Episode 373-How Sam + Leo Turned Clean Gummies Into A Teen Wellness Tool

Teen years are intense, and it’s not just attitudes and hormones. Stress, anxiety, screen time, energy drinks, sleep problems, and constant online pressure can stack up fast, and a lot of families feel like they’re piecing together support with no clear roadmap. We wanted a conversation that feels honest and useful, so we invited Dara Wax, founder of Sam + Leo, to share how she built a clean, vegan teen gummy vitamin brand from a very real parenting need.

We talk about the “missing middle” in the vitamin aisle where teens don’t really fit into kids supplements or adult supplements, and why taste, texture, and packaging can decide whether anything gets used at all. Dara also explains what it meant to go from zero stores to Whole Foods, including stricter ingredient standards, clinical evidence expectations, and third-party testing that can raise the bar for trust in the teen wellness space.

Then we zoom out to what we’re all navigating at home: how to support teen mental health without trying to “fix” our kids, how to handle summer and the pull of screens, and what it’s like to watch a child step toward independence. Dara breaks down the five Sam + Leo gummies and what they’re designed to support, from stress relief and sleep hygiene to immunity, caffeine-free energy, and eye strain from blue light.

If you’re trying to build healthier routines for your teenager and you want practical ideas that respect who your kid is, press play. Subscribe for more parent-to-parent conversations, share this with a friend raising teens, and leave a review so more families can find us.

Transcript

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Welcome And Meet Dara Wax

SPEAKER_01 0:00

Hi, and welcome to the SG Child Show. Today I have Dara Wax with me, and we're going to talk about some exciting things. I think I just got a little preview of maybe some topics we'll talk about later in the conversation. But before that, welcome and please introduce yourself. Let us know a little bit more about you and you know what got you started in kind of this area of passion.

SPEAKER_00 0:29

Yeah, thanks so much for having me. I am Dara, the founder of Sam and Leo. It's teen kid gummy vitamin, clean, vegan, all natural, doesn't stick to teeth, now available in Whole Foods, but really came from a background in global health. And then during the pandemic, noticed my own kids were struggling and talked to a lot of other friends and their kids were struggling and was looking for something for my own kids in the supplement space that didn't exist. Because if you walk down any vitamin Isle, it's kids or adults and not really specifically for teens. So that's kind of where I started, but also really more of the impact as we support teen mental health organizations and wanted the vitamins to be used as tools to have conversations with our kids and teens about things that they were experiencing. So screen time, anxiety, stress, energy drinks, all of those things. And then landed where we are today. And I'm in Denver, Colorado, and I have two boys who are 18 and 16, one going off to college, and I'm a single mom.

SPEAKER_01 1:33

Ah, well, almost so glad to have you. I also have two 16-year-olds and a 14-year-old. So we got some talking about it. It's a very, you know, spicy time in my life right now. No, I I love it. I'm like, couldn't be more grateful for the opportunity I have right now because I think that excuse me. I think that we all have the opportunity or choice to go into any situation, but our perspective and how we go into it is so tricky, isn't it? And we can find ourselves going into more of like a worry or control phase, or we can go into a more independent, curious, and you know, that type of a phase of parenting, at least, you know, and it's been a crazy world. And one thing that always comes back though to being true, no matter whether you have atypical and or typical child, is nutrition, is health, is the whole body. How are we seeing this child, you know, really access what they need? And I think that having this type of conversation is so special and so important. And I I really haven't had so many of them, I can say, right? And and so I'm really excited about today. Tell us the kind of the background about Sam and Leo. Is that what it's Sam and Leo? Yeah, okay. Yep. And you know, what why did that start for you? And and how did you kind of begin that journey? That you know, how would a parent even think about that?

SPEAKER_00 3:22

A lot of it's just curiosity and exploration.

