CBD Report: CBD Standouts
CBD is about as hot as any category in mass re- tail. Why can’t it also be hot in private label? The answer, of course, is that it can and retailers and suppliers are quickly looking to private label suppliers to gain a greater edge in this still quite mysterious category, which offers the promise of robust sales growth and strong profits.
The bottom line is that CBD products continue to gain popularity among consumers, with the legal U.S. CBD market expected to surpass $24 billion in annual sales by 2025, according to market research firm Brightfield Group’s recent “From Farm to Aisle: US
CBD Market” report.
Consumer response, say many industry followers, has been very positive, particularly in categories like topical personal care. According to BDS Analytics, retail chains are looking to make stronger commitments to the category and are showing strong interest in private label CBD offerings. Sans Food and Drug Administration approval and legality of CBD merchandise at the federal level, this would allow retailers to set standards of their own, giving them tight control over products’ ingredients, claims and traceability while also alleviating consumers’ safety and liability concerns.
BDS Analytics noted that a product’s success will largely be determined by the quality of consumer education programs and consistent labeling — elements retailers with proprietary product programs are well-equipped to do.
These chains also can capitalize on a unique advantage that the CBD category presents: it is demographically agnostic. Unlike most new trends, CBD products appeal to people of multiple ethnicities, age groups and income levels. According to BDS, 40 is the average age of CBD consumers. But they skew far older, with AARP Magazine recently devoting several articles to the popularity of CBD among seniors for wellness and recreational use.
To help retailers gain a better understanding of the players in the private label CBD market, Store Brands is taking a look at some of the products and ingredients now available to retailers looking to pursue the lucrative opportunities inherent to private label CBD programs that can address a range of consumer needs.
Ingredient Alliance
Ingredient Alliance is a vertically integrated grower and supplier that uses specialized genetics to create a variety of water-soluble cannabinoids for use in food, beverages and personal care products. The water- soluble ingredients contain 20% active cannabinoids by volume, allowing retail product manufacturers to make more potent merchandise with less filler. According to a Eurofins study, bioavailability can be as high as 70%, compared with the 12% derived from traditional oil-based cannabinoids. Water soluble cannabinoids also yield clearer liquids with no cloudiness or settling.
Ingredient Alliance’s own private label merchandise also incorporates a number of derivatives from the hemp cannabinoid family, including cannabidinol, or CBN, which purportedly aids sleep and relaxation, and cannabigerol, or CBG, a muscle relaxant that may be an option to drugs like Flexeril. Its family of functional beverages includes hemp tea and hemp H20, which have hydrating benefits and contain non-psychoactive hemp extract. The extract is said to ease inflammation, anxiety and joint pain.
Personal care offerings include a CBD patch with 40 mg of CBD. It also produces pain-relieving CBD- and CBG-infused compression sleeves for various parts of the body, with the cannabinoids at a 4-to-1 ratio to each other, cre- ating a unique genetic combination. A CBN sleep mask and a CBN sleep cream are infused with lavender essential oils. The sleep cream has 25 mg of CBN per 30 ml. There also is a skin care line made with natural ingredients.
Ingredient Alliance supports sustainable farming and processing and operates its own farms in Northern California and other parts of the U.S. It conducts clean soil sampling and provides traceability information from seed to sale.
Bushman Farms/Hemp Heaven
Bushman Farms produces CBD oils derived from hemp grown on farms that have been under family ownership for six generations. The oil is extracted and processed in the company’s own facilities. Farms and facilities are located in Wisconsin, Minnesota and Michigan, which company officials said creates a highly visible, traceable supply chain.
This type of “seed-to-sale” traceability is particularly important when it comes to CBD ingredients. The quality of CBD oil is directly determined by where and how the hemp is grown. Hemp easily absorbs everything from the soil in which it is planted. This means that any soil contaminants end up in the hemp and, subsequently, in the CBD oil and final merchandise.
Products made by Bushman Farms/ Hemp Heaven are free of pesticides, lead, mold, mercury and other contaminants and have a high level of purity. Products include CBD isolates, distillates and broad-spectrum oils. All CBD oils are certified with national testing labs and come with certificates of analysis. The company even encourages customers to visit its farms to observe its processes.
ShiKai
Shikai’s CBD Unscented Body Lotion is produced using CBD isolate. This pure cannabidiol comes in the form of white crystals or powder that have been isolated from the rest of the hemp plant material. This process removes all other cannabinoids and plant impurities, making the isolate devoid of color, smell or taste. The body lotion, along with other ShiKai CBD topicals, contains 125 mg of pure CBD per ounce. Its texture is silky and smooth. The suggested retail price is $49.99.
ShiKai’s CBD personal care products contain no THC, parabens, synthetic fragrances, artificial colors, dyes and sulfates.
