The Green Roads story is about an unshakeable friendship, a career-risking leap of faith and a personal mission that still drives the company today.
Our Story
The Road to Green Roads
Meet Our Pharmacists
Stamped on almost every Green Roads product are two words we take very seriously: Pharmacist Formulated. For us, it’s more than a slogan, it’s at the center of who we are. Green Roads’ co-founder and CEO, Laura Fuentes, spent more than two decades as a licensed compounding pharmacist before starting Green Roads. While other hemp brands were chasing a fad, she was creating unique formulations that would go on to define Green Roads and catapult the company to the top of the industry.
Our Mission & Values
Green Roads' mission is to help every person find the
healthiest version of themselves through the power of plants.
What makes us different from other hemp companies? It starts with our values, and our personal commitment to our customers which drives us every day.
People First
Before starting Green Roads, our CEO and Co-founder spent 25 years as a compounding pharmacist helping her community get healthier. That commitment has driven Green Roads to lead the industry in consumer advocacy. We push for stricter requirements and more transparency so that consumers can be sure that they and their families are taking products that are safe, pure and tested.
Green Roads Cares
From our first day, Green Roads has been about people helping people. We see the world through our customers' eyes and we don't make a product unless it will deliver a real benefit for real people. Our customer service team is the heart and soul of our entire company and the success stories they hear drive us forward. That commitment to humanity also manifests in the way our employees give back.
From open doors, to open phone lines, to open minds,
we always act with empathy first.
Join the Green roads Family
If you’re interested in joining the Green Roads Family as an employee, wholesaler, or affiliate, we would love to hear from you. If you would like to be part of our team and join one of the fastest growing companies in South Florida, please check out our career page to review all our open positions. Green Roads cares about employees, and we offer competitive salaries, health insurance and a 401K program.
If you would like to be part of the Green Roads team and join one of the fastest growing companies in South Florida, please check out our career page to review all of our open positions.
The Green Roads Story
It was 2013...
Laura Fuentes had been working as a licensed compounding pharmacist for more than 20 years when a dear family friend named Arby Barroso came to her. Arby was struggling with health issues and believed hemp held the answer, but he needed Laura’s help to turn his optimism about the plant into real products.
Committed to helping her friend, Laura dove into the world of hemp and began formulating products after work and on weekends.
When the pair saw hemp’s power to enhance Arby’s well-being, they became determined to bring its potential to more people. It became a personal mission and together, they launched Green Roads.
At the time, hemp was not the booming industry it is today. It was fraught with intense FDA and DEA scrutiny, banks who wouldn’t take their business, shippers who wouldn’t touch the product, and other challenges few other entrepreneurs have to face.
They persisted, spending their early days formulating products to help their own friends and family live their healthiest lives. The response to Laura's products was incredible.
Green Roads hemp products are now sold in over 10,000 retail locations, and the company has earned more than 30,000 5-star reviews.
Through it all, Laura’s dedication to the well-being of her customers has not wavered. Green Roads has long set the gold standard for quality control and consumer transparency in the hemp industry and was one of the earliest advocates for full-panel, independent lab testing on every product batch.
Today, the popularity of hemp is growing, but Laura and the entire team at Green Roads still feel that there is tremendous work to be done.
Green Roads is a wellness company. Our mission, begun at a kitchen table many years ago, is to help every person find the healthiest version of themselves through the power of plants. We feel very fortunate that Green Roads is on a path to do just that.
Our Values
FOR US IT’S PERSONAL
From our first day, Green Roads has been about people helping people.
This human lens is a philosophy that our employees live by within the four walls of our office, and it guides how we care for our customers. We don’t make a product unless it will deliver a real benefit. We go above and beyond with our customer service, even if it impacts our bottom line. From open doors, to open phone lines, to open minds, we always act with empathy first.
NEVER SETTLE
At Green Roads, we don’t rest on our laurels. We believe there is always potential to do more, and do better. We believe it so much that we decided the industry standard wasn’t good enough, so we raised the bar higher. Our pharmacy heritage drives us to test our products, and then test them again. Some may call it obsessive — we call it a pathway to possibility.
Our philosophy is reflective of our tireless commitment to helping people live healthier lives: everything we create sits at the intersection of what our customers really need and the best of what science can offer.
