Amazon enters the UK CBD retail market

Global online retail giant, Amazon, is entering the market for CBD with the very first products now on sale as part of a «pilot» program aimed solely at UK customers.

Until now, Amazon has cautiously avoided CBD, as when it withdrew in 2018 all CBD products on its German platform.

In a statement to BusinessCann, Amazon summed up its position on CBD: «We're always looking to increase the selection we offer our customers and help them find and buy any product online.»

However, the experiment is limited to a dozen or so retailers, as shown by the following examples visit guidelines of the platform :

«The listing and sale of hemp products, including lozenges, e-liquids, sprays and oils containing CBD or other cannabinoids are prohibited on Amazon.co.uk, except for sellers participating in an invitation-only pilot program. This pilot applies only to products listed on Amazon.co.uk and is not available on other Amazon websites. The pilot is not accepting additional sellers at this time.»

The lucky winners include :

• Naturopathica
• Four Five CBD
• Preston Natures Aid
• Vitality CBD
• Weider
• Green Stem
• Skin Republic
• Tower Health, Nottingham
• Healthspan

Amazon also lists ingestible products made from hemp seed oil, with no significant traces of cannabinoids.

Why did you choose the UK for this pilot program?

The United Kingdom recently to regulate its CBD market industry to meet quality and safety standards. submit Novel Food applications for products placed on the market. As Novel Food is a European regulation, the UK will also «Brexite» from this standard when it leaves the European Union.

The UK's food regulator, the Food Standards Agency, declared that he considered CBD to be a dietary supplement and sought to establish a well-regulated CBD sector. It will confirm its rules on new edibles by April 1, 2021.