The eCommerce Experts at Virtina Can Help You Start a Successful CBD Business Online
The CBD market could potentially touch $1.91 billion by 2022. Analysts estimate the U.S. market for CBD beverages alone will reach $260 million by 2022. CBD is the next gold rush; this is the place to set up an eCommerce store. The annual revenue of CBD businesses could top $22 billion by 2022.
The online CBD market is a bit chaotic. Finding a suitable eCommerce platform, figuring out logistics and the correct payment solutions is not easy. However, our experts can diligently help you navigate the tricky legalities that govern CBD products' online sales.
Federal Law around CBD
Each state in the US is dealing with the CBD industry in its own way. The presence of CBD components in F&B products has made the FDA scrutinize the booming Cannabis industry. Deciding which derivatives to ban and which ones to approve is being evaluated by the FDA experts. The FDA seeks to implement a model that protects public health and doesn't play with consumers' well-being.
CBD products are regulated for THC to be eligible for sale. The 2018 Farm Bill removed hemp from the list of controlled substances. This then opened the doors for many hemp-derived products. This bill's passage made CBD legal in all 50 states, which then ushered in a flood of hemp-related businesses. Here's everything you need to comply with to be able to sell CBD products online.
- Limit the THC in your CBD products to under 0.3%; anything beyond that is illegal
- FDA research should be able to confirm any health claims
- Wholesalers should ensure that their supplier is a licensed cultivator
- Sellers must ensure that the CBD products are free from contaminants
- Avoid vague and misleading terms like “treat” “cure,” and “prevent” while advertising
- Either test the product yourself or send it to external labs for extensive analysis
- Suppliers must grow their hemp in a clean environment and avoid low-grade CBD
- Suppliers must follow the best CBD practices and provide a Certificate of Analysis (COA)
Why Choose Virtina for your CBD Store?
The uncertainty around CBD business has led to many platforms, payment processors, etc., demanding that all CBD and hemp-based companies re-evaluate their CBD inventory. Else, CBD merchants would have to remove all such products. To avoid any litigation, or permanent shutdown most CBD merchants cooperate immediately. A lot of it has to do with not knowing where and how to set up a CBD eCommerce store. With Virtina, you won’t need to worry about your CBD store getting taken down!
Virtina is familiar with the ins and out of starting and growing your CBD business online. Our expertise and vast familiarity with the regulations and policies around such high-risk industries make us the leading eCommerce development company to help you start a CBD Store. Our experts can guide, assist and inform you about the little details of creating or optimizing a CBD store.- Strategy and planning around your CBD brand
- