An Arvada-based CBD company is launching its products in a supermarket chain with stores from Ohio to Florida.
Straight Hemp said Tuesday that its products will now be available in 57 Earth Fare health food stores across 10 states.
“This will be our largest partnership to date,” said Devin Alvarez, the company’s founder and CEO.
Arvada-based Straight Hemp’s products will be sold in 57 Earth Fare stores across 10 states. (Courtesy of Straight Hemp)
Earth Fare will sell the company’s balm and CBD oil. Straight Hemp also sells a device and oil for vaping.
Alvarez said he is confident the company’s vape is safe to use because it is “100 percent pure hemp essential oil.” He said Straight Hemp doesn’t add other ingredients and certifies there are no contaminants. The device uses ceramic heating elements rather than metal or plastics
Alvarez said unlike some CBD companies, Straight Hemp does not use isolate, which is pure CBD, or cannabidiol. The company uses the full spectrum of the elements in the plant, including the trace THC, tetrahydrocannabinol.
“I believe that the plant, there’s a sort of natural intelligence there,” Alvarez said. “All these various chemistries work in concert.”
Hemp-derived CBD is used in creams, tinctures and food. Hemp is in the same family as marijuana, but has negligible amounts of THC, the high-inducing chemical in marijuana.
The 2018 federal farm bill legalized hemp production. The U.S. Department of Agriculture has released an interim rule setting out regulations for its cultivation.
However, the Food and Drug Administration is still working on regulations for the use of CBD in food and dietary supplements. Despite the lack of guidelines, the CBD industry is expanding as consumer interest is growing.
CBD sales are projected to reach around $5 billion this year and nearly $24 billion by 2023, according to the Brightfield Group, an analytics and market research firm for the legal CBD and cannabis industries.
Alvarez said Straight Hemp started selling its products in 2017. The company tests the hemp plants, extracts and products throughout the process, using third-party laboratories. he said.