Over the past several years, the sale of cannabidiol-based (CBD) products has rapidly increased due to varied, yet successful, legalization efforts. Specifically, in regions such as the U.S. and Canada, consumers have shown a strong demand to purchase such products in retailers, where CBD is sold in various forms such as topicals, beverages, tinctures, and patches. Notably, major retail corporations such as Amazon, Walgreens, and CVS have all decided to sell CBD products in-store as well as on their online platforms.
The passage of the U.S. Farm Bill in late 2018, which legalized the commercialization of hemp-derived products, was a major contribution to the acceleration of the market. Shortly after the passage of the bill, retailers throughout the country began to stock up on CBD products as consumers became increasingly inquisitive.
Healthy Outlook
At the market’s inception, most consumers generally had little to no knowledge about CBD, except for the fact that it was derived from the cannabis plant. With hemp-derived CBD growing in popularity, in particular within the health, wellness, and anti-pharma segments, the market is on track to grow to USD 23.7 Billion by 2023, according to the Brightfield Group.
Generally, most consumers use CBD products for medicinal purposes. Similarly, retailers are advertising CBD products as therapeutic treatments, however, there is still a large recreational market for the industry.
Primarily, most consumers intake CBD to treat a wide range of medical conditions such as chronic pain, mood disorders, neurological disorders, and diabetes. In the healthcare industry, most independent pharmacies have already begun selling CBD products.
While there are many ways to consume CBD, the oils marketplace is expected to be the fastest growing segment within the overall CBD sector.
CBD Oil Growing
For instance, the CBD oil market size will grow by USD 3.52 Billion during the period of 2020 to 2024, according to the “CBD Oil Market by Product and Geography Forecast and Analysis 2020-2024” report by global market research firm Technavio. The market’s momentum will build through steady year-over-year growth, the report said.
Judging by state licensing data, hemp production is rising dramatically, as well.
“The 29 U.S. states reporting licensed hemp cultivation acreage total almost half a million acres in combined cultivation land area, which is a massive increase compared to 2018 figures of a total land area barely over 100,000 acres,” said Giadha Aguirre de Carcer, CEO and founder of cannabis industry data analyst New Frontier Data. “While there continues to be uncertainty and a healthy amount of confusion around hemp cultivation for CBD production, it is clear that demand is nonetheless continuing to rise across the U.S.”
To this point, it seems the Food & Drug Administration (FDA) has been lax in establishing a practical regulatory framework for the market. This swelling hemp growth movement and the swift rise of demand for CBD products could change that inaction. Aguirre de Carcer noted that as states issue more licenses, consumer demand increases and mass-market retailers such as CVS and Walgreens continue to expand their own product offerings, the FDA may soon be forced to provide further regulatory clarifications.
