Canabidol Review
Canabidol are one of the most long-standing UK CBD brands, launching in 2015 and operating from a small industrial unit in Berkshire. Five years on, they’ve become one of the biggest names on the UK CBD market, developing a range of trusted CBD oil products and supplements. But how do they compare to other UK brands? We’ve conducted interviews, research and product testing to provide a comprehensive account of this major CBD company.
YES:
✅ Direct manufacturer
✅ Lab test results available
✅ Own farm
✅ Trade Associations member
✅ Lab test results available
NO:
❌Single hemp strain
❌No organic certification
Canabidol Review: Assessment Points
In this profile, we take a look at some of the most important points to be aware of when choosing a CBD brand. They cover a range of factors, relating to safety and accuracy, looking at how the hemp is farmed and how the CBD (cannabidiol) products are created. The manufacturing aspects of a CBD company are extremely important when it comes to ensuring the items available are both high-quality and safe.
White label or direct manufacturer
Canabidol are a direct manufacturer. They source their hemp from a network of farms across Europe, including their own farm in Portugal, and create and develop their CBD products in their UK-based facilities. This is highly preferable to white label CBD businesses, who simply stick their label on products made by outside companies.
ISO certified
ISO certification refers to the quality standards of the manufacturing facility or laboratory used to create CBD products. Canabidol tell us that they’re in the process of working towards ISO 9001: 2015 certification. It’s not fully complete as yet, but they’re around 50-75% of the way through the process.
Organic
When it comes to hemp, organic farming is preferred as it reduces the risk of contaminants being introduced to the end product. Canabidol told us they use a network of farms across Europe, and while some are organic certified, others are currently in the process of obtaining certification. This means that at the moment organic certification is not currently provided for their end products. However, they do state that all their hemp has been naturally grown, is certified free of pesticides and heavy metals, and is grown to organic standards.
Same strain of hemp
Again, due to their use of a network of farms for their hemp supplies Canabidol do not rely solely on one specific strain. However, while one strain can offer reliability and predictability, the use of various strains can lead to the beneficial ‘entourage effect’, whereby the overall strength of the terpenes, cannabinoids and compounds found in the hemp plant are boosted by the use of multiple strains. Canabidol point out that currently they predominantly use three major strains of sativa L. plants, as well as experimenting with a variety of legal cannabis strains for future innovations.
Ingredients
Canabidol have a vast array of products on their site, and we were pleased by the ingredients used across the range. The CBD oil drops are made with 100% cannabis, with cold-pressed oils produced from hemp seeds, making them suitable for vegan and vegetarian users. Similarly, their CBD vape liquids are made with just three ingredients: vegetable glycerine, propylene glycol and CBD isolate, with no other added ingredients. The CBD capsules are made from vegetable cellulose, again making them suitable for vegans and vegetarians. The only non-vegan-friendly product we can find are the CBD cacao-tabs, which are made with cocoa butter and milk products.
Lab tests
Every item in their online shop section links to comprehensive lab results and batch testing information, showing how much CBD is in the product. However, rather than hosting the certificates on their website, it takes you to the britishcannabis.org compliance site where you’re asked to input the batch number for the item. Considering most other CBD sites have links direct to the specific lab test results, this is an unwieldy and cumbersome method. Plus, it isn’t clear what the batch number is for each product meaning we had difficulty finding the specific lab results for individual items. While we don’t doubt that Canabidol products have gone through stringent testing, it shouldn’t take so much added work to view them. On the other hand, it does mean the results are available without any risk of them being falsified.
Communication
Canabidol gave detailed and honest responses to our questions and, in the main, respond quickly with detailed responses to customer questions, while sticking to the MHRA guidelines. The website is packed with useful information, and they have a solid social media presence, with the focus largely on Facebook.
Customer Feedback
One of the key aspects about a CBD business is whether they have a satisfied customer base. Canabidol do well on this point. They have an excellent rating of 4.8 out of 5 on Trustpilot, from a few hundred customers, as well as nearly five thousand followers on Facebook. From these figures alone we can see that the vast majority of Canabidol customers are very happy with their services.
Canabidol Products Review
Product Range – Canabidol have a huge range of products, including some that you’re unlikely to find anywhere else. This includes standard options such as oil drops, vape liquid and capsules, as well as variations on these such as cacoa-tabs (chocolate flavoured, for a more appealing taste) and gel tabs. Rather than CBD balm, they sell ‘rescue cream’, which works in a similar way but with an aqua base for increased absorption.
Practically all these items come in different strengths, which is a great option for the consumer, although some might find the sheer range of choice a touch overwhelming. Interestingly, they also stock two types CBD-infused support tea, flavoured with real cannabis terpenes, one focused on the immune system and the other supporting a healthy heart. Similarly, there are four bottles of oral CBD suspension to choose from, these are said to help the heart, immune system, promote relaxation or help muscle function and the maintenance of bones.
