The American CBD market could be worth $2.75bn in 2020, according to a cannabis expert at data analysts Nielsen.
Despite tighter regulation, enforcement, and warnings from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the industry will thrive thanks to greater awareness of CBD and market forces, according to Rich Maturo, vice president of Cannabis Practice at Nielsen.
He said: “We project that the US hemp-based CBD market could be a $2.25 billion to $2.75 billion industry in 2020.
“These conservative projections already account for hampered FDA rulings and other possible speed bumps for the hemp-CBD marketplace.
“While the regulatory roadmap remains ambiguous, one thing is clear: The next decade for the hemp-based CBD market has the potential to be a game changer for the traditional CPG (consumer packaged goods) and retail industry.”
Mr Maturo says there will be a rise in CBD manufacturer-driven educational efforts targeting health care providers.
He cited Nielsen’s Q4 Health Care Practitioner Tracking Study which found that although 70% of the practitioners surveyed said they discuss CBD with their patients, only a third were informed about the laws surrounding hemp-CBD.
And he predicts prices will fall as production efficiencies linked to cultivation and extraction improve and the number of US hemp farmers rise, driven by multi-million dollar investments from Canadian licensed producers.
Capsules, gummies and beverages will significantly grow their user bases, pending the FDA’s permission for manufacturers to legally infuse hemp-CBD extracts into ingestible products, adds Mr Maturo.
Nielsen projections show that with FDA approval, ingestible formats could grow their existing user base as much as 250%-375% in a year’s time.
