During her most recent royal duty of visiting a Swiss Cottage Farmers’ Market, the Duchess of Cornwall found herself lauding the potential benefits of CBD oil, stating that she had heard ‘fantastic’ things about the compound. Speaking about her encounters with sufferers of epilepsy who had used CBD to alleviate their symptoms, the Duchess seemingly gave CBD oil her royal endorsement.

Taking off in the US less than a decade ago, the Pew Research Center now estimates that one in seven Americans use the compound on a daily basis. As trends have travelled across the pond, the rock-star ingredient has exploded onto the British consumer markets. Less than five years ago, CBD wasn’t even recognised as part of the Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) market; now it’s a £300 million industry, with estimations reckoning that the value of this market set to quadruple over the next two years.

Simon Manthorpe, CEO of EOS Scientific, the UK’s leading CBD oil testing service, comments on why the rise of CBD oil in the UK has been inevitable, and doesn’t show signs of slowing down anytime soon.

“What CBD has over so many other consumer goods is its versatility. Early research and testimony is showing that CBD can potentially alleviate many ailments that previously prescribed medication has been somewhat inefficient in tackling. Seizures and forms of epilepsy are some of the more serious ailments that people have used CBD oil to combat, but others have found use in CBD to tackle their psoriasis or simple aches and pains. With greater research, we could see CBD oil become much more prevalent in the world of medicine, with it becoming the hero of modern medicinal practices, in some cases.

However it isn’t just in the realm of medicine that CBD could have a huge impact. We have seen consumer markets in the UK inundated with the infusion of CBD, revolutionising cosmetics and consumables. Between 2017 and 2018, CBD usage in the UK grew by 99%. This growth is unprecedented amongst holistic and organic products in the UK. The Duchess of Cornwall’s astute observations of CBD have shown that our hero ingredient is a right royal affair! With the market expected to quadruple in value in the UK by the end of 2021, could we see the Queen giving CBD her seal of approval?”