Consumer interest in CBD appears to be riding high in Europe but, to many, the route to market through the regulatory quagmire seems as treacherous—and slow—as ever.
On one level, the frustrations of the European cannabidiol (CBD) supplements sector are no different from those of many other ingredient categories where health claims cannot be communicated to consumers or Novel Food regulation stands in the way of market development. But industry impatience seems particularly intense given that the very complexity of the hemp plant and its compounds which makes it apparently so difficult to regulate at the level of the Single Market is, arguably, just what gives it so many health-and-wellness benefits. Lorenza Romanese, managing director of the European Industrial Hemp Association (EIHA), is unimpressed by questions about CBD’s potential role in different ‘therapeutic contexts’. “Therapeutic?” she ripostes. “Isn’t CBD more than a medicine?” This leads into a whistlestop tour through the need for “overall health and wellbeing,” via the endogenous endocannabinoid system (ECS) and its function in aiding homeostasis, to a reliance on phytocannabinoids to maintain and support this system. The development of healthy CBD supplement markets in several European countries—among them the UK, Switzerland, France and Germany—only serves to underline the huge market potential that could be unlocked if EU regulators fully played their part. Among those seeing evidence that this potential is already well on its way to being unleashed is CBD consultant Tony Reeves. He sits on EIHA’s board and works with e-commerce business THG (The Hut Group) and major retail chains, among others. “It’s clear these large organisations are getting closer to cannabinoids,” he says, adding that in each case, this interest came from the highest levels of the business. As we will see, though, not everyone believes the Novel Food process is adversely affecting the majority of the sector, nor that delays in that process are all the fault of the regulatory bodies.