FDA Commissioner Dr Stephen Hahn, MD, in a speech on Wednesday, said that despite its continued concern about insufficient safety data, the FDA has no plans to try to shut down the CBD markets. Hahn said that would amount to a “fool’s game.”
The number of class action filings against food and beverage companies rose 8% to 177 in 2019, with firms vulnerable to legal action on a host of fronts, from animal welfare claims and CBD to vanilla labeling, says law firm Perkins Coie.
After an explosive start in late 2019 (it sold 200,000 cans in 36 hours on Black Friday via its website) LIFEAID has secured listings in 350 Vitamin Shoppe stores (in CBD-friendly states), Lucky’s Market in Colorado, and New Seasons for its new CBD-infused...
As the number of food accelerators and incubators has increased in recent years, the barrier for entry into the market has decreased – and while this makes launching a new product or company easier, it has made cutting through the competition and finding...
In a motion to dismiss a lawsuit* filed in California accusing it of selling ‘illegal’ CBD-infused products, PlusCBD Oil maker CV Sciences deploys multiple arguments: no one was harmed; plaintiffs lack standing to seek label changes; the case is pre-empted...
The FDA has promised to provide more clarity over CBD “in the coming weeks.” But how should brands navigate the regulatory minefield in the meantime, and what options does the agency have?
CBD is increasing average basket spend at natural products online retailer Thrive Market and attracting new shoppers to the membership-only platform, which says its private label hemp extracts have quickly become top sellers within the category.
With more and more products flooding the market, it's getting harder for CBD brands to achieve a competitive advantage, which is why Socati has created a one-stop shop where brands can select custom ratios of CBD, CBG, CBN, and other minor cannabinoids...
The Consumer Brands Association (formerly known as the Grocery Manufacturers Association) has launched an advisory board to provide “thought leadership and strategic oversight for the industry as it moves forward in seeking appropriate regulation of CBD.”
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...
Dietary supplement industry stakeholders are divided over whether proposed legislation to alter the regulatory definitions of dietary ingredients to specifically include CBD is the best way to break the logjam on the substance.
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.
Despite all the buzz around CBD and the near steady stream of product launches across food and beverage categories featuring the ingredient, the majority of Americans have not heard of the ingredient, never used it or have no interest in it, according...
Building on a regulatory foundation already laid for hemp ingredients, Rep. Collin Peterson (D-MN) has proposed a bill that would include CBD under the definition of dietary supplements found in DSHEA.
From the complexities of regulation and cutting-edge science to the brands behind the boom, the CBD Global Summit will bridge the business and science underpinning this fast-moving category.
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...
Georgia-based Purisys is “looking forward to the opportunity” in food, beverage and nutraceuticals after the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency removed its cannabidiol (CBD) from Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act.
An interim federal government funding measure does not include language creating a legal pathway for hemp/CBD products, despite advocacy on the part of stakeholders including lawmakers and trade organizations.
Patented infrared dry-blanching (IDB) technology has the potential to transform the hemp-derived CBD industry by dramatically speeding up the drying process, increasing cannabidiol yield, and eliminating harmful microbes and mold, claims San Francisco-based...
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...
Recent statements and actions by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regarding CBD have spurred four of the dietary supplement industry’s trade association to write Congress urging them to take quick action.
As Latin American cannabis company Khiron receives approval to expand its hemp CBD brand into Colombia, we look at the markets to watch, opportunities for growth and the steps leading CBD brands are taking to appeal to consumers.
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...
From 'smoothie balls' packed with cacao fruit pulp to chickpea-fueled grain-free cereal, new food products are hitting the market every week. But which emerging trends have real staying power and what really interests VCs and strategic investors?...
A recent appellate court decision coupled with a spate of warning letters sets the stage for more class action lawsuits like the proposed ones filed against CBD companies this week, experts say.
Hemp-derived CBD brands Charlotte’s Web and Infinite Product Co. have both been hit with proposed class action lawsuits filed in California that allege they misled consumers by marketing their products as dietary supplements when FDA has specifically...
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...
The US Food and Drug Administration has stated that it cannot conclude that CBD (cannabidiol) is generally recognized as safe (GRAS) for its use in human food, based on a “lack of scientific information supporting the safety of CBD in food”.
Presence Marketing, the largest independent natural and organic food broker in the US, sees CBD as a massive "bankable trend" for the broader CPG industry with products such as tinctures and supplements - which consumers perceive to be more...
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...
CBD has caught the public's imagination as an ingredient offering a host of potential health benefits. But for all the hype, CBD also courts controversy. To move from a trending ingredient to an ingredient trend, the sector will need to address some...
Layn Corp. has registered its hemp-derived CBD business based in Indiana as HempRise LLC, which will operate as a wholly-owned subsidiary of the global botanical extracts and plant-based ingredients company.
In 2012, Campbell Soup parted with $1.55bn to get a foothold in the chilled store perimeter via the acquisition of Bolthouse Farms. This summer, its former boss paid $510m – supplied by Butterfly Private Equity – to buy it back. So what went wrong, and...
The United States Department of Agriculture has issued its eagerly anticipated draft rule on hemp cultivation. The rule is viewed as largely consistent with many of the state rules already in place.
A rush to market for CBD has left the terpenes in hemp out in the cold. An expert in the space said there is much potential benefit yet to be discovered in these fractions of the plant.
Natural flavors company, Edlong Corporation, and Radient Technologies, manufacturer of cannabinoid-based ingredients, are partnering to develop a range of CBD flavors and ingredients for the global food and beverage market.
A new poll shows many consumers would stop using CBD products if they knew FDA has not yet set regulations around them. The poll was commissioned by the Natural Products Association.
Successful CPG brands market a feeling, not an ingredient (especially one about to be as ubiquitous as CBD), says the founder of Recess, who is building a lifestyle brand that includes the hottest ingredient in town... but doesn’t shout about it on pack.
The United Natural Products Alliance has announced a new policy on hemp extracts while at the same time announcing its first member engaged exclusively in the business.
FDA warned pregnant and breast-feeding women yesterday to avoid CBD, THC and marijuana in any form, including the proliferation of food, supplements and cosmetics containing CBD and other cannabis-derived ingredients that currently are flooding the market...
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...
Yesterday four trade associations representing the dietary supplement industry sent a letter to all 535 members of the US Congress urging them to make CBD a legal dietary ingredient and to give FDA the resources to regulate the sector.
As widely predicted, the plaintiff’s bar has turned its attention to the burgeoning CBD category with a series of lawsuits alleging that products contain “significantly lower levels of CBD than advertised.”
