Reports estimate that up to 8 million people in the UK use CBD for its variety of wellness benefits. The market is currently worth £300 million, a figure which is expected to more than triple in the next five years.
Sales of CBD already outstrip those of Vitamin C at £301 million vs £119 million and given that almost 90 percent of users in the UK purchase CBD online, new investments into omnichannel and e-commerce capabilities are likely to lead to even more growth.
Until this year, CBD has been in a period of regulatory uncertainty and the industry faced understandable criticism when high profile cannabis probes found that over half of the most popular CBD oils did not contain the amount of CBD promised on the label. On February 13, 2020, the Food Standards Agency (FSA) unveiled new plans to better regulate the industry and announced a deadline of March 31, 2021 for the submission of a valid application for novel food licence for businesses selling food and food supplements containing CBD in the UK. Contained in the announcement was a warning to all CBD companies that failure to comply may result in products being taken off the shelves.
Sativa Group Plc (NEX:SATI) is the UK’s leading quoted CBD Wellness and medicinal cannabis group with five operating subsidiaries. Goodbody Botanicals provides CBD products online and to retail markets including pharmacies, wellness stores and grocers. Goodbody Wellness is a high-street retail brand with dedicated CBD Wellness stores providing a premium shopping experience to consumers. Tessellate Collective is a direct-selling network marketing platform servicing consumers at home. Phytovista laboratories provides independent testing of CBD products to both external customers and fellow Group businesses. Sativa Grow holds a Controlled Drug licence and cultivates cannabis plants to fulfill its partnership agreement with King’s College London to research the impact of cannabinoids on inflammation and respiratory conditions.