A new analysis from Leafreport has found a 3200% price discrepancy between the most and least expensive CBD products.
While CBD shoppers try their best to find the most legitimate products available, they could be paying inflated prices for no reason, according to researchers.
Cannabidiol, the non-psychoactive cousin of marijuana, took the US by storm in 2018 when the Farm Bill was legalized. A lack of regulation from the FDA, however, has left the market to expand at an uncontrollable rate- and officials still don’t know if CBD is completely safe.
Noa Givony, Leafreport’s head of product said of the report: “There were a lot of discrepancies. The conclusion that we got to is that it’s probably all the brands just want to make money. There’s no real reason that there should be such a discrepancy in prices.”
General advice released on CBD tells consumers they should thoroughly check the quality of the product they want to buy before making their purchase. For some, however, this could mean paying far more than they should for a CBD oil, tincture, or cream.
The report took data from 53 leading brands in the US market – a mixture of both small and large retailers. From there, researchers examined the price of about 3,500 products, including capsules, gummies, pet treats, and vapes.
Givony stated that researchers also examined each company’s USDA certification status, third party testing policies, and manufacturing processes to try to explain the price discrepancies, but the team could not find any clear links.
Researchers broke the products into three groups: those that cost between $0.01 and $0.79/mg, those between $0.08 and $0.149, and those above $0.15/mg.
The group also looked into the concentration of each product. Leafreport asks consumers to keep in mind that the data points were collected in November 2019, and holiday sales or discounts were not taken into account.
Researchers did not independently test products but instead relied on self-reported third-party lab results.
The breakdown
Tinctures
Leafreport found a 1,000% price discrepancy on CBD tinctures– the lowest cost just $0.03/mg (Plain Jane – not USDA certified), while the most expensive product reached $0.32/mg (Diamond CBD- not USDA certified, and also the least potent). The market average was $0.12/mg, with 33.3mg of CBD per ml.
Gummies
CBD gummies were found to have a 300% price discrepancy. The lowest price/mg point was $0.07 (CBDIstillery- not USDA certified), and the highest was $0.28 (LordJones- not USDA certified). The market average was $0.14/mg, with 300 mg of CBD. The overall price for gummies was $39 per unit (box or jar); the FDA doesn’t have many clear rules on CBD in food yet.
Vapes and liquids
Vapes and liquids showed a 250% price discrepancy: the lowest cost $0.06/mg (CBD Genesis – not USDA certified), the most expensive $0.21/mg (Cbdfx, not USDA certified). The market average was $0.13/mg with 33.3mg of CBD.
Pet care
Pet care CBD products were found to have a price discrepancy of 1075% – the cheapest product cost $0.04/mg (Elixinol – not USDA certified), while the most expensive cost $0.47/mg (Sabaidee- not USDA certified). The market average was $0.19/mg, with 300 mg of CBD. The average price for a CBD pet product of any kind was $50.
Next steps
Leafreport hopes the data will help consumers navigate products on the market so that they are able to spot high-quality CBD against largely overpriced products.
In the report, the company added it wanted to create a series of benchmarks that “could be used to compare quantity, potency, and prices of various CBD products”.
Givony said: “It was really groundbreaking for us that there is no real reason for the changes and the gaps”.
