Local entrepreneur Anulika Agu’s business was born from a dilemma—around four years ago smoking cannabis began to make her feel unbearably paranoid, a troubling development for any stoner.
She began researching the benefits of other herbs in search of an alternative, and started to craft her own herbal blends that would combine the benefits of these plants. Agu soon realized that these herbs satiated her desire to smoke, free from the intoxicating effects of cannabis or the multitude of toxins found in commercial tobacco products.
“It was really, really helping me, so I started helping my other stoner friends or people that had tobacco issues, and they really started seeing the benefits,” Agu said. “So I realized that it wasn’t a placebo, and it actually did help a lot of us with weaning off of tobacco, marijuana and with just sleep and anxiety.”
It also occurred to her that these same herbs she was smoking could be used in teas. Using her Keurig, Agu began experimenting with different herbal mixes for tea, finding which blends gave the best taste and potency.
“It’s really great for people that are non-smokers,” Agu said. “They can still benefit from my tea blends without having to smoke it.”
In Sept. 2020, Agu launched her brand the Flower Plugg, with a line of different herbal blends that can be both smoked and infused in tea. Now she’s preparing for the opening of the Flower Plugg’s first storefront in the Zaferia neighborhood of Long Beach, located at 1355 Redondo Ave., suite 8.
While none of the herbs sold by the Flower Plugg have any intoxicating effects, they are meant to benefit the body and mind. Agu’s personal favorite, and her best-selling herbal blend, is “Breathe Easy,” a mix of peppermint, mullein, damiana, rose, scullcap and blackberry leaf meant to provide relief to throat and respiratory issues, as well as help alleviate anxiety and nervousness.
“I suffer with asthma and I swear by this one when I’m sick, when I have a sore throat, when I’m feeling congested,” Agu said. “I love to mix it with my marijuana as well. It helps soothe my throat.”
Including Breathe Easy, the Flower Plugg offers six different herbal blends, meant to help with menstrual cramps, insomnia, anxiety, inflammation, respiratory health and more.
“I would definitely say to be open-minded, because a lot of marijuana smokers they’re like, ‘Oh, you smoke flowers? That’s weird.’ Well, marijuana is also a flower,” Agu said. “So when you think of it like that, of course there’s herbal flowers that are not smokeable, but there are other flowers like chamomile and lavender and mullein that have great healing purposes and that are smokeable.”
With the opening of her first storefront imminent, Agu has even more goals to further expand the Flower Plugg. Agu told the Signal Tribune she wants to expand her business to other states and to one day open a tea shop or cafe.
“I just want to keep expanding and giving knowledge to people about the benefits of powerful herbs,” Agu said. “I just really want to keep spreading that awareness to communities that are not as familiar with this. So I’m really happy that it’s getting popular now and people are becoming more aware and accepting of it.”
To keep up with the Flower Plugg, follow its Instagram page, @theflowerplugg. To place an order for pick up or delivery, visit theflowerplugg.myshopify.com.
