With many major international consumer brands still wary of the CBD market, there is still the time for smaller players to make their mark.
Speaking at the Global Cannabis Institute Conference in London recently Tim Philips, Managing Director of U.K. market intelligence firm CBD Intel, said on-going regulatory issues are a barrier to entry for major consumer brands.
He said: “How the regulatory issues are resolved will determine whether CBD is sold through the big consumer brands. Big companies like (global drinks’ brand) Diageo have said they will not be making any investments into CBD until there is a clear regulatory path forward.”
No Visibility
“As things are right now,” continued Philips, “this is leaving room for the smaller players with a higher risk profile, they can still get in and flourish as we still have no visibility on what the landscape will look like for the next five years.”
Analysis by the Brightfield group estimates that Charlotte’s Web has the largest CBD market share at 7% in comparison to Coca-Cola’s share of almost 50% of the global carbonated drinks’ market. Speaking in an open debate at the event Sebastien Riessland of Austrian firm Magu-cbd said its frustration with its domestic market stems from a lack of CBD understanding by its regulators.
Xan Morgan, CEO of Equinox International, reminded attendees that it is up to regulators in each of the 28 E.U. states as to whether they undertake any punitive action in relation to Novel Food. He contends that U.K. regulator the Food Standards Agency is fully aware of the CBD market, which he described as being both ‘evolved and safe’.
Catherine Wilson, Managing Director of U.K. firm CannaWell, said its ‘difficult’ for many CBD and hemp companies to display their laboratory certificates as many industrial hemp extracts will contain ‘illegal’ levels of THC.
THC: ‘Too High’
Wendy Pagaduan, Founder and creator of Clean Coconut, a U.S. CBD Skincare company, elaborated on the progress in her home market. She said many who were using THC gummies found they were getting ‘too high’, while those taking too much CBD found they were ‘over-relaxed’.
She said they key to the successful development of the market is to learn pursue the path of ‘individual micro-dosing’. She said: “It’s all about education; sellers need to educate consumers. We are not doing ourselves justice, there is too much of a focus on the product and not enough understanding of it.”
The discussion also turned to the bioavailability of CBD in the body with representatives from Canadian firm Satipharm elaborating on its Gelpell technology. Its gelatin bead capsules release CBD into the small intestine boosting bioavailability by 30%, say the company.
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