UK's Top CBD And Wellness Marketplace Acquired By US Firm In $13.25M Transaction

Thought Leaders, a U.S. cannabis and CBD investment company, has acquired mellow, the UK's top CBD and wellness marketplace, for $13.25 million.

The acquisition includes:

• mellow.store, a curated multi-brand marketplace for global CBD wellness brands; 
• Grow by mellow, an end-to-end e-Commerce services business that's powering and growing direct to consumer brands in the CBD and cannabis space;
• 50% of the recently launched mellow Asia.

Thought Leaders’ plans include launching mellow in the U.S., which is the world’s largest market for CBD products. The move establishes Thought Leaders firmly in the UK, European and Asian markets.

Co-founder and director at mellow, James Storie-Pugh said, “We are excited to make today’s announcement and proud of our new partnership with Thought Leaders in the US. It’s such an exhilarating time for CBD and these developments put mellow in the pole position to steer success for our e-tail platform and our end-to-end e-Commerce services as well as mellow Asia. As a result, mellow as a company will be at the forefront of rapid market growth globally.”

Neil Tunbridge, mellow director and co-founder agreed. “The cannabis industry is here to stay and more and more people are starting to embrace what is likely to be the single biggest driver of the health and wellness market over the next few years. The World Health Organization has recognized that CBD may have the potential to help with health issues such as sleep, insomnia to anxiety and pain," Tunbridge said^{. "}A paper published in the Journal of Cannabis Research outlined the key reasons why people are turning to CBD. Anxiety (43%), sleep problems (43%), stress (38%), pain and health and wellbeing (37%) came out as the most common reasons. Even the sporting world can see the advantages of CBD. The world Anti-Doping Agency removed CBD from its list of banned substances in 2017, and the Tokyo Olympics allowed athletes to use CBD during the competition. Sports stars and athletes are often drawn to CBD for anxiety, pain relief and healing.”

mellow co-founders, Tunbridge and Storie-Pugh, will remain at mellow as company heads where they will continue to drive mellow growth and global expansion while also looking at new investment opportunities for the group.