CBD Products Slow to Hit Mainstream Retail Shelves

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The following post was written and/or published as a collaboration between Benzinga’s in-house sponsored content team and a financial partner of Benzinga.

Despite increasing consumer acceptance of health and wellness products made with cannabidiol (CBD), the compound extracted from cannabis plants has yet to make it to the shelves of many mainstream retailers like Target Corp. TGT and Walmart Inc. WMT. 

Even Amazon AMZN, which sells practically anything a consumer could want, refuses to sell CBD products on its site. A search for CBD on the Amazon site delivers results for many products made with hemp oil but none infused with CBD. While the online retailer does not offer CBD products, there are a number of books available on the site that explore the compound’s benefits.

People use CBD for relief from a range of health conditions, including pain, inflammation, multiple sclerosis, epilepsy and Crohn’s disease. But even though it can provide relief from certain medical ailments, it’s considered a supplement, so health insurance plans don’t cover it. 

Target toyed with selling CBD oils online for about a week back in 2017, but the items were removed from the company’s website without explanation.

While Target does not carry any CBD products, it does sell a book online titled, “Healing With CBD: How Cannabidiol Oil Can Transform Your Health Without the High” — perhaps a sign that the retailer will reconsider its position in the future.

And when Target is ready to sell CBD products, Grove Inc. GRVI is one prime example of a company ready to supply them to the retailer. 

The company mission was to control the supply chain for hemp-based products and they’ve done just that, with over 80 private label brands utilizing their production facility, which places an emphasis on quality and turnaround times. It could open the door for larger retailers to partner with Grove on their own, in-house lines, or wholesale their in-house brands. 

Grove, however, has been making moves to have a larger reach in the health/wellness industry. The company raised about $11 million in its initial public offering (IPO) in June and used a portion of the proceeds to acquire VitaMedica, an online seller of nutritional supplements, in an effort to gain access to the $441.7 billion global nutraceuticals market.

Grove is looking at other high-performing companies that meet its requirements to scale quickly. It looks for companies with good reviews and high rankings on Amazon. It’s also looking for opportunities from e-commerce brands that don’t have a presence on Amazon or aren’t scaling because of limited resources that Grove could provide.

Those acquisition efforts might position Grove to land on the shelves of mainstream retailers like Target and Walmart should the companies decide to stock CBD-infused products in the future.

Meanwhile, other mainstream retailers have agreed to stock CBD products, giving companies like Grove, which already has developed several CBD product lines, a chance to reach consumers who may not seek out such products in marijuana dispensaries. Retailers like Walgreens, a subsidiary of Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc. WBA, CVS CVS and GNC sell a variety of CBD products for pain relief. 

GNC Holdings Inc., which specializes in health and nutrition-related products such as vitamins, supplements, minerals, herbs and energy products, carries a line of creams, lotions and oils but no supplements containing the compound. GNC even has a page on its website aimed at educating consumers about the hemp-derived compound. 

With more mainstream companies relaxing their positions on stocking CBD products, Grove is positioned to be a leader in the growing market for years to come. 

The preceding post was written and/or published as a collaboration between Benzinga’s in-house sponsored content team and a financial partner of Benzinga. Although the piece is not and should not be construed as editorial content, the sponsored content team works to ensure that any and all information contained within is true and accurate to the best of their knowledge and research. This content is for informational purposes only and not intended to be investing advice.