PASADENA, Calif. – The World CBD Expo was held at the Pasadena Convention Center this past weekend, August 16-18, and drew a lively and large crowd of CBD product vendors and curious show attendees.
Nearly 100 exhibitors in Hall A showed their wares to the trade-only audience on Friday, and then on Saturday and Sunday to streams of attendees from every walk of life, age demographic, and with various reasons for seeking out more information on CBD and other hemp-based products. Several service dogs attended with their owners.
“Most of the people that we’re seeing are here about pain,” Rem Full Spectrum CBD founder and owner Robin Carey told CBD Today.
A former chef, she created the infused line after a bout with breast cancer. The company’s line of all natural, full-spectrum CBD topicals includes pain relief balms, salves, massage oil, and oil drops, as well as infused skincare items for women and men. Carey uses a holistic approach, with herbal blends that soothe aches and pains in the body and the mind. Ingredients like cayenne pepper in Rem Massage Oil bring natural heat and are an age-old botanical remedy for inflammation.
“And you won’t smell like menthol,” Carey added. “People smell that menthol, and it reminds you of being in pain. Our products smell wonderful—we used apple. You rub it on and it feels good, then you smell apple, and it makes you feel like you smell great.”
It was Carey’s first trade show with the new line and by Sunday, she said she was pleased with the response from industry members and the public—as did all of the exhibitors CBD Today talked to.
Exhibit Supply Company sponsored the “paperless” show guide kiosk at the show’s entrance. In an effort to lessen paper waste, the kiosk featured a digital show guide; attendees were encouraged to take photos of the screen with their camera, then use that to navigate the show floor. This concept kept the show hall visibly free of waste paper, with most promotional materials going straight into attendees’ goodie bags.
Exhibit Supply Co. sales rep Matt Carabello manned the booth, which offered a wide selection of trade show display materials and enclosures, including digital options, special media packages, and deals for exhibitors.
CBD entrepreneur and marketing ninja Alain Yen and his wife/business partner showed their WEEDABOMB Luxurweed® line of CBD-infused lifestyle products. Products like BALANCEAGUA® CBD Water, Cocoa CANNEL® CBD Chocolate, DIOP® CBD pre-rolls, and BALMPAIN® CBD Balm—well, you designer label lovers get the idea. Slick black-and-white packaging finishes the look. Yen said their next product will be CBD-infused gummies, called “Jimmy Choos®.”
WeCanna Hemp brought hemp plants and its top-shelf hemp dried flower, which drew the attention of many who had never seen actual live hemp plants. Because hemp does not contain more than trace amounts of THC, the psychoactive cannabinoid in cannabis, the plants could be legally displayed.
WeCanna Marketing Director Dustin proudly showed the flower and noted the company’s Oregon-based team of veteran growers have years of cannabis-specific knowledge that they now bring to hemp. Besides curated crop cultivation and boutique strains, the company also produces CBD extracts.
Los Angeles-based Hybrid CBD impressed with its display of disposable vape pens and tinctures. Hybrid Marketing Director Jonathan Kim pointed out Hybrid also produces white labels, extracts, and other wholesale products, in addition to their retail brand. Kim said show traffic had been very busy for their booth, located near the middle of the floor.
From Arizona, Kamba Wellness offered opportunities for attendees interested in distribution and affiliate sales, to market the company’s branded line of tinctures, skincare, and pet treat items. Kamba sales rep Luis Figueroa said, “We were in San Diego and San Jose for shows, and so far, this one has really been good. Great weather—we had dinner in Pasadena last night and it was just perfect.”
At the ELVTD [Elevated Living] CBD booth, General Manager of Sales Ali Sheikhan touted the company’s branded lines of CBD-infused tinctures, pet tinctures, as well as bath and body products. He also featured full spectrum ELVTD CBG Oil.
Cannabis-derived plant compound cannabigerol, or CBG, is one of the more than 200 cannabinoids that can be extracted from cannabis and hemp. Little known CBG, sometimes referred to as the “mother cannabinoid,” is a chemical precursor to both CBD and THC. Sheikhan explained that if CBG can be captured early in the plant’s growth cycle, then the cannabinoid yields full-spectrum effects, without using additional cannabinoids, terpenes, or other compounds.
“All of our sales staff is trained in CBD and CBG with online courses,” he remarked. “So, we’re not just making this up or making claims without being educated.” Sheikhan said the team plans on doing around twenty trade shows this year.
His comment highlighted how important continuing education is for consumers in the fast moving, quickly emerging, potentially booming CBD markets.
CalyFx’s Brandon Ponce said, “We are really doing a lot of education. There are so many products, so much information, and most people seem to be trying to figure out what will work for them.
“They want to know if they should vape it,” Ponce described. “A lot of people are also here looking for a family member; like, their mom is on painkillers and they want to try something natural.”
CalyFx showed its CBD vape product line, which includes battery kits, and mood-matching oil cartridges in Sleep, Endurance, Relief, Sex, Social, and the Shape Vape [appetite-suppressing].
The World CBD Expo also offered a full-track of twenty-three expert speakers. Colorado-based Freed Wellness was the show’s gold sponsor.
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