Kombucha market leader GT’s Living Foods has withdrawn its CBD-infused Dream Catcher functional beverage line, with founder GT Dave acknowledging that regulatory uncertainty and a slightly confused consumer proposition both played a role.
A US Senate bill to specifically allow the use of CBD and other hemp derivatives in dietary supplements and foods has been introduced with bipartisan sponsorship. The bill also enjoys broad support within the industry.
A marketer of CBD products has agreed in a Federal Trade Commission administrative proceeding to cease making unsubstantiated disease treatment claims and pay more than $30,000 in consumer redress.
CBD products manufacturer CV Sciences has recorded a sharp decline in revenue, mirroring reports of an overall contraction in the market for hemp extract products.
In a sign of further consolidation within the CBD/hemp products industry, THC Farmaceuticals Inc has announced it has acquired a contract manufacturer in Southern California.
A report from a watchdog group found found that just 42% of CBD brands tested all their products for potency. Additionally, the vast majority of products tested were outside the limits of acceptable variance.
Despite the interruption in civil litigation prompted by the COVID-19 pandemic, “more new class action lawsuits were filed against the food and beverage industry—220* cases [+23% vs 2019]—than in any other year of the past decade,” according to an analysis...
PepsiCo sales during the first three months of the year sailed passed the high bar set last year when the pandemic inspired pantry loading, despite challenges during the quarter, including temporary business disruptions due to the severe winter storms...
The CBD beverages space is not for the faint-hearted given the regulatory minefield brands have to navigate, but Isca is hoping to bring a more culinary twist to the nascent category with the assistance of British Michelin-starred Chef Michael Caines.
The state of Colorado aims to remain a leader in the hemp industry, Gov. Jared Polis said at an industry event last week. He announced the release of a detailed state plan for the industry at the meeting, which includes scientific support, data sharing,...
The CBD/hemp markets, both in finished goods and on the supply side, are in a state of transition, attendees at an industry event learned on Friday. The message was that some growers and some finished product marketers are likely to fall by the wayside...
Colorado-based ValidCare has announced the preliminary findings from its industry-sponsored, decentralized human safety study of hemp derived CBD products, with the data indicating no liver toxicity.
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Shifting shopping habits and channel preferences due to the pandemic hit the non-alcoholic beverage industry hard last year, leading to an overall decline in volume and value, but rising consumer interest in functional options could be a key driver in...
Eat Beyond Global Holdings, a public investment issuer focused on the global plant-based and alternative food sector, has made an investment in CPG life science company SIRE Bioscience.
Sales of functional beverages are rebounding and have a bright future despite the pandemic shutting down for most of 2020 in-person impulse purchases and food service sales which previously drove the category’s fast growth, according to market research...
Yesterday the Natural Products Association testified in favor of a California bill to regulate the CBD trade in that state. NPA and others, however, have reiterated a call for federal legislation that would forestall the growing patchwork quilt of state...
Recent news reports about the marketing of products featuring Delta-8 THC as a prominent constituent have muddied the waters enough that the US Hemp Roundtable felt it necessary to clarify again what should—and shouldn’t—be called a hemp product.
Even as consumers seek ingredients that promise to boost their immunity, reduce their stress and support their well-being, sales of functional foods and beverages were held back in 2020 compared to organic due to shifting shopping preferences away from...
A sharp increase in the Consumer Brands Association’s membership in 2020 underscores how the trade group’s “pro-consumer, pro-growth agenda” is helping it regain the trust and support of the CPG industry, including some companies that left the organization...
Canopy Growth Corporation is entering the ‘high-potential US CBD beverage category’ with its premium ready-to-drink CBD-infused sparkling water Quatreau.
The US Hemp Authority has released the latest version of its certification standard whose aim is to promote best practices and heighten transparency among hemp companies.
The Hemp and Hemp-Derived CBD Consumer Protection and Market Stabilization Act has been re-introduced in the US House of Representatives with the aim of making hemp and hemp-derived CBD a dietary ingredient in dietary supplements.
