The Growing Popularity of CBD Products
What is it about CBD? One minute you’ve never heard of it. Then, like the most perfect example of the Baader-Meinhof Phenomenon, it’s everywhere. When we first started popping up with INTUNE CBD Drinks at markets and music festivals back in 2021, people were a bit nervous – intrigued but unsure of what CBD was. The most common question was “will it get my high?” But those same people came back the following week, following month, year and would tell us that until they spoke to us, they’d never heard of CBD, but now it was everywhere. Their flatmates took drops in the morning; their yoga instructor had CBD hand cream; a friend had a CBD vape; they’d seem some gummies in a super cool hotel minibar. It's possible it was always there, and they just hadn’t seen, it perhaps CBD is having its heyday in post-Covid era, where the zeitgeist of a generation of peoples who lived through the pandemic and resulting global lockdowns, is shown through a pursuit of natural remedies to reduce stress, relieve pain and improve everyday lives. Enter CBD, the drug of the 2020s. The choice of the 18-30 year olds who don’t drink or take recreational drugs like their parents; who still want to have fun, but want to look after their bodies and minds.
CBD as a Health and Wellness Choice
The CBD market found its feet in the health and wellness space. The go-to for professional footballers, cyclists, boxers, swimmers – all buying into the premise that CBD speeds up recovery times as well as helping combat muscle pain and inflammation. Indeed, back in 2019 Welsh rugby star Dominic Day helped kickstart the UK CBD health and wellness movement with a launch of his own CBD balms and oils, marketing to sports professionals who, like him, would turn to CBD for injury rehab and recovery.
For a time CBD was solely championed by health stores and independents online; with gyms and yoga studios taking up the gauntlet to put to right the myths that surrounded CBD. And there, in the health & wellness space it’s mainly stayed, expanding as claims abound that CBD can help with muscle pain, recovery time, stress, sleep, anxiety, even period pains and skin conditions like rosacea. But it was only a matter of time until CBD started to poke its head above the wellness parapet and into the everyday. The oils and balms have two feet firmly in the wellness camp, and so it was down to another medium to bring CBD out of the health sphere and into the everyday.
Exploring the Appeal of CBD Drinks
INTUNE CBD drinks, unlike many other products on the CBD market, don’t confine “wellness” to a category that is separate from everyday living. Furthermore, we don’t abide by in the age-old adage of “it ain’t broke don’t fix it.” Instead of using CBD to regenerate or combat specific ailments, we see CBD as something to take as part of our everyday. Everyday in how we look after our body and everyday in how we actually take it.
The way CBD works is by interacting with the endocannabinoid system (ECS) in your body. The ECS controls things like learning and memory; stress, anxiety and other emotional reactions; sleep, pain, inflammation, our immune systems… The ECS is regulated by our internal cannabinoid receptors, very similar to external cannabinoids like CBD, or Cannabidiol. Therefore, when we take CBD, it can jumpstart or stimulate these receptors, which in turn remind or direct our ECS on where it should be focussing. It’s only natural that how you take CBD will impact how quickly and strongly those receptors get that wake-up call.
CBD Myths and CBD Misconceptions
It is a science – working with CBD. Looking at the “bioavailabilty “of CBD, or how quickly and effectively CBD gets absorbed into your bloodstream – there’s a lot of debate about how best to take CBD. Yes, an oil or vape will enter the bloodstream fastest, but it doesn’t stay the longterm. CBD drinks need to pass through your digestive system which means while it takes a bit longer to feel the effects, it then tends to hang about in your system for longer, meaning longer term benefits and the ability to build up its effects over a period of time. Slow and steady wins the race, especially when you’re looking to reap the benefits of CBD over a long-term – or indeed, for every day.
A lot of people tell us “they tried it once but didn’t feel anything.” And to that we say, you need to give it time. CBD isn’t a one-hit-wonder. It's one of the reasons why INTUNE Drinks have 10mg per can (5mg for our mixers). For us, 10mg of a high quality CBD enjoyed on a daily basis is enough for us to start feeling the impact of CBD. But, as we know, every person’s biology is different and your height, weight, metabolism can all affect how quickly and intensely you feel the effects of taking CBD. Having 10mg per can doesn’t stop us having another. (I mean we do have three wonderful flavours, all of which are low in calories.) In terms of quantity, you have to learn to understand your sweet spot – just as you learnt how many glasses of wine you could have before you started slurring your words and proclaiming your undying love for the Uber driver.
The future of CBD
In 2022, the European CBD report, published by industry analysts Prohibition Partners, estimated that in 2022 just under €1.7 billion worth of CBD products were sold in Europe. This figure is expected to almost double in the next three years. Why?
Well, just like we said above – the people we speak to on a daily basis are so much more aware of CBD. They understand the benefits; they want to incorporate it into their everyday. According to the Association for the Cannabinoid Industry, the UK has the most evolved regulatory framework in the world for CBD. All UK CBD products, as of March 2021 must apply for approval from the FSA (Food Standards Agency) ensuring anything you buy in the UK is safe for consumption.
The more transparent the industry is, the more it can grow. As CBD breaks the shackles of the health and wellness market; as more high-street grocers and forward-thinking independents adopt CBD into their everyday offering, the more they send the message to everyone else that CBD is not just the dominion of the alternative medicines. As we bust the myths about CBD, as we assure people of its legality and safety, the more people are comfortable trying it and ultimately the more people who are adopting CBD and CBD drinks into their everyday.