Reason #1: Cost, the Almighty Dollar

At the end of the day, price does matter to many consumers like yourself. We often choose a cheaper product, especially during tough economic times like we are facing right now. Inflation is higher than it’s been in decades. The cost of gas and groceries has skyrocketed. You are probably paying higher utility rates than you were a few years ago. Your interest rates went up. We could go on and on about how everything has gone up in price. So, it makes sense you want to spend less elsewhere. This means spending less on CBD.

But if you’re buying less expensive CBD and trying to save money, chances are you’re doing it all wrong. Cheap CBD usually means sacrificing end quality. The more economical CBD companies out there, especially those found on Amazon or other big marketplaces, will often use CBD isolates in their products. While we’ve talked a lot about CBD isolate in the past, here’s a quick refresher. CBD isolate refers to hemp extract that has been stripped of all other therapeutic plant compounds and crystallized into a pure form. Often times, these isolate-based CBD products will make fancy claims like “Pharmaceutical-Grade” or “Doctor Formulated.” But don’t buy into the hype. Pure CBD products made with CBD isolates are inferior to broad spectrum, full spectrum, or whole plant CBD products like ours.

Another and related issue regarding cheap CBD products is that they are alternatively made with highly refined CBD distillates. From a therapeutic perspective, CBD distillates are better than isolates. However, most commercially available CBD distillates are highly refined. The very term “distillate” implies the oil has undergone a distillation process, in which many of the therapeutic plant compounds, such as minor cannabinoids and bioflavonoids, have been stripped from the oil. At the end of the day, distillates and isolates are cheap to source, so they’re often used by companies looking to maximize their margins.

One of the most important reasons not to skimp on your CBD product budget is quality and integrity of raw ingredients. Many companies offering budget CBD products will often cut corners on ingredient sourcing and vetting bulk ingredient suppliers. Over the years, we’ve tested dozens of essential oils and we’ve uncovered extreme levels of contaminants like heavy metals, benzene/residual solvents, and pesticides/fungicides. Buying “organic” is often helpful, but even an organic label doesn’t mean the product is safe or free from environmental toxins. Since this conversation is related to cost, better and thus higher priced CBD products like ours are made with higher quality and organic ingredients, so this adds to the cost of their production.

Finally and related to the above, a high quality CBD product will have undergone multiple rounds of accredited lab testing. These lab tests are expensive and often uncover unwanted contaminants in a finished product. Unfortunately, many cheaper CBD companies will only test a product for cannabinoid potency (CBD and THC content), so you may be buying a product that’s only partially tested. These cheaper products can be totally contaminated with heavy metals, residual solvents, pesticides, and other toxins. Remember, you’re spending money on your health and you’re putting this product into your body, probably even on a daily basis. Spend the extra money to be 100% confident the product is safe and will not cause you harm in the long-run.

Reason #2: Total CBD or Bottle Size

We see it all the time. Whether it be online shoppers or in-person shoppers, customers always gravitate to the highest total amount of CBD in a product. While higher milligrams in a product can mean greater potency, this is not always the case. For example, we sell a 16 fluid oz massage oil with 2500 mg of total CBD. We also sell a 4 fluid oz massage oil with 1000 mg of total CBD. The majority of customers will gravitate towards the 2500 mg CBD bottle because it sounds like more CBD. Well, it is technically more TOTAL CBD — because 2500 mg CBD is more than 1000 mg CBD. But wait a second. The customer has forgotten to take concentration into consideration before buying the product. By ‘concentration’, we are referring to the actual amount of CBD per individual mL or fluid oz. Let’s take a look at the two bottle sizes again, the 16 fluid oz with 2500 mg CBD and the 4 fluid oz with 1000 mg CBD. After doing a quick little bit of basic math, it’s easy to see that the 4 oz bottle has a much higher concentration of CBD than the 16 oz, so it is more potent:

The same principal can be applied to any other CBD product out there. To get the actual concentration of CBD in a product, you can divide the total amount of CBD in the bottle or jar but the volume (fluid oz or mL). Sometimes that 1500 mg CBD tincture isn’t very potent because it’s in a massive 4 oz bottle. When buying a CBD product based on total CBD or bottle size, you may be shortchanging yourself. Next time look at the concentration, the actual potency.

Reason #3: Celebrity Endorsements, Influencers, or Professional Sport Sponsors

On our social media platforms, we are inundated daily by influencers. We look up to these people, right? They have hundreds of thousands or millions of followers. Or they’re really pretty to look at, or they make you feel good about yourself.  But at the end of the day, being famous or influential doesn’t mean you have good taste or know what to look for in a truly high quality CBD product. You have to remember, most of these influencers aren’t advertising or representing a CBD brand for free. They are profiting from the relationship, and it is purely transactional. A large company reached out to someone “famous” that they thought could help them promote their products and reach larger audiences.

Just because Martha Stewart, Snoop Dog, or Travis Barker launch a CBD line, it doesn’t meant it’s actually good stuff. In fact, Martha Stewart’s CBD gummies are made with CBD isolate. We already talked about how CBD isolates are devoid of therapeutically active compounds. Celebrities want to make money, and they’re using their fame and reputation to get you to buy their product(s).

Lastly, huge CBD companies are now sponsoring professional sports. Charlottes Web is the lates to sponsor Major League Baseball. CbdMD is also a huge sponsor of surging and other professional sports.

So to do it right in the end, when buying a CBD product, try to consider all of the above points. But they are not hard and fast rules. At the end of the day, you want to invest in a product that is more therapeutic and safe. At Sow Eden we care tremendously about our customers and the quality of our products.