Pete Olander is the founder of Happie, a plant medicine beverage company focused on cannabis-infused and functional mushroom drinks. Before launching Happie, he worked in private banking at J.P. Morgan and later in the nutrition and consumer packaged goods space, experiences that helped shape his entrepreneurial mindset and understanding of beverage formulation, distribution and scaling a brand.
Happie is a functional beverage company producing hemp-derived THC drinks and mushroom-based wellness beverages under its Fungi Fusion line. The company focuses on approachable, wellness-oriented products designed to provide consumers with alternatives to alcohol and traditional energy drinks while emphasizing quality, transparency and consumer trust.
Olander built Happie as a vertically integrated business, overseeing cultivation, extraction, formulation and finished products.
He initially launched the company as a CBD beverage brand in 2019 before expanding into THC beverages and functional mushroom drinks. Happie’s mushroom products feature ingredients such as lion’s mane, cordyceps and reishi in clinically relevant doses and are distributed through retailers including Total Wine and Amazon.
The company’s THC beverages are designed as low-dose social drinks that prioritize consistency and consumer comfort rather than overly intense experiences. Olander also discussed the complexities of operating in a heavily regulated, state-by-state cannabis environment and the importance of strategic partnerships as the industry evolves.
Olander said his time working in banking exposed him to successful entrepreneurs who inspired him to think differently about risk-taking and business ownership.
He explained that entrepreneurship was not something he always envisioned for himself, but eventually realized he wanted more ownership and fulfillment in his career.
Olander emphasized that entrepreneurs cannot be afraid to fail because avoiding risk often leads to regret and missed opportunities.
He shared that bootstrapping the business helped him stay in control and forced him to deeply understand every part of the operation rather than relying too heavily on outside investors.
Olander said younger consumers increasingly want alternatives to alcohol that allow them to stay in control while still enjoying social experiences.
He described functional mushroom beverages as part of a larger wellness movement where consumers seek products that offer benefits like focus, energy or relaxation without excessive sugar or stimulants.
Olander explained that packaging and branding are critical because consumers “eat and drink with their eyes first,” especially in crowded beverage categories.
He noted that Happie’s goal is to normalize cannabis beverages by creating approachable, consistent products that help people “feel good about feeling good.”
QUOTES
“I need to have a little more ownership of this and I’m going to take a stab at this myself.” (Pete)
“You have to not be afraid to fail. And you have to not be afraid to try because you don’t know until you try.” (Pete)
“If you don’t do it, you’re always going to have that ‘what if?’” (Pete)
“Anytime you take on money from an investor or institutional, you lose control.” (Pete)
“It really forced me to get after it, grind a little bit more and get really comfortable with being uncomfortable.” (Pete)
“Until you have the structure right, until you have the vision and the plan dialed in, you don’t need anybody else trying to tell you to try this differently.” (Pete)
“We want to give people a real good experience. We want them to enjoy themselves, enjoy the environment they’re in and not feel any anxiety about carrying this can around and drinking it.” (Pete)
“It’s not so cool to get out of control. You want to be in control, but you still want to have a good time.” (Pete)
“If people are going to spend extra money on something, they want some kind of function out of it, some kind of a feel factor.” (Pete)
