An insight into the CBD drinks market

Jade Mansfield from The British CBD Company, provides an insight into the CBD drinks market with a focus on trends, investments and drawbacks

CBD oil has no doubt become more mainstream within the past year and it may even be apart of your daily routine already. Many take drops of CBD in the morning, others apply it via their skincare routine, but that isn’t all the means you can take it. CBD infused drinks aim to let consumers enjoy CBD on the go and there are already many brands within the market. 

What is CBD?

CBD is a chemical compound that is found within the cannabis plant. There are two main elements to the cannabis plant and unlike tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), CBD is not psychoactive. Only taking CBD means that it doesn’t get you high and you only take the elements that are medically beneficial to your wellbeing.

Research on CBD suggests it may relieve chronic pain and also help reduce anxiety as well as inflammation. 

When did interest in CBD drinks start?

Google trends data shows the sudden burst in searches for CBD drinks worldwide. The below data displays searches for ‘CBD drinks’ over the past 5 years. 

CBD was barely searched for five or even three years ago but this changed in 2018. Australia is the top country for searches of CBD drinks, followed by the United States and the United Kingdom.

Drawbacks of the CBD drinks market

One of the major issues with CBD products overall is that many brands sell CBD products with a very small amount of CBD contents. This is the same for the CBD drinks industry as there is no set standard for how much CBD should be contained within the drinks. Most provide around 2-5mg of CBD per drink but daily dosage recommendations are set at around 15mg. 

However, there is no set standard as to how much CBD an individual should take as it can vary depending on factors such as tolerance and body weight. 

Many brands justify their low CBD products by displaying that they use nanotechnology to decrease particle size, which in turn, boosts your body’s ability to absorb the CBD contents. Research on this method is limited but studies have found this to be true in some cases. Further studies would need to be completed in order to completely determine if nanoparticles affect absorption rates. 

CBD is a highly unstable compound that needs a specific preparation and storage process to preserve the medical properties. Exposure to light and air can cause the CBD contents to break down, thus negatively affecting its potential beneficial effects. This means that if CBD drinks were to be stored on shop shelves where the store is brightly lit for weeks or even months, there is no way of knowing if what you’re buying has degraded it’s CBD content. 

That being said, there are brands and providers of CBD drinks that are doing it properly, you just need to know what to look out for. 

Major Investments into CBD drinks

The well-known coconut water brand, Vita Coco, entered the CBD market with its UK launch of CBD-infused drinks. Holland and Barrett were one of the first high street retailers to sell CBD in the UK. So, it makes sense that they’re one of the first to sell Vita Coco’s CBD infused drinks too. Their 330ml cans are fruit flavoured coconut water which contains 20mg of CBD extract. Their cans currently have the highest amount of CBD found in drinks on the UK market.

Bravura Foods have also launched a CBD-infused range of sparkling drinks which contain 15mg of fully certified CBD too. There were even rumours that Coca Cola began talks with a Canadian cannabis provider about creating a CBD wellness beverage during the end of last year. 

The CBD market has been making noise in the wellness world for some time now, and the popularity of the market is still growing at an unprecedented rate. The popularity of Cannabis products have flooded the beverages industry and there seem to be more CBD drinks every week. The market is definitely one to watch in 2020, but consumers should educate themselves on CBD including dosages and how to look for certified products before taking the plunge.