Now that there are hundreds and even thousands of CBD companies it is has become harder and harder for people to determine who to buy CBD products from. As a company which has been in this industry for six + years, we have found a few determining factors which would make it easy to decide who to purchase CBD from.
Company
In your local area alone, you may have 10 or more stores to purchase CBD products from and within each those stores there could be 10 or more brands of CBD products to choose from.
So you’re standing in the store looking at a bunch of products that look fairly similar to each other and you wonder what could even set these products apart? The first thing that sets them apart is the company they come from.
Every person is different but typically when trying to decide who to purchase from; consumers think about the following things: are the products made local? Is this company affiliated with any charities, organizations, or support a specific cause? Does the company have ethical work environments and processing? If you don’t think about these things every time you walk into the store, that is okay, but these are some factors that can really help you decide who to purchase CBD products from. This leads to the factor of determining what makes a quality CBD product.
Quality
In full transparency, the major players in the CBD industry are mostly purchasing from the same producers, farms, and extractors. So, it isn’t the CBD itself that sets companies apart but the quality of those products. Some things to consider when thinking about quality are the extraction method, flavoring (artificial or natural), other ingredients and carrier oils, and production of the product themselves. As an example, US Hemp Wholesale would answer those questions in the following ways:
- Our hemp is extracted via CO2 extraction which is considered to be the safest and most environmentally friendly way to extract CBD from industrial hemp.
- All of our flavors are created using natural terpenes, we do not use any artificial flavoring
- In the majority of our products, we use MCT (Fractioned Coconut Oil) as the carrier oil because it may help to absorb into the body and interact with the endocannabinoid system more quickly and effectively. We also use grapeseed oil as a carrier in some of our products. Each ingredient that goes into our finished goods is carefully vetted to ensure the quality of the end product.
- Our products are made in an FDA and GMP compliant facility
Another major factor to consider when determining a product’s quality is whether or not it meets FDA standards. The FDA has stated that CBD products must come from industrial hemp and must have less than 0.3% THC (dry weight).
The best way to find this information on a product is to look at the company’s Certificate of Analysis (COA). A COA shows not only the THC content within that product but also the cannabinoid content broken down by the different cannabinoids, so you know exactly what you are getting out of the product. More and more companies now have QR codes on the back of their products that link directly to the COA for that specific batch. So, if you are standing in the store and you want to easily determine the efficacy of a product, either ask for the COA from the store owner or try to find a QR code that will link back to the COA.
Product Preference
Now, that you understand what makes up a quality product the next step is to understand what product will suit your needs best. We are not doctors and therefore we cannot tell you exactly which product will be best for the ailment you are looking to get some relief from, but we can help you narrow down which products you may prefer. When customers ask us what products they should use we start by asking a few questions.
- Is flavor important to you or are you okay with a more earthy taste?
- Are you looking for something to use on-the-go or something to keep at home?
- Would you rather swallow a pill or eat something such as a chocolate or a gummy?
- Are you looking for quick relief or something long–lasting to stay in your system all day?
If the flavor is important to you, lean towards a flavored tincture or edible product such as CBD chocolates or hemp gummies. If you are looking for something easy and on-the-go a vaping product or gummy would also be good for this purpose because they are quick and handy.
If you would prefer swallowing a pill then softgels or capsules are going to be your best option, not only do you avoid a bad flavor, but they are also quick and easy to add to your morning routine. If you need some quick relief, vaping products and topicals are typically a good option and if you’re looking for something more long–lasting; tinctures, gummies, softgels, and concentrates absorb into your system slower and therefore you may feel relief for longer.
Price
Last but not least price is always something to consider when purchasing a product. CBD products can have a high price point much like supplements, vitamins and other nutritional products and the high price point can sometimes be the difference between a quality product and a snake oil product.
One of the main examples for this is Amazon; we get questions every day from people who have searched the internet for CBD products and found super cheap CBD products on Amazon which claim to have 1,000+ mg of CBD for less than $10.00 when the average price point for that type of product is $100.00. Many times, these seemingly amazing products with super low prices turn out to be hemp seed oil; which is a derivative for the hemp plant and has benefits, but not nearly as many as its counterpart CBD. It is important to understand that prices can differ per company based on their overhead costs, production costs, material sourcing, and many other factors.
To learn more about how CBD pricing has changed over the years check out our blog here. We also have taken the liberty of testing some of the Amazon products out there…
Take Away’s
With so many choices for CBD products it is more important than ever to be a smart consumer; know what makes a quality product and what to look for when you are shopping around. We hope that these industry insights will help you make an educated choice when buying CBD products. As a company we are committed to staying up to date with industry changes, if you have any questions about CBD products please feel free to give us a call at 844-887-4367 or fill out our partner form and one of our knowledgeable reps will follow up!