It’s fair to say that 2020 has been an unprecedented year, with many formerly successful industries facing huge struggles. CBD (cannabidiol) has been one of the success stories of recent years, and its popularity shows no signs of slowing down. Market projections suggest that the global market for CBD is expected to grow from $967.2 million in 2020 to a staggering $5.3 billion by 2025.
So, should you get into the CBD industry too? Here’s what you need to consider before you can be sure whether a CBD business is right for you.
What Type of Business Do You Want?
At one end of the spectrum, some business owners want to build an international empire. At the other end, some simply want to add an extra income stream that’s quick to set up and doesn’t take too much time to run. Where on that spectrum do you fall?
Starting a CBD business doesn’t need to involve a lot of upfront investment. In fact, there are lots of ways you can sell CBD without getting involved in manufacturing, or even shipping. There are plenty of CBD businesses that run through physical stores, though it’s cheaper and easier to get started with an online-only business. This is particularly true in 2020, with lockdowns worldwide meaning that non-essential stores may be required to close without much warning.
Will You Be Able to Meet Legal Requirements?
The good news is that CBD is legal in most countries. However, exact legal requirements vary, even from state to state. It’s important to make sure your business abides by them.
You’ll need to look up the rules in your country about things like the percentage of THC allowed in your products. (THC is the psychoactive compound in marijuana.) This is likely to be very low, well under 1%. You also need to know the rules about how you can market your CBD. For instance, you might not be able to market it as a dietary supplement, or you may be restricted from putting medical claims on the label of your products.
How Will You Market Your Business and Make Sales?
Just like any business, your CBD business needs a clear plan for marketing and selling your product. You need to make sure you think this through ahead of time. For instance, you might think that you can simply sell your products on Amazon. It’s the biggest online marketplace, after all. But Amazon currently doesn’t allow CBD products to be sold through their platform. Or, you might be planning to buy Google ads or Facebook ads to promote your product, but currently, you can’t generally advertise CBD online.
When it comes to marketing and sales, you’ll want to consider the following:
- Your brand and internet presence: you’ll almost certainly want to register a domain name and create a website.
- How to market your product. That could mean gathering a large Facebook following, writing a blog related to CBD, or building a mailing list.
It’s important that you think these through before deciding to launch a business. Without sales and marketing, your CBD business definitely can’t succeed. Don’t let this put you off, though. There are lots of thriving CBD businesses out there – and with a bit of forethought and planning, your business could soon be one of them.
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