Earlier this week, New Hope’s Natural Products Expo East hosted their very own Natural Product Hemp and CBD Summit where it was sponsored by some of the most prominent businesses within the cannabis and hemp industry.
“Cannabis has long been America’s number one cash crop, but now we’ve legitimized it, legalized it, sanctified it, commercialized it and it is happening right now!” Todd Runestad from New Hope Network said in his opening statement.
And he is right, there is truth to what he is saying, the hemp and cannabis industry is a very lucrative market and is expected to reach over $140 billion by the end of 2025, according to Grand View Research.
From healing a variety of illnesses to being used to build shelters, hemp has been used for many centuries and it will be used for more years to come. So what does this mean for you? And what can you expect as a result of this year’s Hemp and CBD Summit?
During this two and a half hour long event, attendants and viewers of this live stream were educated and informed about the hemp industry and its many opportunities for all members, including the consumers, retailers, manufacturers, suppliers, marketers and farmers.
Now let’s gather around for a hemp, hemp, hooray as we go over the highlights of this event.
One of the first speakers was the founder and president of Colorado Hemp Company and NoCo Hemp Expo, Morris Beegle, who revealed the impact that hemp is having on the health and wellness world, food, climate and even automobile production. Did you know that the U.S. Constitution was written on hemp paper? No, not really, it was only drafted on hemp paper, but Beegle talked more about it during his speech.
What makes CBD so special anyway? And, how does it benefit the body? Many people have questions just like these whenever they purchase CBD or hemp products. Laura Lagano, the co-founder of Holistic Canna Academy, helped equip retailers with accurate information that answers these questions of curious consumers.
A 50-year-old personal care brand by the name of ShiKai is making headway as they revamp their inventory by adding CBD infused products to their website. They also have a CBD information center where they shed light on the many benefits of CBD and how they’ve decided to venture out into the CBD world in the first place.
For the retailers looking to add CBD or hemp products onto their shelves, there are certain documents you will need in order to ensure that you’ve got a quality product. These documents and charts can be hard to decipher to the untrained eye. Holly Johnson, Ph.D., and chief science officer at the American Herbal Products Association, was the next speaker to help visitors through this process.
Almost everyone has heard or purchased products from an online retailer called Nutiva which supplies organic skin care and superfoods. They have taken part of the hemp industry too by adding a line of hemp products to their site. The founder and chief visionary officer, John Roulac, was there to speak more about it.
There are plenty of laws and regulations surrounding the cannabis industry that many companies have questions about. To wrap up the summit, guest speakers from multiple cannabis-related law firms spoke about state legislation, federal regulations and answered any questions and concerns for companies who are trying to get their foot into the hemp-derived CBD market.
For a front row seat to view the Natural Products Expo East 2018: Natural Products Hemp and CBD Summit, you can visit their website here.