The Teen Vitamin Gap

SPEAKER_00 3:25

So there's lots of ways to look at this. One is that I was giving my kids their supplements and they didn't like, they don't swallow pills. And a lot of the gummy vitamins out there, they didn't like the taste and texture. They either were coated in sugar or like sticky. And I was like, I wonder if we can just make a better gummy. Like that was kind of the first area of it. And then most teens, 85% of teens, don't take any supplement. And I was specifically noticing around energy and I like kind of very functional spaces. So I was curious about that. I actually just went to a gummy manufacturer and bought white label ones originally. Just like, let's just see if there's something here. And nothing kind of creative in the sense of like I wasn't making my own, and then put it in some fun packaging that I thought my own kids would be more accessible to. But a lot of this was conversations with other friends and and what people were dealing with. I will say I don't have any letters after my name. I'm not a specialist in, you know, I'm not great. But my own experience, I was dealing with a lot of things with them. I'm not opposed to medication, but that didn't work for my kids. He actually didn't metabolize it. And I was struggling, like, what can I do to support my kids? And some of it was supplement, some of it was diet. And so that was kind of part of it. It was what was not working for us.

unknown 4:37

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 4:38

And then I realized soon after I launched that like people were into it, and there was like something different about not putting them in a jar. They're in a pouch, they're very, they were Gen Z, Gen, you know, alpha, not skewi, millennial, kind of more accessible, but they just tasted better. So that was the first hunch. And then I launched them and was very quickly picked up by Whole Foods, which was like the goal. Like I went from no stores to Whole Foods. And then I was like, oh, I'm on to something here if that's kind of where it was. So one was looking for my own, like what I wanted to give my own kids, and then seeing that the there was a market demand for

From White Label To Whole Foods

SPEAKER_00 5:13

it. There's still a ton of challenges in that it's a category creator. There's like, where do you put it on the shelf? It doesn't belong in the baby aisle, and it doesn't really belong in the adult aisle. So there's a little bit of like working around that, but online it's more accessible to figure out where it belongs. And then because of Whole Foods, they require a lot of testing and regulation. And that actually brought my standard up. So I had to have clinical studies on every ingredient. I had to have base claims. And it was very so that actually brought up even the, even though I was coming from a place of wanting to do it the right way and make it very clean, they brought the standard up even higher. I also third-party test every batch, like it's a very clean product. Product aside, my passion is really in like the supporting of our teens and teen mental health. And so just being out there and talking about it more and saying, we're struggling, you're struggling. How do we support our kids? And that's a lot of the language I use is we're not trying to fix our kids, we're trying to support them. And then the last thing I'll say, and that's my own experience, has been in the space of mental health, it is such a large umbrella for so many things. It's substance abuse, it's anxiety, it's OCD, it's learning issues, it is, you know, diet and anorexia, like everything is under mental health. And those are all very specialized things. And so just being able to call awareness to it is one thing, but knowing that we just need so many more resources, and especially if you live in rural areas, that's a whole other topic. And then lastly, even if you have the resources to get access to care, one hour a week is like scratching the surface for us as parents of what we're dealing with at home. Even if you have neurotypical earth, everything's great. It's hard, it's challenging to raise teens and social media and everything that's going on. And so to create space to acknowledge that it's hard and the community to talk about it, but even when you have the resources, it's challenging.

SPEAKER_01 7:14

Absolutely. A hundred percent. And couldn't have couldn't have said it better myself. And I really want to kind of point out, and I I my own curiosity was a little bit buzzing. So I hope Whole Foods, you're gonna hear this, but how wonderful that this is going to kind of force, let's maybe hope that we just create in our own curiosity, stork people, its own place to be. Let's open up space for a teen shelf, let's open up space to create the environment for all of the millions, billions of humans that are in this category. Thank you. It's not like there's just a a few of them. Like, come on, these are our future policy holders, like world leaders, authors, you know, janitors, all of the special people, like paras, all of those things. Why do we not have more emphasis on the structure and the how can we better their growth in this time frame? Because it's like, oh, you know, camp until 12 years old. Good luck, you know. And then it's like, wait, I have to wait till they're 18 before I find another camp. Are you exactly what happened? What happened between these years? That there's like everything just falls away.

Screen Time Anxiety And Summer Survival

SPEAKER_00 8:42

I'm in that with you right now with my 16-year-old too. It's like the summer is painful.

SPEAKER_01 8:48

I've found every single free role resource I can. Literally, I've been finding like which I got them a free gym membership through something. I got them like all of the rec center passes. And when we went to sign up, I was so excited to hear that their passes are good till they're 19. Oh wow. Every rec center for free. Use the pool, use the gym.