KITCHEN TABLE SPIRIT
We live by the belief that humble beginnings can turn into success stories. We know this, because we built our company from scratch.
We also know that it takes more than a vision to win: it requires a fierce determination, infectious energy, and a willingness to roll up your sleeves during the tough chapters to push your way forward. Our scrappiness is why we exist today, and it will always be infused into everything we do.
BE THE BRIDGE
We are natural leaders. And as leaders, we know that it is not enough to simply sell great products. We outstretch our hands and take people on a journey to demystify hemp. We’re the great connector.
By valuing education and leading the charge on redefining what hemp can do, we’re helping people explore paths they never would have previously considered and helping our community feel more empowered about their own health.
NO SMOKE, NO MIRRORS
From day one, we’ve embraced transparency in the way we fearlessly shared our origin story with the world. Since then we’ve advocated for increased transparency industry-wide because we have nothing to hide when it comes to how we conduct our business. In fact, we’re beaming with pride.
We share every detail about our products because we are confident in their integrity. We value open communication with each other, our partners, and our customers. Because that is how we grow, and that is how trust is earned.
PEOPLE FIRST
In ways large and small, Green Roads has always put consumers first.
We’ve won awards
for our advocacy
In both 2018 and 2019, members of our leadership were honored with industry awards. In 2018, Arby Barroso received an Advocate of the Year award and in 2019 Danny Perdeck brought home that award while Laura was honored as an “Industry VIP.” Doing what’s right is just part of who we are, and our leadership sets the example for the entire industry.
Long before states made regulations about hemp product testing, quality and accountability, we were leading the industry as a company that put consumer protection and education first.
We pass all requirements of Florida State Bill 1020 (and did before it was even conceived). What is it and why does it matter?
No matter where you’re located, it is important that you can trust the products you buy. Florida’s quality control standards represent some of the best practices in the country, and many other states have already followed Florida’s lead.
Overall, Florida’s State Bill 1020 (SB1020) is designed to make hemp products safer and more transparent for consumers. Among other standards, the bill stipulates that all hemp products sold in the state must have a certificate of analysis stating the following:
• The hemp extract is the product of a batch tested by an independent laboratory.
This critical step has been a part of Green Roads’ quality control processes for a long time. It makes sure that customers are getting a product that contains genuine, high-quality hemp compounds in the amount they expect to be consuming.
Other requirements:
• Each batch does not contain contaminants unsafe for human consumption (metals, pesticides, solvents, etc.)
Furthermore, hemp products must be distributed or sold in packaging that lists the batch number and includes a scannable barcode or QR code linked to the certificate of analysis (COA) from an independent testing laboratory. These QR codes have been available on all Green Roads product packaging since long before SB1020 went into effect.
In addition...
Each hemp product must also be sold in packaging that lists the batch number and expiration date and includes a scannable barcode or QR code linked to the certificate of analysis (COA) from an independent testing laboratory.
Investing in Research to Help
Florida Farmers
In 2019, Green Roads helped the University of Florida bring the first certified legal hemp plants to Florida soil in 70 years. It was part of the Florida Hemp Pilot Research Program, a robust study designed to learn how Florida farmers could best grow hemp in the state’s varied climates. We donated seeds and dozens of plants, coordinated their delivery, and funded the project with $1.3 M. We are proud to be a part of the pioneer research into the future’s most promising crop. Furthermore, we’re proud to support our local Florida economy, which has always been heavily reliant on agriculture.
GREEN ROADS CARES
Green Roads cares
We are dedicated to helping every person find the healthiest version of themselves through the power of plants. That commitment has grown into a company culture where giving back is part of who we are. We offer discounts for first responders both active and retired, active military members, teachers, and veterans. We participate in local community events and fundraise for them as well. We sit on the board of the Emerge Broward program, an initiative in which young professionals network and give back to the community. Our company and our team members have given their time to a range of initiatives including:
The Arthritis Foundation • Joe Dimaggio Children’s Hospital • Autism Speaks Walk • Multiple Sclerosis Views and News • E.J. Foundation • Alzheimer's Foundation • University of Miami Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center • Cystic Fibrosis Foundation • American Cancer Society
...And more!
