A former UK rugby player has shared his experience with opening his own CBD company.
Retired player Dominic Day co-founded his company, fourfivecbd, with long-time professional player George Kurtis in 2018.
The pair saw it as a way to give back to the community that had nurtured them both.
Day and Kurtis started to take CBD after sustaining sports injuries in 2018, finding that the hemp derivative helped them maintain an active lifestyle throughout their rugby careers.
Their business venture, which officially launched on January 1st of last year, offers CBD products to athletes as an alternative way to relieve overall aches and pains resulting from sports.
In 2019, fourfivecbd, which is headquartered just outside of London, generated revenue of ‘single-digit millions’ with the growth of between 15 and 20 percent month-over-month. The company is set to hit the annual revenue of ‘double-digit millions’ in 2020, with £500,000 in funding already secured and the potential for £600,000 more.
Fourfivecbd is now reportedly receiving attention from companies in North America and Canada, which it hopes will make it possible to move into a bigger retail space.
Day admitted to Forbes, however, that the joint business venture hadn’t been easy, with the pair facing branding trouble.
Speaking of the saturated market full of CBD gummies and even pet products, Day said: “It’s a lot of snake oil. We have a company that’s very strict with our regulations, our safety and our product and our testing. We feel what differentiates us is that we have a true story.”
He added fourfivecbd’s products are based on items that have worked for both him and Kurtis and include only the ingredients listed on the bottle.
“There are a lot of people out there doing the market harm,” Day said. “There’s a lot of press about companies that have way too high THC level and too low CBD levels.”
The Welshman, who has over 250 top-flight rugby games to his name, revealed the company has just signed with a major UK pharmacy to put its products onto shelves in 100 stores. Day now wants to attempt to appeal more to health markets and sports clubs, while expanding the business’ online store.
Fourfivecbd’s products are said to be fully traceable from seed to shelf and undergo third-party testing twice – including tests for everything that would cause an athlete to fail a drug test.
If any of the levels are wrong, the company sends its products back to be remade.
Asked about his thoughts on UK CBD acceptance and cannabis legalization, Day said: “That’s the golden question in the UK. We’d love to think we’re five to 10 years out to see cannabis legalized fully. It’s definitely something we believe in and it should happen. The issues here are around education as there are people who generally can benefit from cannabis.”
On its website, fourfivecbd sells CBD oil, capsules, muscle rubs, and topicals, which it says are created for those who ‘love the active lifestyle they lead and don’t want to sit on the sidelines waiting for life to come to them’.
The company’s products contain zero THC to ensure complete immunity from athlete drug tests and are made with organic ingredients.
FourfiveCBD’s website adds in a joint statement from Day and Kurtis: “Injuries have led us under the surgeon’s knife 12 times collectively. It is through our surgeries that we were inspired. We explored for a more natural and sustainable way to manage our symptoms to attain those marginal gains to achieve success on the field.”