SPEAKER_00 9:11

You know, I'm like, yes, please take advantage of this. But even then, it's like I found this is my experience, is getting them out of the house. A lot of this generation, it feels so much safer behind screens because of what they went through with COVID. And also just that's where they're interacting. That once they get out, they're fine. But that like push to get them out of the house has been really challenging. And yeah, and I would also say, like, I encourage him to get a job and he has a part-time job, but it's even this employment environment because there's so many other people looking for lower income and lower paid wage jobs, that it's been really challenging to even just find entry-level jobs for a 16-year-old.

SPEAKER_01 9:50

Yeah, that's so tricky. And you know, let's preface that it's okay, no matter whether your child, you know, can get whatever type level opportunity they can, because my 16-year-old, although semi-verbal and isn't even involved in outside social activity or anything, I am not expecting him to go get a job. He can't, he has never even left the house on his own to me to tell you the truth. So that's not a possibility. But a few years ago, he really started. I mean, I it's actually been so many years now, he's had a YouTube channel and it's he's built it seriously, though. In the level on whatever cognitive, you know, cognitive cognitive level he has is can do that. When of course the emails came in that oh, he has enough subscribers to monetize. I was the one who took care of those types of things. He has that's above his you know level of understanding, what even any of that was. But when I did it and it was approved, when I then came to him and said, Oh, DJ, you have your first job. Like this is your first job. I'm so so proud of you. This is so cool. You're doing what you love, you're making money. And I he has made a few thousand excuse me, a few hundred dollars, which beyond that, like he's been sitting in his room doing this YouTube thing, right? Yes, bring the money with it, you know, and it's all gonna go into his own like able accounts and things like that, where it'll be for him in whatever capacity he decides, or if a caretaker needs, you know, that type of thing. So it's exciting, but you have to meet them where they're at in this sense. At the same token, my others that are much more outdoor social type, you know, and um still can't get them off of Fortnite half the time. Yes. But when you do, they do love their new hobby is fishing, and so that's been so amazing, right? You just mention it, even though you know it's been horribly hot, and we both understand that it still has been a nice learning and like great outdoor environment. And my daughter's never done it, so now she's participating and having a really good time, and yeah, I think it's just finding that and being there to support that.

SPEAKER_00 12:18

I do think that if you're like nagging, it doesn't help.

SPEAKER_01 12:23

Yeah, yeah, and that's why I said in the very beginning that perspective that being able to go into it with a mindset of let's make the best and the most of this, or wow, you know, how much is this taking from me? Like how how costing is this, or how tired am I? And that is not to say that we do not have days like that. That is not the case. I am not like I'm a very happy, very positive person, and I love for people to also think that of me, but I'm not unrealistic to the fact that yeah, I'm also a human and I have hormones that are changing and you know, a number of other things. So teenagers, come on, everybody just gives you a break then.

SPEAKER_00 13:13

Yeah. And I also would say, like, I've seen so much change in my older son, he's 18, right? Between 16 and 18, that I was just wowed by in terms of like things that he struggled with, things that were really hard for him. And then he's like this different human going off to college. And so I'm trying to trust that process a little bit and their own development, especially boys. You know, girls can be different than boys, and I was very different than my own kids. But just to see that change in two years has been really nice and built my own confidence for who he will be out in the world. But then to see my younger son, who does struggle a little bit more, to see wait, we'll see what happens in the next two years.

SPEAKER_01 13:52

Yeah. I love that you said that because I I actually had a conversation about that exact thing in this week sometime, about having that kind of understanding. And I'm at that place where I'm hoping that when I I see that type of thing, but I've, you know, I've had so many discussions with so many individuals or parents, whatever you want to say, that tell me that exact thing. There's this level of like a maturity that's happens or is going to may happen, all of the things, right? That really changes the out outcome and the maybe your expectations of even the capabilities that you're seeing from one uh you know time period to the next. So I'm excited. And I I'm of course of over time, you know, from zero to 16, have seen hundreds of growths and changes and things like that. But when you're experiencing someone who, you know, you have to set up lifetime care for or you know, daily care supports, you just really need to to have that support around you.

