It’s no secret that the UK CBD industry has experienced massive growth over the last few years. However, the market is now thought to be bigger than both the Vitamin C, and the Vitamin D industries combined.
The most recent study, commissioned by the CMC, found that consumers spend over £300 million per year on CBD products. This is significantly more than the combined value of the Vitamin C and Vitamin D markets. It is estimated that the Vitamin C and D markets raised a revenue of £119 million and £145 million, respectively.
The lack of assessment of the CBD industry in the UK has led to under-estimating the size of the market. For example, until the publication of these findings, it was widely thought that there were around 250,000 CBD users in the UK. This new evidence estimates that the number of people who have tried CBD could be as high as 6 million.
CBD products (most commonly oils and capsules), are not held to any specific regulations. Instead, the products are held to food, medicines and cosmetics regulations. This is, again, down to the lack of insight into the market, and research into the chemical itself.
It is thought that CBD products have, for a long time, not been considered equal among the food supplements. This treatment of the products, as a passing health fad, leads to their revenue, (and possibly health), potential in the UK, being under-estimated.
A significant ‘take-away’ from these findings, is that UK regulators need to start treating CBD products like a permanent member of the wellness industry. The benefits from doing so could be enormous, both financially and educationally.
