Focus On: CBD: 6 September

By Megan Tatum (wordsbymegantatum@gmail.com)

Publishing: 6 September 2025

Advertising deadline: 22 August 2025

Submissions deadline: 14 August 2025

In October 2023, the FSA advised people to limit their consumption of CBD – a derivative of cannabis said to ease anxiety – to no more than 10mg a day, slashing its previous safe daily limit of 70mg. This put manufacturers of CBD-infused products, which mostly contain far more than 10mg, into a state of limbo. A legislative quirk prevented businesses seeking clearance from the FSA to sell their products as novel foods from reformulating. In July, the FSA finally updated its advice and advised companies to reformulate by cutting CBD content. But will they? What impact is all this likely to have on consumer demand? And will it impact investors’ appetite for CBD-related opportunities?

Consumer demand: This feature will use data from NIQ and Worldpanel showing how sales of CBD-infused products have fared in the past year. To what extent has demand been affected by the above? One CBD brand recently said its non-CBD drinks were now its bestseller. So, does CBD need a shot in the arm?

Legislation: “I’ve never known an industry where an advisory has come into place, yet businesses have been prevented from meeting it,” one industry source told us in July. So why the contradictory guidance? How much of an impact has this had on growth? What is the FSA doing to make the guidance clearer?

Efficacy & safety: CBD is purported to be a non-psychoactive compound that can help alleviate symptoms of anxiety. How much do you have to take, and how often, to derive any benefits from CBD? Is it effective when you’re taking less than 10mg a day? What are the health risks of taking more than 10mg a day?

Innovation: Another area of interest is NPD. To what extent has innovation driven growth in the category over the past year? Which new products have proven most successful? Have any flopped? We will profile four new products or ranges, ideally ones that have not appeared in The Grocer before. We need launch date, rsp, pack size, manufacturer and a hi-res picture of each.