Letting Go As Kids Grow

SPEAKER_01 15:18

How has this kind of opportunity with the I love that Whole Foods saw what you had and really valued? And I think that's so special and well deserved and very exciting. And how is that like the feedback now? What how is that going?

SPEAKER_00 15:36

It's been interesting, it's kind of all over the place because I do all of my own store sampling. Like I'm the Costco sample lady and I'm getting samples and selling it. And a lot of times, well, a lot of times people are buying it for themselves because it is a cleaner, better gummy, and they understand it. But a lot of times I'm getting these parent stories, right? Like, I'm not sure if you're familiar with RFID as an eating. Yeah, so one of my sons had RFID as well, but I'm getting so many families telling me that they had RFID. Well, five years ago, no one knew what RFID was, or rarely was just becoming a thing. And to think about all these other kids who had suffered before that. So, like just to hear that is really one, I get to connect with other parents because of the why I made that, but to hear that, and parents have a way to explain that someone else has gone through it.

SPEAKER_01 16:20

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 16:21

And so that's part of it. And then also just you hear so many of the like so many parents' journeys. And I think it makes me realize that there's more work to be done. This is like a scratching the surface, it's one place for it, and more podcasts like yours and sharing that because it's really lonely. It's really lonely as a single mom building this as a company alone, but it's even more lonely, like having these kids that you're you're parenting alone and always wondering, like, you're, you know, are we doing the right thing or what's the next the next decision? And then to have some validation that it is to keep going is like really nice to have and to hear. And like I could stop selling gummy vitamins tomorrow, and my passion would still be there, right? Is just supporting this. And it's just one vehicle to have those conversations to find it. So I think that's been kind of the rewarding, the rewarding place of it.

SPEAKER_01 17:13

And you know, let me just say and honor you for your courage and like space and independence that you're giving to one child, you know, move all the way across the country. That is just, you know, we always in our parenting career, that's what we're working on. We're working on how can we send this individual out independently, knowing what they're doing, we've instilled the right values and all of the right things, and then trust that that is what is happening that you send them out or when you take them, you know, and I'm excited to and and sending you the biggest hugs when you do do that.

SPEAKER_00 18:03

So yeah, but I want to hear, you know, like how that was and how like you're feeling afterwards, and like really please have a lot of I'm definitely already mourning and grieving in a way that I can't describe it because I only have them for half the time, right? And so I'm already like he's here with me right now. And knowing that he's leaving, it's like I know it's coming, but it nothing's changed yet. And so the anticipatory grief is kind of there, and it's nothing I've ever experienced before. Because you were like, there's so many times where you're like, I just want to stop touching me, leave me alone. I want my alone time. My you know, I lost my independence when I had kids. Like you have all these good emotions when you have kids, and now it's like the reverse. It's like, don't leave. I yeah, and you're a person I want to hang with. And the other part of this, kind of stepping back to some of your previous questions, is I joke that like I raised my kids in all organic and made my own baby food, and like, you know, you do all these things, like whatever your parenting style is, and then they're gonna be their own people. And like he wants Subway in Dr. Pepper, right? Right, and so it's like even you setting these foundations, they kind of you know, choose your own pathways. And so part of this also is like uh like honoring that same of like trying to give them something healthy, but kind of where they're going with their own journey.

SPEAKER_01 19:23

Absolutely. Oh, you couldn't have said it better. No, I agree. My husband loves analogies, and he always back in when we were raising his daughter who's out on her own, she's 26 actually. I in and we don't have much contact, but he you know, we had to kind of embrace the fact that especially in a dual household environment, that you basically are like it's a bow and arrow analogy that you could be the most beautifully crafted bow that's you know, woodwork and all of the right things, and just uh spent so much time and you've crafted and you've crafted this arrow. But once you shoot the arrow out into the world, anything can change the trajectory of that arrow. Like it doesn't matter if you're the perfect, any of that other side of things. That's not for you to be in control of, have control of, even have like idea of really past that, unless they are sharing that with you. That's their independence and their kind of decision at that point. So it's it's fascinating, like this roles that we play, you know, in these individuals' lives that we call kids, you know, and and then make them into humans that hopefully, as you know, some go on and have their lives and we hope the best, and others we get to still frame and and help nurture that. And I think with the contrast, I at least I've been so lucky to maybe do things a little bit differently for a different outcome. So I think that that's a a grown-up decision that we have and that we're able to make. And even anyone listening today, if you feel like maybe things are going in a direction that you want to change the trajectory, maybe you look into Sam and Leo and and start with that side of it. Start simple with a nutritional supplement with a an added, like, you know, that it it's so helpful when there's those tangible steps to take. Yeah, less energy drinks, less screen time, whatever. Yeah, yeah. Um tell us a little bit more about like what's in it. Like, yeah, sure.

