In its report earlier this year, Brightfield Group, a leading market and consumer intelligence firm for the legal CBD and cannabis industries, uncovered numerous shifts across the U.S. CBD industry, signaling a seven-fold increase in the market.

With hemp-derived CBD gaining in popularity – in line with health, wellness, and anti-pharma trends – and product availability and variety increasing, the market is on track to grow to $23.7 billion through 2023.

“The CBD market has been growing rapidly, but we will see unprecedented growth in 2019,” Brightfield Managing Director Bethany Gomez said. “The bulk of this growth is coming from large retailers like CVS, Walgreens and Kroger entering the market and providing that availability to consumers.”

Key highlights from the report:

• ‍     Though they entered the market only this year, mass retail chains will eclipse all other channels in 2019, hosting 57% of sales this year.
•      Although tinctures still dominate the market, driving 25% of sales, they are losing their lead as more mainstream consumer-friendly products surge.
•      Topicals (17% of market) and skincare & beauty products (8%) have gained tremendous traction as mass retailers have signed on to carry these products first, since they are considered the safest bet under the current regulatory regime.
•      Natural food and smoke shop CBD revenues continue to grow and thrive – with increased uptake across the country and some level of saturation now that vendors feel more secure and confident carrying product. Notably, though the CBD market is no longer dominated by cannabis users, dispensaries and recreational shops have also seen an uptick in CBD-oriented traffic.
•      1.0% of CBD companies were in the top tier (with sales of more than $40 million or being sold in greater than 1,000 stores) while 92.9% of companies were in the low tier (with sales of less than $1 million or being sold in 0-100 stores).

‍Brightfield Group is a predictive market and consumer intelligence firm focused on the legal CBD and Cannabis industries. Its analytic solutions leverage data from millions of sources, enabling customers to get the most holistic view possible while drilling down into the fine details.