Benchmark for CBD 2020: Finding Value in the CBD space.

The CBD space has been going through drastic changes over the past few months. One of the main evolutions is the significant drop in the price of wholesale hemp products. With the 2018/2019 boom in CBD interest, many farmers planted industrial hemp in the Spring of 2019, resulting, come fall of 2019, in a significant oversupply of hemp biomass, flower, extract, isolate and distillate. The result has been over the past few months a significant drop in wholesale prices for hemp products. 

While this evolution has been clear to most active in the CBD industry, most end users are oblivious to it. Why? Simply because even though wholesale prices have been dropping, retail prices typically have not gone down.

There are a number of reasons to explain this phenomenon. Hemp extract, distillate are isolate are only one aspect of the cost structure for any CBD/hemp product. Rent, payroll, mortgages, equipment, lab testing, packaging as well as other ingredients all factor into the price of your CBD product at shelf. 

Benchmark for CBD 2020: CBD Drops/Tinctures

When it comes to creating a benchmark for CBD products in 2020, we opted for an analysis of tinctures products from the industry's leading brands. Tinctures are the staple of the CBD world, with somewhat consistent packaging and formulations across the board. As such, CBD tinctures are a good standard to gauge value for customers. Given that different brands offer different dosages (450, 500, 600mg, etc), it has been our approach to analyze numbers in terms of  $/mg of CBD, and to repeat the exercise for two relatively typical dosage levels within the industry (standard strength, circa 500mg / extra strength, circa 1,500mg). 

Main Takeaways come from this benchmark for CBD in 2020.

• Prices differences are very signifiant: with comparable CBD dosage, some products retail for more than twice the price of comparable products.
• Surprisingly, certified organic CBD brands offer best the value CBD products for customers. 
• Brands with the highest notoriety did not leverage their volumes to significantly present their customer with better value products.
• All brands offer discounted pricing on their CBD content for higher potency products.
• For customers looking to combine quality and value, NuuMe Organics, which combines USDA Organic certification and great value, comes out as a strong choice.

This benchmark for CBD in 2020 was conducted in April 2020. It consists strictly of a price comparison of the main CBD brands retail prices, as described on their respective websites.