If you’re new to CBD and don’t know where to start or simply want to add to your collection, here are two brands you should definitely know about and the reasons why.
ZenBears
ZenBears claims to be the creator of the UK’s best-rated CBD gummies, and if you check out its website it looks like it has the customer reviews to prove it. One writes: “I take a bear before bedtime and wake up feeling more rested than I have done in years.”
With each vegan-friendly, THC-free ZenBear pharmaceutically coated with 20mg of broad-spectrum CBD, which is extracted from hemp grown using organic farming practices in Oregon, US, and manufactured in the UK, they’re certainly not your average bear.
Launched in 2019 by British-born entrepreneur Luke Langefied, ZenBears was founded with the simple goal of creating an easy, fun and tasty way for consumers to ingest CBD on the go. We caught up with them to find out how they’ve turned that goal into a reality…
Why did you decide to create ZenBears?
Luke said: “At the time there were only a handful of CBD gummies on the UK market, none were manufactured in the UK, none had lab reports available. So, we set out to create a truly effective, high-quality CBD gummy.”
How did you first discover CBD?
“A good friend of mine’s wife used CBD to help manage Lyme disease. She was actually recently interviewed by the Daily Mail. CBD is an exceptional compound with a wide range of evidence-based wellness benefits. Mindfulness, in particular, is a scientifically proven, holistic technique for supporting mental health and wellbeing. We donate 20p of every purchase to the cause to support the work of the Oxford Mindfulness Centre.”
What makes ZenBears different?
“Our CBD gummies are pharmaceutically coated with CBD instead of infused, so as you chew and suck on the gummies, the CBD dissolves and is absorbed in the mouth, giving you a similar bioavailability to that of CBD oil drops.
“Our product is vegan-friendly, THC-free and environmentally friendly, coming in recyclable glass jars.
“Third-party lab reports examining the cannabinoid content of ZenBears are also available by batch number directly on our website for our consumers.”
Do you have plans to expand your range?
“At this moment in time, we only have our hit flagship product available to customers. Thanks to our many five-star customer reviews, retailers have been approaching us in droves though and we are now available in nine new stores across the UK.”
Silly Goose Coffee
Behind every Silly Goose, coffee that is, you’ll find four friends, two of which are from advertising and brand backgrounds, one from finance and an engineer, who teamed up to create the latest CBD brand that we’re excited about. Bringing together our two loves, caffeine and CBD, Silly Goose Coffee is about much more than decaf and espressos. This great coffee has a great ethos. Joining its range of Nespresso compatible pods, bags of whole beans and ground CBD-infused coffee are a range of equally impressive values.
Why did you decide to create Silly Goose Coffee?
Founder Tom Hazledine says: “Aside from being entrepreneurially minded, we all feel strongly that brands should be socially responsible, and we all agree that the world is pretty overwhelming at the moment. So, we wanted to find something where we could be disruptive in a super-positive way, for the planet and for our customers. We have all been using CBD for a while and think it is excellent and poised to really take off. So, we did about a metric ton of reading and threw around some pretty bad ideas, but CBD-infused coffee seemed like an absolutely excellent one.”
What makes it different from your competitors?
“Our mission is to make coffee that has a positive impact on everyone involved, so our customers, our suppliers and partners, and ultimately the planet. We started with sourcing really excellent ethical coffee and ended up developing our own method for infusing CBD that doesn’t impact the flavour but makes sure the CBD makes it to the cup in the levels that we promise the customer.
“We are also working with a pod manufacturer that makes home-compostable and biodegradable pods. That was super-important to us because it’s a big problem for the coffee industry. Even some of the pods that claim to be compostable or biodegradable actually have to be sent to specialist facilities, and aluminium pods have to go back to the original manufacturer, which they normally aren’t. Ours you can actually feed to your garden. We also work with a company called Ecologi who help us plant trees to offset our footprint.”
Why did you choose to incorporate CBD?
“Frankly, because it is marvellous and combining it with coffee is a dream match; it means you never forget to take it, and enhances what we love about coffee, and mitigates what we don’t. We all use it and love it, and the more we read and the deeper we go on it, the more fantastic it gets. It’s going to be a huge growth industry, but more importantly if you are a company looking to have a positive impact on people’s lives, it’s hard to go past CBD.”
Do you have plans to expand your range?
“We are always looking to share the concept with more people. We are talking with cafes and delis about serving on-premises and takeaway retail. We also have a canned cold brew CBD and non-CBD drink range, including a pretty funky sparkling version, as well as organic CBD honey, which is incredible, in the pipeline that we are super excited about.”
