What makes a successful CBD brand? A good marketing strategy? A well-designed logo? A good quality product? All of these things are important, but sometimes there are less tangible factors at play. Speaking to Tomas Biroscik about his brand, Hemp Point CBD, all of the above boxes get ticked, but it’s perhaps Tomas’ own passion and enthusiasm which delivers the magic ingredient that makes this brand stand out from the crowd.
Hemp Point’s journey starts four years ago, in Germany. Already running a successful food supplement business, Tomas found himself suffering from a serious back problem, leading to surgery. While exercise and movement were going some way to help, he was desperate to find a solution to the pain his injury was causing, without resorting to strong painkillers. Like many founders in the industry, this personal journey led to a lightbulb moment. Inspired by the benefits of CBD, Tomas decided to use the experience and resources of the supplement business to launch his own brand.
While the story to this point is familiar, Tomas has a level of passion that surpasses many founders, something that is evident when asked what sets his CBD brand apart from others. As well as being organic, non-GMO and regularly tested by independent labs, the company is always looking to go that extra mile. “We believe in 100% transparency,” Tomas says, “we’re always on the lookout for the best of the best when it comes to raw materials. We have our own farm in Italy, so we have complete control over the core of our product range. And after that, it’s testing testing testing. We want to give the customer as much information as possible.”
we’re always on the lookout for the best of the best when it comes to raw materials… after that, it’s testing testing testing. We want to give the customer as much information as possible.
Having full control of the product from seed to bottle isn’t as common in the UK as you might think, but it’s clear Tomas isn’t satisfied with just ensuring they have full visibility of the manufacturing from start to finish, he’s also passionate about using this to the advantage of consumers. “It’s my intention to bring something different to the market,” he tells us, “as well as having the best possible products on the market, we want to make our products affordable, we’re always trying to squeeze our margins and improve our process so we are as competitive as possible.”
This passion for quality doesn’t just stop at pricing. Tomas is keen to share the brand’s innovation in extraction too. Like many brands, Hemp Point uses CO2 for extraction, but in a quest for quality, they use a different process from many other CBD companies. He tells us that most brands would use supercritical CO2 extraction, where the CO2 is kept at a liquid state using high pressures and high temperatures, but they opt for a different method. “Everyone goes for supercritical but we use something we call mid-critical. This allows us to extract as many cannabinoids from the plant as possible, while also preserving majority of the terpenes.”
In just a short conversation, it is clear that this isn’t just another CBD brand aiming to make a quick profit, the belief in the hemp plant is evident in not only Tomas’ enthusiasm but in his drive for innovation. Unsurprisingly, he’s excited when asked about the future of the brand: “With the mid-critical CO2 extraction we’ve been working with a specialist from Switzerland to tweak our approach, we’re able to get around 70%-75% of the CBD + CBDa from the plant, but this still wasn’t enough for me, because the terpene profile was not perfect, it could still be better. I really believe in the power of the whole plant, and that includes the terpenes. So this is why we’ve been looking into extraction using different gas called 1,1,1,2-tetrafluoroethane. The extraction is performed at low pressure and room temperatures in order to strip the natural oils from the raw cannabis products in a closed-loop system. This gas is not flammable and, as a gas, is less toxic than carbon dioxide. It is also approved by the European Commission as a solvent for the preparation of human food. The US Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) have granted it “GRAS” status (Generally Regarded As Safe) for the preparation of food flavours and fragrances. In our tests, we were able to extract 75%-80% of the CBD+CBDa, but also extract a much higher terpene profile of 170mg/g. For me, this is something that is really exciting, because it is something that nobody else is doing, and the product is going to be so much better. I can’t wait for everyone to try it.”
Learn more about the brand at hemppointcbd.co.uk
