The recent outbreak of the Coronavirus or COVID-19 has had a far-reaching impact on global economies. The fear of this looming threat has left many businesses across multiple industries to take precautionary measures to ensure the safety of their employees. This includes companies that are operating within the hemp industry as well. But, hemp brands of all stripes—including hemp oil/CBD brands—are reportedly seeing a rise in sales of hemp and hemp-derived products.
While the outbreak of this pandemic has resulted in many people “panic shopping” for everything from canned foods and hand sanitizers, to, yes, toilet paper. It seems like the hemp oil/CBD industry is experiencing the same retail patterns by customers who are making sure they’re able to get their favorite hemp oil/CBD product(s) of choice before supplies runs out.
Take successful product retailer Gnome Serum, for example. The upstate New York full spectrum hemp oil/CBD company is experiencing explosive online shopping growth, according to Founder and CEO, Greg Kerber, to the tune of 175% increased digital sales month-over-month between February and March 2020. “What’s been most interesting to me, as the warnings of COVID-19/Coronavirus became more evident to the general public, consumers started buying multiple products in much larger quantities, not unlike what one is seeing in grocery stores. Our average order in March alone is up more than two-and-a-half times our usual; so, if a customer was used to buying one item, now they’re buying three of the same item.”
Since the COVID-19/Coronavirus outbreak, there’s been a tremendous surge in hemp sales, which is partly fueled by the panic shopping of many customers, but also because of the possible slowing down of products being imported from China.
But, as successful as online sales seem to be going for hemp oil/CBD product retailers, there remain possible dangers ahead. One of the more serious concerns of those businesses operating in the hemp and hemp oil/CBD industries is the possibility of supply chain disruption. While the US hemp industry, by and large, is thought of in terms of the product being grown, harvested, and processed within the US, that’s not always the case. In fact, much of the hemp products that are found in stores come from China. This is mainly because China is a low-cost producer of hemp, among, of course, many other things.
US hemp brands rely deeply on China to either get the finished product or the raw materials (aka; hemp) to run their businesses. Since the COVID-19/Coronavirus outbreak, there’s been a tremendous surge in hemp sales, which is partly fueled by the panic shopping of many customers, but also because of the possible slowing down of products being imported from China. But, the good news is, while China is going through an emergency situation right now, there are many other options where businesses operating within the hemp industry can get a hold of products, such as Canada and the EU.
We’ve already seen it in Italy, France, Spain, and parts of the US. The potential for quarantines and lockdowns is extremely high, and now the US federal government is (correctly) urging people to stay indoors to stop the spread of Covid-19/Coronavirus. This is also another reason for the spike in sales of hemp and hemp-based products in the US. While some people might be able to get their preferred hemp-derived products delivered to their home by using one of the many delivery services, it’s possible that the vast majority of frequent hemp users might not have access to these products in the coming months, which is why many hemp product enthusiasts and those who use hemp products for its medicinal benefits are looking to get their hands on the products they use before it’s too late.
All this, coupled with the idea many consumers seem to have that some hemp-derived products are effective in handling their stress and boosting their immune system, is another reason why hemp and hemp-derived products are flying off the shelves with the outbreak of COVID-19/Coronavirus.