Watch: Why Now Is the “Perfect Time” For CBD Regulations Overhaul


While both the CBD and cannabis industries have attracted increased attention from consumers, investors and retailers alike, brands within these categories still face a range of unique operational challenges.

Jeremy Goldstein, the COO and co-founder of both CBD brand Caliper Foods and Cannabis company Stillwater Brands, sees the potential for massive growth if the FDA “gets off its hands.”.

Under the current regulatory environment, brands are hamstrung by individual state laws, and, for THC products, only being able to sell in the dispensary channel. The latter has impacted Stillwater in particular, which this month rebranded its entire line under a single sub-brand, Ripple, and discontinued its coffee and tea products due to a lack of consumer interest in purchasing products in these categories at a dispensary.

“We were sort of looking at traditional big brands… [where] you’re going to want a house of brands underneath,” Goldstein said of the company’s start, “What we found out in the dispensary world is that there’s limited shelf space and you’re essentially trying to build trust with consumers more than anything else.”

In this video, Goldstein spoke with NOSH editor Carol Ortenberg about not only how Stillwater has recently evolved but also what he has learned consumers are looking for in their CBD and cannabinoid products and why he believes now is the “perfect time” for the FDA to regulate these industries, despite the Covid-19 pandemic occupying much of its attention.

“We’re kind of at the trough of disillusionment for CBD products. Everybody was excited about what the possibility was,” Goldstein said. “We’re in a difficult economic time as a country, and there’s an ability to generate great tax revenue from this industry and help out farmers and extractors that poured a lot of money into this industry with the anticipation of regulation and then watched prices plummet.”