Amazon UK to Allow CBD Products from Select Sellers on Their Platform
The UK arm of retail giant Amazon is entering the CBD market after a successful pilot. Amazon invited 10 CBD and hemp oil companies to trial selling their products on their UK site. This is now going to be expanded to other companies, who will be able to list their CBD products for sale on UK Amazon. Surely signalling the expansion of the CBD market within the UK.
This is great news for CBD customers in the UK, who will now be able to buy their products in an easy and convenient way. However, the UK CBD market is currently dominated by small businesses, and there is some worry that the move will push these businesses out of the market.
Others argue that the UK CBD market is big enough to accommodate both small business and Amazon. On top of that, small local businesses were already competing with foreign retailers and manufacturers like Cibdol, since importing CBD into the UK was already legal. Amazon’s pilot program has only served to bring that competition closer to consumers.
The demand for CBD products is on the rise, and the market is currently around 350 million and is set to grow to 1bn by 2025.
The choice to focus on the UK CBD market alone may seem unusual, but it is likely related to the strict regulations that the UK has in place to manage CBD and hemp products. These types of products must adhere to the Novel Food regulations, which are known for being strict. Beyond that, the UK Food Standards Agency has set a deadline for March 2021 for CBD companies to have their products tested and validated. If they don’t, they risk their products being pulled from the shelves. All of this sets the UK apart as being a country that has tight control over the growing CBD market. Other than that, of course, the cannabis industry itself is a highly regulated one, with legitimate businesses having to implement cannabis compliance regulations to stay fully operational.
Amazon will be understandably concerned with ensuring that many CBD products being sold on their site are safe. Having strict regulations in place by the UK government should help to reassure them. Amazon is also planning to bring in their own internal compliance checklist that reportedly could be even stricter than the Food Standards Agency’s own regulations. They will also be keen to ensure that only customers who are over the age of 18 will be able to access the products.
The compliance checklist is likely to include production process standards, as well as strict checks on the management and policies of the CBD manufacturers.
The move by Amazon is hoped to be the start of more large businesses seeing the value in the UK CBD market, which could lead to other established retailers starting to stock CBD and hemp products. It could also be a push for established businesses to start making their own CBD products, now that the demand for them has been firmly established.
The recent announcement has been a sign to many that the industry has gained legitimacy and is on the brink of growing into something much bigger. There is now the potential for more companies to operate in the market. This has led to companies such as easy pay direct, which could if wanted, be found at, https://www.easypaydirect.com/merchant-accounts/cbd-hemp-online-credit-card-processing/, along with other companies to expand their businesses in the growing CBD and hemp market. Since Amazon tested the waters with their pilot and has now found that it is an area they wish to move into, there seems to be no doubt that the industry is here to stay.