Bethany Gomez, managing director of the Brightfield Group, spoke with NutraIngredients-USA about the difficulties the cannabidiol industry is experiencing when it comes to defining itself.
Drawing on decades of experience in the beverage industry, Mark Mahoney teamed up with other industry veterans to launch The Drinkable Company. Here, he shares his top tips on launching a cannabis beverage brand, the opportunities and challenges for cannabis...
Regulatory bottlenecks are threatening to hinder CBD innovation on both sides of the Atlantic, the former professional road racing cyclist Floyd Landis tells FoodNavigator.
The FDA has sent out a raft of warning letters to brands selling CBD-infused foods and beverages, adopting an “aggressive position” that one industry source told us made him “concerned for our entire industry.”
Hot on the heels of his collab with Broadus Foods to launch a gluten-free multigrain cereal – aimed at taking on Kellogg’s Fruit Loops – the American rapper is forging a deeper and even more meaningful ‘foodprint’ with the release of a line of shareable,...
“I see all these emails going around saying once the [2018] Farm Bill passes, CBD is legal in all 50 states… and that’s just not true,” observed one attorney in December 2018. Four years later, while a lot has changed, the FDA maintains that CBD is not...
The American Herbal Products Association has released a new guidance document that seeks to bring clarity to hemp nomenclature, in particular what ought to be meant by the terms ‘broad spectrum’ and ‘full spectrum’ extracts.
Legislation currently in the Senate could burden the hemp industry by setting an unrealistically low level of allowable THC, an industry group has said.
A new study that sampled dozens of commercially available CBD products found detectable THC levels in 64% of them. Some levels were high enough to approach therapeutic thresholds or to potentially trigger drug test failures.
FDA came down hard on purveyors of Delta-8 THC and CBD products that were making disease claims on the substances. The Agency also reiterated the reasons it believes Delta-8 is not a suitable ingredient for products marketed as supplements.
The hemp/CBD market is going through a reckoning but ultimately will emerge in a stronger position, said the head of one of few publicly traded companies in the sector.
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.
Consumers seem to be turning to hemp and cannabis products during the current crisis, which has buoyed the near term outlook for Curaleaf, one of the largest companies in the sector, which posted strong revenue growth in its recent annual report.
Emboldened by a recent court ruling in Florida that stayed a CBD-related class action on primary jurisdiction grounds (ie. putting the case on ice until the FDA weighs in), multiple brands hit with similar lawsuits are now pushing for stays and referencing...
Following a lengthy investigation to determine who is behind STONEY PATCH (THC-infused candies sold in packaging that bears a striking resemblance to kids’ candy brand SOUR PATCH) Mondelēz Canada Inc. has named four defendants in a trademark infringement...
An analysis of recent warning letters underscores the notion that FDA is focused its enforcement efforts on CBD, and is not targeting hemp extracts per se.
CBD is the fastest-growing category in supplements and bodycare in Fresh Thyme Farmers Market stores, increasing average basket spend in the category and attracting new shoppers, says the Midwest retailer. However, sales growth is slowing as the category...
The hemp-derived CBD market is growing rapidly, although many CPG brands and retailers are waiting for clarity from the FDA on the regulatory path forward for cannabidiol before piling in, but what will distinguish the winners from the losers in this...
Hemp-derived CBD is being added to everything from sparkling beverages and drink mixes to chocolate, and given the sugar reduction trend, many of these products also contain stevia. But what are some of the formulation challenges when you combine two...
With a pile of FDA warnings letters closely followed by a wave of class action lawsuits, the debate over how the FDA should regulate hemp-derived CBD is heating up, with some arguing that high-dose, high-purity isolated cannabinoids belong in drugs, while...
It was only a matter of time before the plaintiff’s bar sought to cash in on the legal uncertainty surrounding cannabidiol (CBD), say attorneys. So how might brands defend themselves against the latest wave of lawsuits, which argue that their products...
While penning 15 warning letters about CBD in one day (more than the FDA has sent in three years) attracted a lot of media attention, does it signal a change in enforcement priorities for the agency, which has repeatedly warned that cannabidiol is not...
