CBD is the ultimate wellness trend. But is it safe to buy from the high street?
CBD is a compound found in the cannabis plant, and it’s effects are wellness related; eliciting no “high”. Unlike it’s better known relative THC, it has no mind-altering effects and instead is linked with several therapeutic benefits, with early pre-clinical research starting to validate anecdotal consumer reports.
In the UK, CBD has existed in the shadows through small niche outlets and online until around the middle of last year. The spike in popularity can be attributed to both the high profile cases of Billy Caldwell, suffering from a rare form of epilepsy and his treatment by cannabis-based medicines, in addition to the UK legalisation of medicinal cannabis in November 2018. However, with the CBD industry being so new, there isn’t currently any direct rules or regulations governing the industry in the UK thus far. As the industry is so new, consumers are still learning about CBD. The public has little knowledge of how to differentiate an excellent CBD product from a dud, leading to a whole spectrum of experiences, ranging from excellent to downright disastrous. As a differentiating yourself as a brand has never been more critical.
“The existing CBD market segment as we know it can be confusing, opaque, and often lacks reliable information for making an informed decision about CBD,” says Nature Leaf CEO and Founder Ahmed Mir. “CBD is everywhere, but as with any emerging high-growth industry, ambiguity breeds bad actors. Many CBD products on sale today don’t have source traceability, nor have been put through robust quality control processes measure CBD content and for the presence of contaminants, which is a recipe for a terrible customer experience. The UK Centre for Medical Cannabis just released a report outlining that 50% of their tested CBD products contained less than half of the advertised CBD content. The prevalence of these products is creating terrible user experiences and resulting in a negative feedback loop, which is hard to break once consumer perceptions about CBD have been formed.”
Nature Leaf is an innovative UK-based brand offering premium CBD oils and related products, seeking to transform the growing UK CBD market through a focus on quality, transparency and the sharing of information. The company aims to improve consumer education in the UK about CBD, debunking commonly held stereotypes and myths through open-source knowledge sharing on their digital platforms, and publicising related quality assurance data, including third-party product batch analysis certificates and details of their supply chain.
Partnering directly with Swiss and EU hemp farms, Nature Leaf maintains sourcing visibility through seed to shelf, coupled with triple batch level product testing across cannabinoid content, heavy metals and pesticides. Using only high-quality ingredients and no additives, preservatives or flavourings; ensuring the products meet the highest quality bar.
“Nature Leaf aims to challenge the status quo through complete transparency on product source, and content, with a guarantee that every single unit is third-party tested at the batch level to ensure it contains precisely what it should. As the sector is in its infancy, consumers have a variety of questions, which we are finding are consistent. To assist, we are developing a CBD knowledge bank through informative blogging, citing research studies in the sector, and ensuring information is distributed openly to improve awareness.”
Nature Leaf was founded by former Amazon Senior Manager Ahmed Mir, who first encountered CBD oil during a business trip to Seattle WA 4 years ago, the company’s home city and HQ. In Washington state, lab-tested and hemp-derived CBD products are legal, and CBD oil has now been sold in Seattle dispensaries for more than five years. Having seen first-hand and heard anecdotally from colleagues how CBD oil was helping improve their lives, Mir was motivated to launch Nature Leaf and has since worked to raise awareness of CBD as a natural alternative to enhance wellness.
To find out more about Nature Leaf and the benefits of CBD oil, visit www.natureleaf.co.uk