There is a huge hype right now in the CBD industry. We do not blame you it feels a bit overwhelming. There is so much new information, products, and companies that are trying to convince you that they are the absolute best.
With a massive amount of information to navigate, it can be hard to narrow down finite truths. I want to let you in on some industry secrets and concepts within the hemp and cannabis industry that no CBD company will straight out tell you.
The purpose of this is not to call out any specific company, but rather to educate you on what you may not be able to see from the outside of fancy labels and tasty looking gummy bears.
I hope this does not lead you astray from trying or using CBD. It is a wonderful cannabinoid that has vast benefits to help you feel better physically and mentally.
As somebody who works in this ever-growing industry, I know there are some unspoken truths that I would like to inform you about. My hope is that you may have a better understanding of this industry as a whole, are able to make more educated purchasing decisions. So here we go.
CBD oil itself is not as expensive as you think (but everything else is).
If you have ever shopped for CBD you have likely had the conversation in your head saying
“oh my god this little bottle is $100, no way, I can’t afford that?”
and as quickly as you picked it up, put it back on the shelf, and looked for another brand that was a little bit more affordable.
It is a common misconception that the CBD oil in these products is expensive for the manufacturer, which is not the case. CBD oil itself is not as expensive as you would think, but everything else that goes into producing this product is at a much higher cost than other herbal supplements that have been around for some time.
One thing that adds to the price of CBD products is lab testing. These products go through rigorous lab testing, at various stages of their lives. These products are tested from seed to plant, then tested (multiple times) after it has gone through extraction. And lastly, the final products themselves are tested. These tests can cost up to $300 per sample.
Then the business costs are always higher in the CBD industry. Insurance, lawyers, and accountants who specialize in the hemp industry tend to be at a marked-up cost, simply because it’s technically a ‘high risk’ and very specific industry.
Not to mention how much it costs to get a decent payment processing system, including the high credit card processing rates.
When you see a CBD product and you are wondering “why does it have to be so dang expensive?” It is not typically the CBD oil, its everything else in between.
Just because CBD is legal doesn’t mean it’s easy to sell.
When the 2018 Farm Bill passed making CBD federally legal, many people jumped on the bandwagon and hundreds of companies arose – pretty much overnight.
The majority of these smaller companies, as well as some of the larger companies, went through a long and crazy obstacle course just to get their products on shelves, let alone sold online.
From dealing with payment processors who constantly shut down their services unexpectedly. To not being able to advertise on Google, and all major social platforms. The struggle of being in this industry is something that we all are constantly battling every single day.
On top of all that, we also have legal disclosures and the FDA tells us that we aren’t allowed to say what our products are even good for. We are constantly doing a tip-toe around words we use and how we explain products, talk about a pain in the ass!
Just because it became legal, did not make it easy to start and operate a CBD company.
Just because we are in the cannabis industry doesn’t mean we all enjoy marijuana.
Just because this industry is based around the cannabis plant, does not mean that we are all ‘stoners’ or even enjoy the psychoactive effects of THC.
In fact, a lot of us started using CBD because we didn’t enjoy the effects of marijuana. We, and many others, are more interested in the health benefits that come from cannabis rather than the high, and it can be hard to disassociate.
The stigma around cannabis is still very much alive and well and something we are all working very diligently to break. A lot of people approach my booth with curiosity and immediately walk away offended that we are selling something related to marijuana. I suppose this isn’t a secret, at times we just have to be humble and respect people’s stubborn beliefs.
Then there’s the other side, where people get very excited and begin raving on about marijuana strains, dab rigs, and asking us if we want to ‘light up’. When all we did was talk about our wellness brand.
What I am trying to say here is that there is a wide array of people in this industry and we cannot be lumped into one category. We are all different, we all enjoy and promote different lifestyles.
There are SO MANY companies that are in this industry for the money alone.
One question everyone should ask when they are looking to purchase a CBD product (let alone any product for that matter) is the question,
“Is this brand in this for the right reasons?”
The answer to this question may be found in their about us page, generally seeing where they sell their product, and who they market to. There may be a visage behind a beautiful fancy brand, and we urge you to dig further.
Many of the large companies are in this industry just for the money. While it may not make them a ‘bad company’, finding a product by a company who truly cares about making YOU feel better is much worth the buy.
Like ourselves, there are a lot of passionate CBD companies who began this journey to share how CBD has changed their lives for the better. To inspire others to take a step in a direction on a wellness journey, and are in this industry so that they can help other people.
You will find that these companies put in the extra effort to care about their customers. There is much more thought and time spent on the quality of extracts and other ingredients that go into making a truly beneficial CBD product.
Also, just because there are 3rd party lab tests does not mean that it is necessarily a quality product. CBD products are much more than just CBD oil. These products also consist of the carrier oils, flavoring, terpenes, and many other ingredients. But that is a discussion for another day.
Always research what products you buy, and who the people are behind the brand – find out if they care about you, or if they are in it for the big bucks.
There is an extreme amount of waste produced by the CBD industry as a whole.
When I began working in the cannabis space I was so excited to be working within an industry that was based around medicinal plants! However, within my first week, I was thoroughly let down with the amount of waste that I saw daily.
I was disappointed by the high volume of plastic containers and packaging that I knew would never be properly recycled. And I also knew that this was just the tip of the iceberg.
There are some estimates that the amount of waste from the North American cannabis industry in 2019 was a sum of 1 million tons. And is likely a much larger number.
When I began planning my own CBD company, my first and foremost thought was how can we be as sustainable as possible and stay far away from the massive amount of waste by this industry. I am not just talking about the packaging waste, but also the waste that comes from manufacturing, transportation, and even the amount of waste that happens when extracting CBD oil.
This is especially a hard task to manage, and while our brand is not 100% plastic-free, we try to only use glass bottles and minimal packaging. It is also important to us to offset our carbon footprint and give back.
With the cannabis industry on the rise and the small number of regulations that abide, we have to set our standards when it comes to sustainability. And I believe there are too many ‘big’ companies that are disregarding our earth for their gains by packaging all their products in single-use plastics.
In the end, we are all in a ‘green’ industry and I think it is time that we collectively start acting like it.