They don’t sell CBD gummies, although the cacao-tabs they offer provide the same benefits. Their slow-release oral capsules are also worth mentioning, containing added vitamins and minerals for round-the-clock benefits.
*Products & prices were accurate at time of writing. These lists are updated quarterly & CBD Shopy is not responsible for any price changes not reflected accurately.
Product Prices – Canabidol charge a fair price for their products, though other brands can work out cheaper. To take an example, a 10ml bottle of 250mg CBD oil drops from Canabidol costs £19.99, while a 10ml bottle of 400mg CBD oil from Love CBD costs £25.99. The difference in price isn’t huge, but it can add up. Similarly, the more expensive option, a 10ml bottle of 1000mg CBD oil drops from Canabidol costs £69.99, while the same size bottle and CBD content from CBD Life is just £49.95.
However, Canabidol CBD products have benefits that might sway your decision. They have different forward-thinking products, developed by their in-house team, such as gel-tabs, teas and aqua-based rescue cream, and use high-quality hemp from their own farm in Portugal (among others) that are limited to three high-quality strains. The quality of Canabidol products is extremely high and some consumers may prefer to pay the extra for this peace of mind.
Product Packaging – The packaging used for all Canabidol products is clear and simple, with all the relevant information (such as CBD content) displayed on both the product itself, and the cardboard packaging. They offer a professional-looking respectable range of items, that doesn’t play up the cannabis-imagery for cheap publicity.
The high-quality of Canabidol’s products have earned them a spot on our top CBD products lists.
Canabidol Website Review
Content – Canabidol’s website is comprehensive and detailed, with each product listing containing a wealth of information about the item, including a full list of ingredients (including amount of cannabinoids) and all other relevant information, such as how it should be used. However, as stated above the lab testing links go to an external site which requests that the customer manually inputs the batch number - this means it takes a little more time to access them, but has the benefit of presenting the results without any risk of them being falsified. As well as this, the Canabidol site is excellent, with an in-depth and well-written ‘education’ section which answers the most common questions about CBD.
Tone – The content of Canabidol’s site is clear and clearly shows a breadth of knowledge. Which is as you’d expect from a company that are pushing the boundaries of the CBD industry, by developing a range of advanced products. Their tone of voice caters for everyone, from CBD experts to new customers who are making their steps in the world of CBD.
Offers – Canabidol have a newsletter for customers to sign up to which contains offers and information about their products, plus they have occasional competitions on their Facebook account for their followers to win an impressive selection of CBD-based prizes.
Canabidol Company Background
Who are Canabidol? – Formed in 2015, Canabidol are based in Berkshire, England. They state their goal is to “bring unmatched provenance, compliance and transparency into the UK CBD industry” and say they are “the only company nationally that exclusively owns and operates multiple sites covering the complete supply chain.” This includes a licensed European cannabis farm, along with UK-based extraction, purification and manufacturing facilities.
Trade bodies – They’re a member of the Cannabis Trades Association (CTA), a trade association that works with the UK government on establishing good practice when it comes to legal cannabis and hemp products in the UK.
USP – We asked Canabidol what separates their brand from the hundreds of other CBD companies on the market. They replied, “We produce from seed to shelf - all of our development, production, dispatch and support is UK based.” Clearly, Canabidol are in it for the long haul - this is not a case of a smash and grab company looking to capitalise on CBD’s recent soaring success, this is a company committed to taking the CBD industry forward.
CBD Shopy Conclusion
It’s clear why Canabidol are one of the UK’s leading CBD companies. They’re a professional, forward-thinking business with a strong focus on developing new CBD products for the UK market, and have a range of innovative products such as gel-tabs, aqua-based CBD cream, cacao-tabs and CBD teas that focus on specific aspects of the human mind and body, and much more besides.
The prices aren’t the cheapest, but they’re certainly not at the high end, particularly when compared to the costly products available on the high street. Plus, there’s a price to pay for innovation. The development costs for some of the advanced products can justify this, plus they have a clear dedication to formulating new products that aim to push the UK CBD industry forwards. And it’s this where Canabidol shines - they have an impressive range of products, many of which you’d struggle to find anywhere else.
More importantly, their production techniques are among the best we’ve looked at. They own their own farm in Portugal, showing their commitment to the study and manufacture of hemp and CBD, and all other facilities are based in the UK, which should appeal to those keen to support the national economy. These facilities aren’t yet ISO certified but this looks only to be a matter of time.
The website is comprehensive, full of everything that you could want to know about their products, whether you’re an experienced CBD user or brand new. The process of finding the lab results is something of a convoluted method, but does give added certainty about the accuracy of their claims. Their communication is good - they gave detailed answers to our questions, and their online presence is friendly, helpful and clearly keen to help out people new to CBD.
Overall, Canabidol are a solid option for those looking for innovative CBD products, produced to a very high quality. Their customers are happy with their products and services, across the board, and this is a clear indication of a UK CBD company who are worth purchasing from.