The rate at which warning letters are being issued for illegal COVID-19 claims has slowed dramatically since FDA and FTC began cooperating on the enforcement action in March of 2020.
The White House Office of Management and Budget pulled six FDA guidances and rules from its review, including the proposal "Cannabidiol Enforcement Policy; Draft Guidance for Industry" — handing the CBD industry yet another setback.
The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) recently announced the final rule regulating the production of hemp in the United States — well over a year after publishing draft regulations.
Plant-based meat and dairy products dominate our gallery of new launches, coupled with a wave of products highlighting immunity and digestive health, and a high-profile CBD beverage launch from Molson Coors.
For many Americans in 2020, pouring a stiff drink at the end of the day – or in the middle of it – was less about socializing with friends and more about coping with the chaos of the pandemic, and while many of the challenges from last year remain – research...
For food & supplement brands hoping 2021 might be the year the FDA unveils a long-awaited regulatory framework for CBD, its Jan 7 progress report citing the need for more safety data does not provide much encouragement, with the Council for Responsible...
Federal regulators could do more to protect consumers by using existing import authorities as well as moving forward on hemp/CBD regulation, the National Products Association has said.
More good news for the CBD industry. The European Commission has abandoned its plans to classify non-synthetic CBD a narcotic and resumed Novel Food applications for edible CBD products.
Indoor farming? Cell-cultured meat? The rise of DTC e-commerce? FoodNavigator-USA quizzed food & beverage business leaders to find out what trends they are monitoring, and what is keeping them awake at night as we approach 2021...
The Federal Trade Commission unveiled an enforcement action today against six sellers of CBD products that it alleges have been making unsubstantiated disease treatment claims. FTC has levied more than $246,000 in fines in the cases.
Membership-only natural and organic online marketplace Thrive Market – which now generates 28% of its sales from private label products - has gained 300,000 new members since the coronavirus pandemic hit, taking membership numbers to almost a million,...
Hemp seeds are nutritional dynamite, but they’re still surprisingly under-utilized in foods and beverages, say the founders of Let There Be Hemp, a new brand hoping to make a splash in the chips category, and - down the road - to introduce Americans to...
Europe’s CBD market is optimistic a ruling from the EU’s highest court not to classify the ingredient a narcotic – going against the European Commission’s shock preliminary view in July – will pave the way for Novel Food applications for CBD products...
Joe Biden’s presidential victory projected this weekend could open the door for the CPG industry to play a more dynamic role in America’s economic revival, including shaping new consumer protections and food safety measures, as well as pursue a more industry-friendly...
Proposed rules regulating the sale of ingestible products containing hemp-derived cannabinoids in New York have been hailed as “pragmatic” and “rational” by brands attempting to navigate the regulatory minefield in the absence of federal regulations.
GW Pharmaceuticals and supplement retailer GNC have reportedly been among the companies meeting recently with a White House division to discuss aspects of CBD regulation.
The US Food and Drug Administration has announced a virtual public meeting to explore the potential sex (biological) and gender (psychosocial) differences in use and responses to cannabidiol (CBD) and other cannabinoids.
Rep. Kurt Schrader (D-OR) and Rep. Morgan Griffith (R-VA) have introduced the Hemp and Hemp-Derived CBD Consumer Protection and Market Stabilization Act of 2020 to allow hemp and hemp derived CBD to be legally marketed in dietary supplements.
Demetrix – one of a new wave of biotech firms producing cannabinoids via biosynthesis (rather than extracting them from cannabis plants) – has commenced 15,000-liter demo-scale fermentation production of CBG (cannabigerol), the first rare cannabinoid...
Hemp plants contain dozens of bioactive cannabinoid molecules and one of them, CBG, is starting to edge onto the main stage with its better known peer, CBD.
NatureBox – a VC-backed startup that burst onto the scene in 2012 as the Trader Joe’s of online snacking with curated subscription boxes – has evolved its business model over the years, making a move into bricks & mortar retail, and getting heavily...
The hemp/CBD industry may have gotten the cart before the horse in terms of extraction capacity and raw material supply, said an investment analyst familiar with the sector.
