Some naysayers contend that the best days of the CBD industry are behind it. According to CBD white label industry leaders like Arvanna, though, it would be a mistake to overlook the remaining avenues of growth that have only become more profitable as hemp has gained in popularity.
Is the CBD industry still worth getting into? Yes, it absolutely is, and we’ll explain the reasons why in this guide.
Short Answer: Yes, It Is
Skeptics sometimes point to the “boom” the CBD industry experienced in the wake of the 2018 Farm Bill as evidence that CBD has run its course and will soon start to fade into obscurity. It’s true that hemp cultivation and CBD sales spiked dramatically immediately following the passage of this legislation, and they have since slowed.
That one story hardly tells the entire history of the CBD industry, however. Without learning the industry’s history, though, it’s impossible to understand why there’s still so much to look forward to.
Brief History of the CBD Industry
While scientists have known about the existence of CBD since the 1940s, it was only in the 1990s that this cannabinoid began receiving mainstream scientific attention. By the early 2000s, CBD was sometimes available in the nation’s first medical cannabis clinics, but the cannabinoid was still considered semi-mythical.
By 2010, however, CBD had proven to be entirely real and was now often available in dispensaries — or even online. Attempting to contain a fast-growing and unregulated industry, the US Congress passed the 2014 Farm Bill, marking CBD’s first era of legitimization.
Four years later, the 2018 Farm Bill officially separated CBD from the illegal drug marijuana, giving a definite nod to the thriving online CBD industry. CBD has grown a lot since then, and it’s now far from the only hemp cannabinoid offered online.
The Undeniable Slowdown
It’s a fact that the growth of the CBD industry has reduced its rapid click over the last couple of years. That’s to be expected from any maturing industry, however, and it’s simply incredible that the US CBD market is already believed to be worth $4 billion or more.
Brands offering CBD products must now shrewdly differentiate to reach shoppers with highly specific needs. All the same, the CBD industry continues to grow — that’s the bottom line.
The Undiminished Opportunity
The truth is that the CBD industry doesn’t have to be growing fast to provide opportunity to those who seek it. Shoppers will always want to move on to better products, and there are still plenty of CBD-leaning consumer groups that simply haven’t yet been reached.
Seen from another perspective, CBD opened the door to a wider acceptance of the hemp plant. Even if CBD on its own doesn’t command the same awe it used to, it can be paired with other cannabinoids that bring the “X factor” right back.
The Other Cannabinoids
Not to be overlooked within the hemp cannabinoid market are cannabinol (CBN) and cannabigerol (CBG), both of which have shown impressive gains over the last year. Often paired with each other or with CBD in product formulations, CBG and CBN both have unique properties, leading each to pose immense potential as expanders of the hemp market.
If there’s one realization aspiring CBD entrepreneurs should have at this point in the industry’s history, it’s that hemp is not just about CBD anymore. Consumers are ready for more cannabinoids, and bulk cannabinoid manufacturers are only too willing to provide.
Long Answer: It’s Not Only the CBD Industry Anymore
As you can see, nothing has changed about the value of entering the CBD industry. There’s still plenty of the market that’s left unclaimed, and it has always been incumbent upon entrepreneurs to overcome hurdles and expand opportunities.
If anything, the CBD industry is more rife with opportunity than it ever has been before. With consumers now accepting and even demanding a handful of different hemp cannabinoids, there have never been so many opportunities for differentiation.
Spreading knowledge of the entourage effect and its benefits is causing shoppers to increasingly demand products that combine CBD with one or more additional cannabinoids. As a last tip, don’t forget about terpenes — shoppers also increasingly demand that their hemp products (multi-cannabinoid or not) feature a full host of natural cannabis terpenes, which offer unique therapeutic and aromatic
