New Health & Wellness Trend: Hemp Based CBD is Coming To A Bar Near You
With the Hemp Bill now embedded in the 2018 Farm Bill, working its way through Congress, it is highly likely that Hemp based cannabidiol “CBD” will be fully legal in 50 states in 2019.
Cannabis products serve medicinal as well as recreational needs. On the medicinal (health and wellness) side, the body of scientifi c research is growing rapidly. CBD, derived from hemp, is one of the 60 naturally occurring compounds found in Cannabis and unlike THC, CBD is non-psychoactive and does not cause any feelings of getting high when consumed. Numerous researchers from major institutions like Johns Hopkins and University of California at San Diego are studying its potential uses, as CBD holds the promise of relieving a long list of ailments, from pain and insomnia to anxiety and epilepsy. The CBD market is accelerating due in part to recent positive developments by: the CDC, FDA, and US Congress. Brightfi eld Group, a market research fi rm special-izing in cannabis, recently raised its projections for the CBD industry. They project it could reach $22 billion in market size by 2022. According to Datassential, the big data food & beverage research group, 41% of adult consumers know of CBD and 14% have tried it. This makes it more familiar to the drinking public than the hot selling Aperol Spritz, which is still in the “inception” phase, according to Datassential.
I’m in the bar business, what does this all mean for me?
Innovative ingredients that follow fl avor trends, have been front and center for much of the past decade in the hottest bars around the world. CBD fi ts this bill perfectly as the broader cannabis movement has picked up momentum nationally. Today, thirty US states allow some form of medicinal legal cannabis and 9 allow for adult recreational use. In fact, Pew published a study this month that shows 62% of the voting public support cannabis legalization. Among millennials, that fi gure is over 74%. Beer, Wine and Spirits giant Constellation Brands (Corona, Robert Mondavi wines, High West Whiskey) recently turned heads with its now $4 billion investment into Canadian cannabis company Canopy Growth.
With so much interest in the topic of cannabis, Hemp based CBD is taking off in hip and trendy spots nationally. The Breslin Bar at the Ace Hotel in New York is selling CBD brownies and cocktails. In an interview for Moneyish, James La Russo, a manager at The James Nomad hotel in New York City said, “We’re always researching new ways to help our guests relax, CBD extract is proven to have calming eff ects, easing anxiety and stress. With it being legal in all 50 states, we knew we wanted to get involved,” he explained. The Standard Hotel, which has a number of locations including New York, Miami and Los Angeles, has CBD featured in its mini-bars and on its bar menu.
2019 will be known as the year of Hemp based CBD breaking into the mainstream. You have the opportunity to be at the forefront of this important movement by finding innovative ways to include CBD as an ingredient or in pre-made products in your bar or hospitality program.