SPEAKER_00 21:54

I'm happy to share about them. And I one other thing I was gonna comment also what you were saying is. That there's such a spectrum of like launching these kids into the world too. And I think we're actually at a point where things are changing. Like college isn't necessarily going to be the path for everyone given what it's pricing. Like, even though they're capable or have the intellectual pathway for it, it may not still be the path for everyone. I think us as parents and the generation we came from, there was so much pressure to go to college, and that was the only way. And so being able to relinquish some of that right now and see that there's different paths. And like my ex-husband and I, we both, you know, ended up in Ivy League schools and did all the right things. And like that's great for some people, but like acknowledging that maybe one of our kids doesn't have that pathway has been, I guess, less pressure for all of us. And just and I think everyone just being able to support. So another message to listeners is that there's such a spectrum of pathways forward, especially now the world's changing. And I think our kids even feel it more with AI that being able to support them in those pathways and maybe being able to fail and find different ones, but it's not the same way where we grew up.

SPEAKER_01 23:03

So oh, it isn't at all. And I'm always saying that. And I literally there's not any day that we could go back to and have as much information at an age that they do now. There's absolutely no possibility. And how to trust, you know, your person in a world of other people that aren't looking out for them the way you are. Exactly. It's terrifying.

Five Gummies And What They Do

SPEAKER_00 24:40

Well, oh, and then on that, no, the the the question about the actual ingredients and the supplements and kind of going into like the those, it's a lot about what they're dealing with. So it's the stress, it's the screen time, it's the energy drinks, it's immunity keeping healthy, it's the sleep and the sleep hygiene. And so each of the five SKUs kind of addresses all that. People now are asking for a multivitamin because they love the taste and texture, but these are really meant to address like what we're all dealing with with our teens. So my relaxed one is a Valerian chamomile lemon balm, which is like putting the three T's together. It can be taken any time of day as a stress reduction, but also helps at bedtime as a non-melatonin option. And they're all safe for four years and older, so which is interesting with the FDA because if if you want something for a 16 or 17-year-old, it has to be safe for a four-year-old. So yeah. So then I do have a sleep one as well, and that has a tiny bit of melatonin, passion flower, MB6 in it. I use it with my my seven, 18-year-old does like a little bit of melatonin at night. My sister's a family medicine doctor. She's like, she uses it with her kids. We use it for travel. I know it's not for everyone, and people have different reactions, but it is a nice tool to have for when you really need that support. Then I have the immunity, which is elderberry echinaceous C and zinc. I take it every day. Really don't get sick. Um, it really just does help the all-around wellness. Yeah. And so it's a nice way to get in that um immunity support. Then the caffeine-free energy gummy is a bee complex with a little biotin that activates it. And that is really meant to be a nice pick-me-up without the caffeine. Uh, I take it as well. It's also a nice before and after sports because we're all bee deficient. It's also a focus, it helps with focus as well. So I describe it as like an alertness instead of a caffeine rush. I would love to get it out to more kids and youth sports who are not always doing the best for their diet and drinks, but also the gamers who are online all the time and things like that. So it's a really nice um option. And then the last one is for eye support. It's called has lutein and zeaxanthin in it, which is made from marigold extract. It's been around forever as a capsule, not as a gummy. And it does support blue light blocking and eye fatigue. I actually had an ophthalmologist buy it a couple weeks ago when he spelled them. Yeah. And he's like, I've never seen it as a gummy. It used to be really recommended for people as they were aging, but now because of all the screen time and eye strain, it's recommended younger ages. I would love to put it into a multi because it's you know an extra gummy to take, but it also is a tool to start just talking about screen time awareness and what it's doing to her physically to our body. So that's a nice option as well.