The hemp plants from which ShiKai’s CBD ingredients are derived are grown and produced on Farm Bill-compliant farms in Kentucky and Oregon. Isolates used in manufacturing are quality tested after extraction for total cannabinoid content, foreign matters, bacteria, yeast and mold as well as heavy metal, pesticides and solvent contaminants. Test results are available via a QR code on product packaging. ShiKai is a family-owned company that has been marketing products containing botanical ingredients for a half-century. More than 50 hair and skin care items are formulated and manufactured in the company’s 40,000-sq.-ft. facility in Northern California.
Smith & Vandiver
Smith & Vandiver is a 40-year-old, family-owned, domestic manufacturer of both branded and private label merchandise that specializes in topical CBD personal care. Emphasis is on clean and natural ingredients. Currently, S&V supplies more than 14 CBD assortments that are marketed under other com- panies’ labels.
Private label offerings in CBD topicals include balms, salves, lotions and oils. These skin care products are manufactured using a CO2 extraction process. Their key differentiator
is S&V’s patent pending, proprietary Agilosomes manufacturing technology. The polyethylene glycol-free Agilosomes process replaces petrochemicals with green ingredients, company officials said. For maximum skin absorption, it uses tear-drop shaped liposomes that do not become blocked or stuck between skin cells. This is meant to allow the products to deliver a more effective dose of encapsulated CBD deeper into the skin.
S&V’s topical CBD items are THC-free and can be custom produced with CBD contents ranging from 25mg to 1,000 mg or more.
NutraPak USA
NutraPak USA is a comprehensive source for full- and broad-spectrum distillate CBD oil and isolate powder. It is also the largest private label contract manufacturer of CBD tinctures, gels and gummies for retailers and brand marketers in the United States and elsewhere.
Products are manufactured in the company’s domestic facilities using fully green production methods. Ingredients are derived from U.S.-grown hemp. Certifications include HACCP, GMP, ISO 9001, Non-GMO and USDA Organic. Known for its high level of customer care, NutraPak offers a comprehensive roster of turnkey solutions and client support services. Its product development team provides customized formulations designed to meet the specific needs of customers.
NutraPak’s vertically integrated manufacturing and packaging process allows it to schedule flexible production runs to respond quickly to shifting market conditions and new consumer demand. Pricing is competitive. NutraPak stocks a variety of packaging options, including bottles, caps, pumps, droppers and seals in multiple configurations, materials, and colors. It is strongly committed to providing customers with green, eco-friendly and sustainable packaging, according to company executives.
Beneficial Blends
Beneficial Blends’ NanoLyte Water Soluble CBD Oil can be used in the production of a wide range of consumable products, including foods, beverages and topical HBC items. Created by a team of global experts, the all-natural ingredient is created using a proprietary process that results in high quality CBD oil that is both safe and effective. NanoLyte has high bioavailability, providing fast and complete absorption by the body. Compatible with water, it works well in the production of beverages, yielding translucent, non-hazy formulations. It also has a mild taste, with or without the use of bitter blockers.
NanoLyte is produced in Tampa in an FDA compliant, certified organic and SQF Level III manufacturing facility. The hemp from which it is derived is grown on organic-certified farms. Product certifications include GMP and USDA-certified organic. The company follows fair trade practices and maintains total transparency with third-party and in-house lab testing.
Centuria Foods
Centuria Foods provides CBD ingredients and technologies that company officials said can overcome the problem of oral bioavailability inherent to cannabinoids. Its C10 Water Soluble CBD is produced using a nanoparticulation process and Centuria’s proprietary C10 Boost technology. This increases the body’s CBD blood serum absorption rate by 45 times the rate generated by CBD isolate. The process takes 10 minutes compared with four hours for CBD isolate. Findings are backed by a pharmacokinetic study. C10 Water Soluble CBD is frequently used as an ingredient in beverages as an isolate alternative. It also is available in a powdered form.
Centuria also offers end-to-end USDA-certified organic processing that covers the extraction and remediation process for bulk oil and water-soluble products. The company’s cutting-edge technology decreases THC content while boosting the profiles of minor cannabinoids. Solvents and catalysts used in this process are organic and plant-based.
In addition to oranig, Centuria’s products carry a number of other certifications, including NSF (dietary supplements), good manufacturing practices, kosher and gluten-free.
Value Max Products
Value Max Products’ CBD-infused Bamboo Island line of private label bath and body products is all about fragrant relaxation. When products are used in a warm bath, pores open up, allowing CBD oil to be easily absorbed through the skin. Offerings include a 5-oz. Bath Bomb, which contains 30 mg of full-spectrum CBD oil sourced from Colorado, as well as mineral soaks, which have 100 mg of full-spectrum oil. The latter comes in a 10-oz. pouch, providing enough product for two bathing sessions. Fragrance options for both lines include spearmint eucalyptus, lemongrass coconut, lavender sage, tea tree peppermint and Tahitian lime and blood orange.
Both items are American-made. Bath bombs have a suggested retail prices of $9.99 each; Mineral Soaks are $14.99.
Customized CBD content, product sizes and fragrances also are available for marketers seeking private label. Other private label services offered worldwide include custom packaging design, warehousing and distribution, logistics, and custom P-O-P displays.