• by Steve Ellwanger , January 5, 2023

In a CBD market characterized by too many brands, consumer confusion and lack of federal regulations, cbdMD, which provides supplements and tinctures, has slashed its SKU count while increasing product concentration and targeting the pain-management market.

The company now offers approximately 40 SKUs—down from more than 150 a year ago.

“CBD is often misunderstood in its impact question,” cbdMD president Kevin MacDermott said during on earnings presentation last month.

“Our emphasis was to be sure that if you take our products that you would feel their impact." The company's revised product lineup features CBD strengths ranging from 1,500 milligrams to 7,500 milligrams.

According to MacDermott, consumer feedback and two years of clinical studies indicated that “Everyday wellness products were not enough.”

In October, cbdMD launched pain-management remedy cbdMD MAX—a combination of its proprietary cannabinoid blend with the patented joint-care ingredient Univestin.

MacDermott credited NSF certification of cbdMD’s product labeling for enabling five SKUs to gain shelf space in more than 80 Wegmans stores.

Founded in 1944 as the National Sanitation Foundation and renamed NSF last year, the organization exists to provide third-party testing of many consumer products and is accepted by governmental regulatory bodies.

“This announcement has helped us gain traction in discussions with other grocery chains and big box retailers who had previously been cautious about engaging with the category,” MacDermott said of Wegmans’ acceptance.