CANNABIDIOL
Comprehensive report highlights growth of CBD MARKET
CONsuMeR INTeResT IN CANNABIDIOL HAs BeeN GROWING RAPIDLY OVeR THe LAsT FeW YeARs. NOW, A RePORT HAs CONFIRMeD THAT THe CBD MARKeT Is ONe OF THe FAsTesT GROWING WeLLBeING PRODuCT CATeGORIes…
H
ealthcare professionals across the united Kingdom (uK) have been increasingly aware of the
beneficial properties of cannabidiol (CBD) for some time, but now a new report has not only confirmed that the market is actually three to six times larger than previous estimates, but has also called on the government to support a thriving CBD market.
For its report ‘CBD in the uK: Towards a responsible, innovative and high-quality cannabidiol industry’, the Centre for Medicinal Cannabis (CMC) conducted the most comprehensive review ever undertaken of the sector in the uK.
The study’s findings certainly made for interesting reading.
CMC’s market research estimates that the CBD market is currently one of the fastest growing wellbeing product categories in the uK. At the current rate it will be worth almost £1 billion per annum by 2025, equivalent in size to the current entire uK herbal supplement market.
According to CMC, the size of the uK CBD market is actually between three and six times larger than previous estimates. The CMC research estimates that 1.3 million consumers are spending over £300M per year on CBD products, making the CBD market larger than the total uK vitamin D (£145M) and vitamin C market (£119M) combined.
The market, says CMC, is currently growing at double digits and expected to be just short of £1bn by 2025.
12 - PHARMACY IN FOCus
Among other key findings in the report:
• Approximately six million adults have used CBD in the uK. • eleven per cent of the population had consumed a CBD product in the last year. • Recent use rates were higher in the under 55 age groups, ranging from fifteen per cent of 25-34 year olds, to seven per cent of 55-64 year olds and eight per cent of those aged 65+. • usage was higher on average among females (thirteen per cent) than males (nine per cent). • use was higher in certain parts of the country, ie, Wales and Northern Ireland. • Three quarters of respondents agreed that uK hemp farmers should be able to process hemp flowers and leaves to supply CBD market. Currently all CBD source material sold in the uK is imported.
The review found that over 70 per cent of uK consumers are purchasing CBD in tincture/oil or capsule form, suggesting a desire to use products systemically and at higher therapeutic doses. In total, 30 oil products available in the uK were selected for the blind testing exercise using PhytoVista – a reputable uK- based laboratory.
While CMC’s report was generally very positive, it did sound a note of warning on various aspects of the market.
For a start, the majority of CBD users indicated that they purchased their CBD online, highlighting that patients were researching the benefits of CBD and then sourcing the products
without the intervention of a healthcare professional.
equally worrying was the fact that knowing that the CBD product was made by a supplier that met recognised high standards (32 per cent) and knowing that the contents were not contaminated with pesticides or heavy metals (25 per cent) were the most important priorities for consumers when choosing a CBD product – far ahead of knowing that a CBD product was 100 per cent legal (fourteen per cent), or from where in the world it originated (five per cent).
Also, while CMC’s study indicated that the best CBD products are very high quality and are good options for today’s consumers, it also found that only eleven of the products surveyed (38 per cent) were within ten per cent of the advertised CBD content and a similar amount had less than 50 per cent of the advertised CBD content.
‘The industry as a whole,’ CMC said, ‘must use these results to understand the areas of weakness in producing a quality product that consumers can trust, and use the findings to justify additional steps they should take for their own production, or for reassurance across their supply chain, that some of these negative results are not reflected in their own products.’
As a result of its comprehensive research, CMC made several wide- ranging recommendations with regard to the CBD market.
‘Many CBD retailers in the uK,’ CMC said in its executive summary, ‘are
trading according to a folk interpretation of domestic law governing controlled substances that is incorrect; however, this is not surprising because the law is complex, and legal clarity – though sought repeatedly – has not been provided.
‘Common misreadings of the law regarding CBD are a major and widespread problem in the uK CBD sector that undermines the industry and can mislead consumers.
‘The main market challenges are: improving the education of consumers; defining a proportionate regulatory pathway; rooting out bad practice; creating an infrastructure to support a quality standard; maintaining incentives to invest in clinical trials; and taking the necessary steps to level the playing field in support of uK producers.
‘some of these challenges can only be addressed by government, and others should only be addressed by industry taking a lead. The consumer will influence how the CBD sector evolves, but the public cannot, by their consumer habits alone, change the trajectory of this industry – that requires government action.’
The CMC report did, however, end on a positive note for the CBD industry.
‘The analysis for this report,’ it said, ‘suggests the prospects for the uK’s CBD market are strong, with rising demand and a willingness among British consumers to try CBD products and spend significant sums on a regular wellness routine that encompasses CBD.’
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