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Thrive Market to pull CBD products

Online grocer says it’s complying with demand from merchant processor

Russell Redman

June 21, 2019

3 Min Read
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Photos: Thrive Market

Online natural and organic grocer Thrive Market plans to stop selling hemp- and cannabidiol (CBD)-based products in response to a request by its merchant processor.

CEO and co-founder Nick Green, who was named one of SN’s Disruptors for 2019, announced the move this week in a letter to customers and employees that was posted on Thrive’s blog.

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“In early June, we received a notice from our merchant processor demanding that we cease the sale of all hemp and CBD products on Thrive Market,” Green wrote in the June 17 letter. “We unfortunately have no choice but to comply, and we'll begin removing our assortment as early as Thursday, June 20.”

A membership-based retailer, Thrive began carrying a full assortment of hemp-based supplements and topical products about 18 months ago, making it the nation’s first national e-commerce retailer to do so, according to Green.

“Our decision was based on our review of the health research on CBD, the input of hundreds of our members and the changing legal landscape that was finally recognizing what hemp farmers, scientists and informed citizens have long known — that hemp is not the same thing as marijuana and that CBD is neither psychoactive nor harmful,” he said in the letter.

The Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018, or the Farm Bill, enacted in December, removed hemp from the list of Schedule I controlled substances, Green noted, adding that only Idaho and South Dakota currently maintain bans against hemp products.

Related:Disruptors 2019: Nick Green of Thrive Market

“Over the last year, our decision to take a leadership position on hemp has been validated over and over,” he said.

Thrive gives an overview of its hemp and CBD offerings on its website. The selection includes oils, extracts, pills, capsules, creams and balms from such brands as Charlotte’s Web and Irwin Naturals as well as a Thrive Market brand.

Under current law, CBD and THC (or tetrahydrocannabinol, the psychoactive compound found in cannabis) can’t be added to a food or marketed as a dietary supplement. However, at the end of May, the Food and Drug Administration held hearings to examine the potential deregulation of CBD from hemp within food and other products and to help clarify existing regulations.

The U.S. hemp-derived CBD market could grow to a $6 billion industry with the legalization of sales of food and beverages containing CBD from hemp, according to Nielsen. The market researcher reported that future CBD consumers may look to CBD-infused food offerings to promote health and wellness, including to enhance focus and relaxation as well as to alleviate certain ailments such as feminine pain, digestive problems and sleep disorders.

Related:Thrive Market debuts line of ‘clean’ wines

“We believe that ethical and sustainable hemp is another cause worth fighting for, so rest assured that we will be working behind the scenes in the coming weeks to get hemp products back on Thrive Market,” Green noted in the letter. “In fact, we're already in conversations with a new processing partner to try to make that happen.”

Los Angeles-based Thrive Market has more than 500,000 members.

About the Author

Russell Redman

Senior Editor
Supermarket News

Russell Redman has served as senior editor at Supermarket News since April 2018, his second tour with the publication. In his current role, he handles daily news coverage for the SN website and contributes news and features for the print magazine, as well as participates in special projects, podcasts and webinars and attends industry events. Russ joined SN from Racher Press Inc.’s Chain Drug Review and Mass Market Retailers magazines, where he served as desk/online editor for more than nine years, covering the food/drug/mass retail sector. 

Russell Redman’s more than 30 years of experience in journalism span a range of editorial manager, editor, reporter/writer and digital roles at a variety of publications and websites covering a breadth of industries, including retailing, pharmacy/health care, IT, digital home, financial technology, financial services, real estate/commercial property, pro audio/video and film. He started his career in 1989 as a local news reporter and editor, covering community news and politics in Long Island, N.Y. His background also includes an earlier stint at Supermarket News as center store editor and then financial editor in the mid-1990s. Russ holds a B.A. in journalism (minor in political science) from Hofstra University, where he also earned a certificate in digital/social media marketing in November 2016.

Russell Redman’s experience:

Supermarket News - Informa
Senior Editor 
April 2018 - present

Chain Drug Review/Mass Market Retailers - Racher Press
Desk/Online Editor 
Sept. 2008 - March 2018

CRN magazine - CMP Media
Managing Editor
May 2000 - June 2007

Bank Systems & Technology - Miller Freeman
Executive Editor/Managing Editor
Dec. 1996 - May 2000

Supermarket News - Fairchild Publications
Financial Editor/Associate Editor
April 1995 - Dec. 1996 

Shopping Centers Today Magazine - ICSC 
Desk Editor/Assistant Editor
Dec. 1992 - April 1995

Testa Communications
Assistant Editor/Contributing Editor (Music & Sound Retailer, Post, Producer, Sound & Communications and DJ Times magazines)
Jan. 1991 - Dec. 1992 

American Banker/Bond Buyer
Copy Editor
Oct. 1990 - Jan. 1991 

This Week newspaper - Chanry Communications
Reporter/Editor
May 1989 - July 1990

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