Editor’s note: Pat DePietto is co-founder and president of 360 Market Reach, a marketing research firm based in New York.
CBD (cannabidiol) is on the rise in the United States thanks to recent legislative changes, with predictions for the industry to grow as high as $20 billion in 2024. CBD has seen an upsurge in the food and beverage industry due to its ability to provide wellness benefits such as reducing inflammation and anxiety without the added effects of the intoxicating components of marijuana. Jumping on this bandwagon could be a game-changer for many consumer food and beverage product categories, particularly among consumers who are looking for more natural or organic products overall.
360 Market Reach conducted a short survey among 375 people, men and women age 18 or older who are actively purchasing all-natural or organic products in at least one product category to get a sense of their purchase behaviors and thoughts around CBD products in the food and beverage industry.
Who are current CBD customers?
When it comes to understanding the consumer audience, the research looked at past behaviors of CBD buyers and who exactly is buying these products now. They found that two out of five all-natural/organic consumers already have experience using CBD, having purchased a product or remedy that included CBD within the past 12 months. The largest reason for CBD purchase is to relieve stress and anxiety while additional reasons include people’s need to manage chronic pain, help with sleep disorders and lessen joint pain/promote bone health. Demographically, compared to natural/organic buyers overall, customers that purchase CBD products are more likely to have two or more children with at least one being under the age of three. They are less likely to have a college degree and more likely to have household incomes of under $100k a year – although with an average household income of $92k, these are consumers who have money to spend.
How do people feel after using CBD products?
In looking at the effectiveness and attitudes of CBD usage, our team was intrigued about people’s reactions after they used CBD products. Overall, the findings are positive, with three out of five people saying that they are in less pain or discomfort and that their stress level has improved. Over half say their mood and sleep has improved. In fact, less than 1% cite any negative impact on any factors they were questioned about. Overall, two-thirds of users feel CBD can improve their overall health and feel CBD can be integrated in their life with daily usage/consumption; great news for the food and beverage industry.
What products do consumers want from the CBD industry?
Water, iced tea and energy drinks are the beverages that people would most like to see include CBD. When thinking about food; nuts/seeds, fruit snacks and interestingly, cookies/cake are the top types of foods consumers want to see infused with CBD. Those interested in all-natural and organic still indulge in desserts and snacks and CBD can create a positive for more indulgent treats with the benefits of health combined with more traditional comfort foods. Outside of food and beverage, there are many categories that current CBD users would like to see CBD expand into: toothpaste, body wash/soap and cleansers/moisturizers to name a few.
The desire for CBD translates to pets as well. One in two dog parents would feed their dogs either dry or wet food infused with CBD. For cat owners CBD seems better paired with dry food over wet. The reason to use CBD infused food for their pets is the same reason they would embrace CBD use for themselves: to relieve discomfort/pain and to lessen pet anxiety.
What does this mean for food and beverage brands?
Although people are both using and open to using CBD, there is still a good deal of education that still needs to occur. People using CBD products state a wide gap in knowledge about CBD. This limited knowledge however does not stop people from using or wanting to use products containing CBD. Among both users and non-users, three out of five people say that CBD is a natural cure for many current health issues and feel that it’s about time we started using plant extracts like CBD. There is also a desire to see more everyday products contain CBD. Once someone has tried a CBD remedy or product, over half say the addition of CBD in foods and beverages would make them even more likely to buy the product.
In terms of marketing CBD products, the opinions of friends and relatives are as impactful as doctors’ opinions. This is representative of the notion that CBD is more closely aligned with wellness rather than sickness. It also speaks to the idea that, when it comes to all-natural products, consumers are less concerned about potential side-effects than they might be with pharmaceuticals.
The only obstacle to CBD’s expansion into food and beverage products is that it’s hard for consumers to know what brands to look for and which products are high-quality. Consumers are looking for brands to fill that gap and stand out as clear quality.
Overall, the demand for CBD products in the food and beverage industry is growing exponentially year over year and doesn’t show any signs of slowing down. For brands there is a clear opportunity to provide quality products containing CBD that have the added benefit of addressing an array of consumer pain points.