Sparked by proposed US Department of Agriculture regulations that would drastically alter the certification process for industrial hemp, two lawmakers from Oregon want the agency to make several changes before it finalizes rules for the US Domestic Hemp...
Defendants in a recent spate of lawsuits alleging discrepancies between the amount of CBD advertised on pack and the amount contained in the products, have hit back in motions to dismiss, with one arguing that such cases should be stayed until the FDA...
By Larry Levin, EVP market & shopper Intelligence, IRI and Jessica Lukas, SVP, BDS Analytics
Many consumers are on the hunt for the next 'good-for-me' health ingredient, as part of the $450bn trend in self-care. This trend has continuously evolved with consumers focusing on protein-heavy foods, botanical extracts, probiotics, and more...
Interest in CBD is “off the charts,” but those mulling the regulatory path forward for the hottest functional ingredient of the moment might be well advised to consider how other cannabinoids will fit into the regulatory framework going forward, says...
A California court has granted a request from Mondelēz Canada to compel Facebook and Google to release information associated with Instagram and Gmail accounts of a company selling THC-infused gummies under the STONEY PATCH brand.
The US market for foods and beverages featuring hemp-derived CBD – from relaxation drinks to gummies – could be worth $2.5bn by 2023, or 10.5% of an estimated $23.7bn market for CBD products (spanning everything from pharmaceuticals to petfood), predicts...
CBD-infused beverage brand Sweet Reason has raised $2.5M in a seed round led by New York venture capital firm Lerer Hippeau, with participation from RiverPark Ventures, Max Ventures, Subversive Capital, and angel investors.
CBD and other cannabinoids produced via fermentation can deliver the purity and reliability that the market is looking for at a lower price, claims Amyris, which is aiming to introduce its first products next year following a partnership with a newly...
The sale of cannabis beverages in Canada is anticipated to start in mid-December this year, says Health Canada, with a greater variety of products emerging in 2020.
While not everyone was on the same page about the legal path forward for hemp-derived CBD during Friday’s marathon FDA hearing, multiple speakers made clear that the current situation is untenable, with one predicting a wave of lawsuits, and others demanding...
“If we do not succeed in working together to reassure the card brands that they can safely support our industry, then we predict a significant decrease in CBD sales within the next few months,” the National Cannabis Industry Association (NCIA) has warned.
Beverages under the Zola and Caliva brands featuring hemp-derived CBD will start to hit the US market around August or September, says Zola founder Chris Cuvelier, who recently took the helm at a new beverage division at Caliva after the San Jose-based...
US sales of beverages infused with hemp-derived CBD are predicted to reach $600m in 2019, and approach $1bn in 2020, with water accounting for two thirds of the market, predict analysts at Cowen, which believes that “US CBD can conservatively generate...
New Age Beverages has unveiled CBD-infused beverages under the Marley brand, which it believes will give it first-mover advantage in the segment with a globally-recognized brand consumers already associate with relaxation. But it won’t be making any claims...
It is now legal to sell cannabis for recreational use in several US states - with Michigan joining the tally after yesterday's midterms, paving the way for all kinds of ‘edibles.’ But how big could this market become?
As the laws legalizing recreational use of cannabis shift in North America, consumer interest and readiness to try cannabis-infused products is also evolving, recent research by A.T. Kearney revealed.
'Ignorance is amok... not even the investors are asking the right questions. It’s total anarchy'
If you ask the FDA or the DEA if CBD (cannabidiol) is permitted in foods, beverages and supplements, the answer is a pretty unequivocal NO. If you ask the scores of companies currently selling it in everything from CBD-infused soda to smoothie kits, the...
The supply of industrial hemp is ramping up quickly, as a company formed by growers in Kentucky reported $2 million in payments to farmers for the 2016 crop. But demand for CBD still far outstrips supply, a company officer said.
Défoncé Chocolatier’s founder and CEO, Eric Eslao, is waiting for the final vote on California's Adult Use Marijuana Act in November. If passed, his cannabis-infused chocolate can be sold in the state for recreational purposes.
Despite the regulatory haze that clouds the picture of hemp ingredients, innovation continues at an unrestrained pace. In the latest development, early stage company Lexaria says it has developed a liposomal delivery system to boost the bioavailability...