With CBD continuing its bullish charge in popularity, the interest in the brands behind the success has become even more important to explore. The UK is one of the most enthusiastic consumers of CBD, with the value of the market continuing to exceed expectations. Below, we hear from Phillip Glyn, one of the founders of UK CBD oil producer Vitality CBD, and take a look into what has made them one of the standout brands in an expanding industry.
Who is Phillip Glyn?
Phillip Glyn is a serial entrepreneur who has over two decades of retail experience, primarily in the independent convenience sector. The most successful among these ventures was the launch of electronic cigarettes in 2010, which sowed the seeds of Vitality CBD’s eventual founding:
“This is where I met my now business partner, Nikhil Nathwani, who at the time owned the number one vaping brand in the UK, called Nicolites and Vivid,” Phillip explained.
“We successfully distributed his brands to 10,000 independent retailers across the UK. Nikhil went on to dominate the national multiples with these brands, which were later acquired by Philip Morris International.”
“Despite having a traditional supplier-customer relationship, our relationship flourished, and we decided to partner together on our next venture, which turned out to be the birth of Vitality CBD.”
Founding Vitality CBD
Phillip Glyn and his associates noticed an opportunity with an emerging market, much like the beginnings of their successful e-cigarette venture. However, instead of smoking alternatives and nicotine replacement therapy, the opportunity was in a natural, alternative health supplement known as CBD.
“We saw the rise in popularity of CBD back in 2017 when it was first established and sold in independent health food and vape stores nationwide. We looked at the products on offer and saw that many of them were substandard professionally.”
Phillip added, “They also lacked the transparency and traceability needed to create a trusted wellness brand on the high street. We then spent the next 6–8 months developing a wide portfolio of products that targeted the broadest possible customer base.”
Success for Vitality CBD came quickly following this vision for a trustworthy, effective product.
“Due to the credibility of the brand and our successful history in launching brands and new categories in national high street retailers, we found the likes of Boots, Tesco and Lloyds quickly listing Vitality CBD, making us the most visible CBD brand on the high street.”
Vitality CBD today
Vitality CBD stands alone as the only CBD brand in the UK that can be found in over 4,000 different stores, including both large corporate and independent retailers. However, simply being stocked in stores is only the first part of Vitality CBD’s thorough retail strategy.
To further the trust this builds with prospective CBD users, Vitality CBD has a comprehensive approach to customer support as Phillip explains:
“In addition to having one of the broadest and most efficacious CBD product ranges on the market, which consumers up and down the country continue to buy on a monthly basis, Vitality CBD attempted to revolutionize the approach to retail support and developed a series of industry-leading pre-made point of sale packages.
“Retailers who choose to stock Vitality CBD are offered support including comprehensive staff training, wall units, CDUs, “try-before-you-buy” sampling stations and bespoke branding to match each of their needs.”
“Each and every stockist is visited by our in-house sales team and an extensive, fully customisable retail solution is developed. Every Vitality CBD retailer benefits from a fully curated solution, combined with extensive training, support and aftercare – this is unique in the marketplace.”
2021 Partnership with Yooma Wellness Inc
The results of Vitality CBDs progress were realised in 2021 when Canadian wellness platform, Yooma, purchased the brand and the company. Phillip and Nikhil however, will remain in control of the business and Vitality CBD will be run in the same way it has since 2017.
The inclusion into Yooma’s vertically integrated platform (which already includes other CBD brands) and potential use of their established sales channels promise to increase the potential of Vitality CBD even further.
What makes CBD different from other wellness trends?
CBD has certainly stood the test of time when compared to some of the brief wellness trends of the past. Moreover, CBD’s popularity does not seem to be isolated to a limited number of regions and is rising in popularity across the globe.
According to recent reports, the CBD market eclipsed the combined value of both Vitamin C and Vitamin D combined in the UK in 2019. Indeed, in May 2021, the CBD market in the Uk was worth an impressive £690m, far in excess of its predicted value of £526m.
This success story is mirrored in North America, with the UK CBD market being second in value only to the USA’s massive $7bn valuation.
What does the future hold for CBD?
CBD, while popular and gaining more users every day, still faces a great deal of challenges in the near future. One such challenge is regulation; CBD is still quite unregulated in even its most popular markets.
The problem with this is that without more concise regulation, customers cannot be guaranteed a safe, effective product unless they buy from proven brands or retailers. However, even then, mainstream retailers may be selling CBD products that don’t meet the standards expected of customers.
The position in the UK is improving though, with the Food Standards Agency requiring CBD brands to submit a dossier clarifying the contents of their products.
According to FSA CEO, Emily Miles: “The CBD industry must provide more information about the safety and contents of these products to the regulator before 31 March 2021, or the products will be taken off the shelves.”
Vitality CBD was one of the first to submit their FSA dossier and Phillip Glyn reflects the sentiments of the FSA CEO: “It is important for our trade customers and consumers alike, to know that Vitality CBD, together with our raw ingredient provider, are one of the first in the UK CBD industry to submit a Novel Food dossier, and are therefore leading the way in future compliance and regulation.”
The public faith in CBD products is certainly the main reason behind its success. As it moves further into the mainstream with improved regulation, the situation looks set to improve. Vitality CBD looks set to be a major part in CBD’s surge, and with a partnership with a successful international wellness brand, the future could be more exciting than first anticipated.
