This is the latest installment in To Be Blunt, the Question-&-Answer series that aims to put the spotlight on the people, places and companies that make the Arizona cannabis community unique. Today's feature is on Celena Santa Cruz, owner and founder of Luna Scrubs.
Setting your brand apart can be hard in any business. It's especially tough in the legal cannabis industry. And it might be most difficult in the burgeoning and rapidly expanding CBD market.
That's the atmosphere Celena Santa Cruz and her brand, Luna Scrubs, find themselves in.
Santa Cruz, who moved to Los Angeles for a time to pursue a career in the recording industry, came back home to Tucson just before the pandemic. Around that time is when she decided to start her own business, figuring she could get into the industry here in Arizona just as the adult-use recreational market was being put together.
To Be Blunt spoke with Santa Cruz about her first time being exposed to cannabis, what kind of products Luna Scrubs has (for both humans and man's best friend) on the market and what the future holds.
Note: This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
To Be Blunt: What and when was your first experience with cannabis?
Celena Santa Cruz: Oh Lawd, that would be back when my mother put me in a public school coming from a private Catholic school.
It was me and another girlfriend and two male friends that I just went to school with and we went to the park. Back then it was like seed-weed where you had to pick out the seeds, so I'm gonna say it was probably the bunkiest weed ever.
But you know, I wouldn't even know. I don't even think I hit it correctly the first time. It was a joint and I probably didn't even inhale properly at that time. So that was my first experience.
TBB: Very cool, so did cannabis become a part of your life instantly and forever at that point?
Santa Cruz: I think around 16 is when I probably became like a consistent smoker after that. Like when I was in 10th grade and only 15 years old I was just like, OK, I tried it. But then I really didn't become a consistent smoker until I was like 16. And that's when I was introduced to droll. So, no more bunk weed for me.
And then from there I was spoiled with my weed.
TBB: Talk a little bit about how you came up with the idea for Luna Scrubs, when and how did that happen?
Santa Cruz: I personally have always, since 16, been an advocate for cannabis. When we moved to LA it was very common to see CBD for pets at their local little pet shops. So I started giving it to my dog, Bella, for a few different reasons. She had anxiety, and I also gave it to her for the road trips since we were in LA and we were driving back and forth to Arizona.
She also has a condition called Valley Fever, which is very common in Southern Cali, Arizona and parts of New Mexico. It's something that people and pets get from the soil.
I started giving CBD to her because, and I don't think everybody knows this, THC for pets is a no-no, that shouldn't be a thing. They don't tolerate it like humans do.
Then we moved back, I think in 2020, and then I started my business. I actually did not have intentions on starting a business. I literally, when I moved back from California, I was getting really dry skin from our calcified water out here and I hate having dry skin.
I made a scrub and then I added the CBD into it. I was just reading about the benefits of CBD on your skin. So that's why my name is Luna Scrubs, because I literally only had one product, but I didn't mean for it to turn into anything. I was making it for myself.
So trying to summarize what I said, I started as a THC advocate when I was 16 and then started introducing CBD to my dog in about 2017, and then made the scrub in 2020 for myself, but didn't have any intentions on turning it into a business.
Eventually I just realized how well it worked for myself. Then from that came the lotion and the pet treats and now 16 products later, and I have like 10 more in my head. But it's a lot of work. So I always knew I was gonna have pet products like from the, from the beginning.
TBB: So what does the name "Luna" in Luna Scrubs mean, or where does it come from?
Santa Cruz: "Luna" means moon in Spanish. My name is Celena and it's actually Greek for "moon goddess." I've always had a very big connection to the moon. So it kind of just fits. It's a name I would want to name my daughter. It's my dog's middle name: Luna.
I just feel connected to the moon through my name.
TBB: How do you make your products? I imagine topicals, scrubs and lotions, not to mention dog treats, are different than baking brownies! And do you make all your own products?
Santa Cruz: So I am Luna Scrubs only employee. I'm not on the level where I would require employees yet, but I hope to be on that level soon. I keep it simple, I keep it natural and I use the most high quality ingredients.
Halloween Luna Scrubs tincture oil
For instance, with my scrubs, a typical person would use sugar because it is effective and it's cheap. But I use pink Himalayan sea salt, which is the best quality for a scrub that you can get and it's much better for your skin versus the sugar.
I research and I find out what is going to be the best for my customers and their skin, all while still making it affordable and medicated at the same time so they can still get the pain relief and everything.
TBB: Wow, so where or how did you learn to do this?
Santa Cruz: I do look up recipes. But I don't just look at one. I look up multiple, and I go from there and sometimes I'll tweak it and make it my own.
I literally look up recipes and I will research and I will watch videos. I don't sell anything before I try it on myself, either.
I'm not trying to put out b.s. products, because there's already so much out there. You can literally get CBD products at the corner store, but it just doesn't sit right with me with that.
TBB: Tell me a little about the Luna Scrubs products. What are the top sellers?
Santa Cruz: My top sellers are my CBD lotion, that comes in four strengths and two sizes. Then my bath bombs, definitely my tinctures, my oils — tincture oils have been selling great.
Pet treats always sell great, too. And then the gummies have been selling well lately, but that is like a newer product of. So it would be the CBD lotion, the tinctures, the pet treats and bath bombs.
TBB: Where can potential customers find Luna Scrubs products here in Southern Arizona?
Santa Cruz: You can visit my website, which is lunascrubsaz.com. You can also find my products because I'm in three local stores. One is on Fourth Avenue and called The Rustic Candle Company, another one is at the MSA Annex and called The Underestimated City, and the third one would be the CBD Superstore on Pima and Alvernon. And then I'm doing markets almost every weekend.
MORE INFO
Luna Scrubs website: https://lunascrubsaz.com/
Instagram page: https://www.instagram.com/lunascrubsaz/?hl=en
Upcoming vendor fair and farmers market schedule:
1) Canine Carnival BRING YOUR PETS!
Saturday, November 5th 3-6pm @ Highwire Tucson - 30 S. Arizona Ave.
2) The Moxie Market
Sunday, November 13th 2-6pm @ The Moxie - 629. E. 9th St.
3) Danksgiving
Saturday, November 19th @ Chicago Bar - 5954 E. Speedway Blvd.
4) Made in Tucson Market
Sunday, November 27th 10am-5pm @ Made in Tucson Market - 311 E. 7th St.
5) 4th Avenue Street Fair- December 9th-11th