Buying Options Collaborations And Farewell

SPEAKER_00 27:27

So right now I have five. They are available, four of them, the clips of the sleep one are available regionally in Whole Foods. We're also on Amazon and Walmart Marketplace. Yes. And we're gonna soon we'll be on Thrive Market Online and some airport kiosk.

SPEAKER_01 27:40

Wow, that's amazing! Congratulations. What about your own website?

SPEAKER_00 27:46

Yeah, and our own website, of course, is shopsamandleo.com, all spelled out. We actually offer half off and first orders and free shipping. So that's a great way to try the vitamins and get some more information. Perfect. Okay. Yeah, and always our emails there. You can email me. We love to do collaborations. We love to support nonprofits or even activities. So if you want to have an event and use a coupon code, we'll give a percentage of proceeds of sales back to organizations. So we're happy to partner in all that and give out samples. If you're having an event and you want to have a bunch of samples at events, we're happy to do that as well.

SPEAKER_01 28:25

Oh, I love that so much. What a wonderful resource. Thank you so much for sharing that. And I do have quite a few, possibly even friends and listeners that do a lot of tabling and a lot of events. So what a wonderful, wonderful.

SPEAKER_00 28:41

And we're in the Salt Lake City stores.

SPEAKER_01 28:44

Whoa, I love that too. I'm excited to get them myself. Yeah. I'm telling you, I'm gonna tell my husband that he's really made a lot of changes over this past year. He quit smoking and it's been a year now, and he really wants to try to cut back on Red Bull. And so he's totally gonna get because he like it's just the same as any kind of resource, right? Sometimes you just don't know where to look, you don't know how to get the information. Well, universe, thank you for sending me Dara. And we have it, and now we're gonna move forward. And um, Sam and Leo can be our our you know wellness corner. Love that. Thank you so, so much for your time today and getting to know you. It's been so much fun. Thanks so much for having me.

SPEAKER_00 29:35

And anytime we want to reopen the conversation, I'm here for it.

SPEAKER_01 29:38

Yeah, and if things come out for you and you want to talk and and promote more, please reach out to me. I'd love to have you back on and you know, new kind of supplements or whatever. If that happens, like give me the heads up. I will for sure. Thanks so much. Thank you so much, listeners. Please go to shop Sam and Leo. That's all spelledout.com. And make sure that you are checking your Whole Foods, Amazon Thrive, other places that you might be able to find them as soon as possible. That's Sam and Leo. Is it Sam with the plus sign? Is that how it the like the label looks and everything?

SPEAKER_00 30:15

The label is Sam plus Leo.

SPEAKER_01 30:17

Sam plus Leo. I'm so excited to try them myself so that I can give some feedback and let you know, you know, what's happened around our neck of the woods. And it's always good to have these types of resources available, especially for our neurodivergent kiddos who have a hard time taking foods, like you said, swallowing pills. We just this year, you know, a 16-year-old have finally been able to kind of uh overcome the pill swallowing, and it's a lot of help of his little sister. She will come in, she'll say, Okay, let's do this. This is how I'm gonna do it. She gives him the steps, she does it herself, you know, and and whether it's like you know, she'll just take like even they've done many MMs before it just so that she can show him the steps to take to do this, and and he doesn't need to take a pill, but he likes to go to grandma's and he is allergic to the dogs, so we have to take a Zertec, and now in order for him to want to go there enough, like he is willing to do this, which is shocking to me because I'm like, okay, wait a second, we've gone through fevers and other things, and like you've been like never like 12 people can't get you to take it, and now like a dog makes you sneeze, okay. Amazing how it goes, but isn't that part of that maturity level as well? And seeing those changes and accepting what everybody might have been saying all along, you know, that you finally can see has like something good for you to get out of it. So I love these stories. Oh man, me too. Thank you so so much. This has been such a fun conversation. I look forward to staying in touch and yeah, just call me when you want to know what the weather's gonna be like exactly when it's coming my way.

SPEAKER_00 32:09

And we love promoting your show as well, so we'll be posting on all our socials as well.

SPEAKER_01 32:14

I appreciate that so much, and I hope that you know your community gets just as much value from what I'm sharing as well. Sure, they will. Thank you so much, and I look forward to staying in touch to have a good one.