to know there’s an alternative to the other things out there. We have a lot of people that use CBD for sleep, and when you take it internally it helps the different parts of the body,” she added.
Ben explained the development of Live Naturally’s proprietary Keep Movin’ Cream, Morgan said.
“We combined a bunch of different plants and herbs into one cream. A lot of products use and isolate CBD, which is dead and like a dry, white powder,” Ben said. “You don’t get as much benefit from the plant when the product you start with is dead. We use a live form of CBD in the form of a distillate. It’s a lot harder to make into a cream, and it’s more expensive. We also use essential oils that have helpful properties, like lavender and peppermint oil. We use an arnica flower extract that helps reduce inflammation and relieve muscle soreness. We also added an ancient Native American root herb that the Native Americans used to heal broken bones, tendons, ligaments and joints. We combined all these things into a nice cream that’s not too oily or greasy and that has no detectable THC.”
“We used to have a cannabis farm in Sonoma County, California. That’s where I got my knowledge as to how to create this cream. We own the formula and pay a company to manufacture it. We developed our cream with a team of scientists we hired from Virginia Tech. It’s a rewarding feeling to know our product works so well,” Ben said.
“We offer a lot of products that are THC-free or have non-detectable THC for people that don’t want the cannabis product,” he added. “We have people in this community that hold public positions and cannot have THC. We carry Wyld gummies, which we think is the best brand in the country for non-THC gummies. Some of our tinctures contain no THC.”
“We work hard to make sure those CBD products are safe for them to use. There are different types of CBD and the full-spectrum products that do contain a little THC. We make sure the ones that are not supposed to have THC in them don’t,” Morgan noted.
“Marijuana dispensaries are prohibited on the Island. Live Naturally is a hemp business. If you’re on vacation in Florida with a medical marijuana card from another state you cannot go to a dispensary here. But someone on vacation can pick up a hemp-derived product at Live Naturally with the Delta 8 THC. Delta 8 is hemp-derived THC is much different than the well-known marijuana Delta 9 carbon compound found in the plant. This gives the user a much lighter and less psychoactive experience than regular THC. A lot of people prefer that, especially with the edibles. They’re happy they found something they can use that is much less of an ‘experience’ than Delta 9 THC and everything is hemp-derived,” Ben said.
Live Naturally also sells products that contain Delta 9 THC.
“We have Willie Nelson’s ‘Willie’s Remedy’ full-spectrum coffee and tea. Full-spectrum means it’s going to have up to .3% of Delta 9 THC per milligram per gram. That’s the most allowed under the Farm Bill Act of 2018. We also have JuJu Royal tinctures and gummies from Bob Marley’s son, Julian,” Ben said.
“We carry a wide range of edibles and other products from all over the country. We source a lot of them from Oregon and Colorado and a lot of these products are made to order, like our hand-crafted caramels from Oregon. We have a version that also has the cannabis compound called CBN, which also helps with sleep. We have cookies that are gluten-free, sugar-free, dairy-free and vegan. We have vegan gummies, organic gummies and gummies that range in strength from 10 milligrams per piece to 50 milligrams per piece. We also have syrups you can add to your favorite drink and we have sublingual tinctures in the Delta 8 variety,” Ben said.
“We carry the 2021 Hemp Cannabis Cup winner for Delta 8 flower, by Alliance Flower. We have the concentrate form in dabs, too. We have Delta 8 Moon Rocks and we have five or six different brands of pre-rolls. My favorite pre-roll is the Woodstock brand. They’re the only company I’ve seen in the whole country that’s FDA registered and GMP certified, which means it’s manufactured to the highest standards, like our Keep Movin’ Cream,” Ben said.
Live Naturally sells essential oils bracelets made by Holmes Beach Police Chief Bill Tokajer’s daughter, Christina Tokajer Walker.
“You add essential oils that soak into the lava rocks and you can wear your favorite oil all day,” Ben said.
“Our pet products are also really popular. We have tinctures, treats and shampoo. CBD helps them a lot too,” Morgan said.
“I spend a great deal of time, effort, and money getting high-quality products from all over the country. When people come into this store they’re blown away with the choices and options we offer,” Ben said.
“We also take the time to educate our clients,” Morgan added.
Oxygen Bar and Bemer Mat
Live Naturally also offers an oxygen bar and Bemer Mat treatments.
“Different essential oils are infused with the oxygen to enhance the user’s experience – whether you like a calming experience or an uplifting experience. Our users report that it helps with jet lag, headaches, fatigue and sleep. Users usually go between 10 and 15 minutes. It’s usually a dollar a minute, but right now we’re doing a 50% special,” Ben said.
“The Bemer Mat converts electricity into frequencies that mimic the earth’s magnetic pull, so it increases the blood flow. I’ve been using this machine for a year and I can’t believe the amount of healing my body’s experienced. We usually charge $20 a session and we also have monthly memberships. It takes about eight minutes a day. Some people use it daily, some use it weekly,” Ben said.
The Bryants are also currently opening their Cool Beans coffee shop in the Bayview Plaza, across the street from the Anna Maria City Pier.
You can visit Live Naturally online and also at www.keepmovincream.com. Live Naturally is also on Facebook and Instagram. The store phone number is 941-567-5299.
