The cannabidiol or CBD market is one of the fastest growing segments in the cannabis industry as it has introduced products such as cosmetics, health products, food and beverage, pet products, skin care, and pharmaceuticals. The wide ranging list of products can effectively reach and target various consumer market segments. For instance, consumers such as athletes, medical patients, beauticians, and even everyday consumers are using CBD products regularly for a multitude of results. To note, the market witnessed a significant surge following the passage of the U.S. Farm Bill in 2018, which essentially legalized CBD.
Prior to then, CBD was listed as a Schedule 1 Drug in the U.S., meaning it was one the most regulated substances in the country. However, researchers have since undermined the stereotypes revolving around the compound. CBD is derived from the hemp plant, which falls under the cannabis family, similar to THC. Many know that marijuana causes psychoactive effects because of its abundance of THC or tetrahydrocannabinol. And since both hemp and marijuana are within the cannabis family, regulators had deemed both plants to be unsafe for consumers.
However, the hemp plant contains only miniscule traces of THC, which is considered too little to cause mind-altering effects. As a result, many countries are adopting CBD as a medical treatment for patients suffering from severe ailments. And several countries, such as Canada, Germany, South Korea, and most of the U.S. have already implemented CBD-based products into their medical programs. While the medical segment is projected to account for the majority of the CBD market, demand for recreational CBD products also exists. Specifically, consumers simply looking to relax have been opting to use CBD as a natural and organic remedy. Now, the collective growth in both the medical and recreational segment is causing a spur in consumer growth. And as a result, the U.S. CBD market is anticipated to reach USD 20 Billion in sales by 2024, according to data compiled by Arcview Market Research and BDS Analytics. Pressure BioSciences, Inc., GW Pharmaceuticals, Zynerba Pharmaceuticals, OrganiGram Holdings Inc., and Green Thumb Industries.
Many corporations have capitalized on the CBD market’s growth opportunity and quickly commercialized products. In the U.S., consumers can easily purchase CBD-based products at health and wellness centers, e-commerce vendors, and beauty stores. Yet, despite the widespread popularity of CBD, many consumers still do not fully understand what CBD exactly is.
BDS Analytics reported that approximately 56% of adults ages 21 years or older do not know or are confused about the difference between CBD and THC. Jason DeLand, Co-Founder and Chairman of dosist, a cannabis therapy company, said that CBD is the chemical equivalent to Bitcoin in 2016. He highlights that CBD is popular across the country, yet almost nobody understands it. Many industry experts and businesses have actively worked together to inform the public about the benefits of CBD. And while the CBD market is still relatively new, it is spreading rapidly among consumers around the world. Furthermore, as more positive data concludes from studies, more consumers are expected to enter into the marketspace. “Physically, it’s like taking a warm bath, melting the tension away,” said Gabe Kennedy, Founder of Plant People, a start-up in New York that sells CBD capsules and oils. “It is balancing; a leveling, smoothing sensation in the body mostly, and an evenness of attention in the mind.”
Pressure BioSciences, Inc. earlier last month announced, “The initial sale of its revolutionary BaroShear K45 processing system. This novel instrument system is based on the Companys proprietary Ultra Shear Technology (UST) platform. The BaroShear K45 is a unique and powerful nanoemulsification system designed to resolve one of the most critical problems facing CBD manufacturers today: the extremely poor water solubility of CBD Oil.”
CBD is a non-psychoactive compound that has been broadly demonstrated to offer powerful health benefits, addressing a variety of challenging medical conditions. CBD is extracted from the cannabis plant in an oil form. After ingestion of CBD, because oils are not well absorbed by human and other animal water-based bodies, most of the CBD is flushed from the system, leaving little of the product absorbed and circulating to provide its beneficial properties. Because of these solubility issues, many CBD products on the market today contain a costly and inefficient over-abundance of CBD, and/or undesirable chemicals that may be have been used to try and improve its solubility in water.
Processing most oil-based products into nanometer-size droplets in emulsions with water (nanoemulsions) often improves their absorption, medicinal benefits, visual appearance, and sensory presentation. Unfortunately, traditional processing methods used to make nanoemulsions struggle with this challenge. PBIs patented UST platform uses ultra-high pressure to create extreme shearing forces that create highly stable, homogenized nanoemulsions of materials that normally do not mix, such as CBD Oil and water.
Mr. Christopher Holden, Founder of Nano CBD Cosmetics LLC, commented: “We are thrilled to be the first purchaser of the BaroShear K45 system. This groundbreaking technology will enable companies producing nano-scale CBD emulsion products to meet the ever-increasing demand for CBD nanoemulsion products. In fact, our own nano-CBD products are currently selling faster than we can produce them. However, with PBIs cutting-edge technology, we expect to increase our nano-emulsified, water-soluble CBD production capacity to many multiples of what it is todayand that is huge.”
Mr. Dan Jorgenson, a Director of Nano CBD Cosmetics LLC, said: “We strongly believe that nano-emulsified CBD products will soon become established as an important new standard in the industry. Consequently, Chris and his team have spent significant time working on the development of our own nanoemulsification strategies, while concurrently evaluating options from multiple sources. In the end, we came to the inescapable conclusion that PBIs BaroShear K45 CBD processing system offers the most important opportunity that we have identified to truly revolutionize the water-soluble, nano-CBD industry.”
The total cannabinoid market is expected to hit $89 billion by 2024 (https://mordorintelligence.com/industry-reports/cannabis-market), with CBD oil-based products being the cornerstone of the non-psychoactive portion of this exploding market. For CBD products commonly consumed orally – including CBD oils in edibles and beverages – absorption is typically below 10% (ERTH 8/28/2018: Water Soluble CBD – The Science of Nanoemulsions and Bioavailability). PBI believes that processing with the UST-based BaroShear K45 system will deliver greatly improved absorption results (potentially as high as 90%) for CBD and a universe of other oil-based supplements.
Richard T. Schumacher, President and CEO of PBI, said: “From my first meeting with both Dan and Christopher earlier this year, I was impressed with their knowledge of the industry, the quality of their products, and their dedication to their company and customers. I was most impressed with their commitment to make and sell only the highest quality CBD products possible. Although they have spent significant time and money developing their own methods to make water-soluble CBD, they ultimately were compelled to invest in PBIs UST-based method for achievement of truly superior and stable nanoemulsion results. They are fully committed to switching to the BaroShear K45 system as it becomes available from our initial production run. We applaud their dedication to their customers and feel privileged to welcome them into the PBI Family.”
Mr. Schumacher continued: “We are also pleased to announce that we are in advanced discussions with over a half dozen additional companies about the potential of their purchasing the BaroShear K45 processing system. Since we plan to make only about a dozen processing systems in our initial manufacturing run, we are optimistic that purchase orders will be received for all available BaroShear K45 systems well before our original forecast of September 30, 2019. This is truly an exciting time to be a stakeholder in PBI.”
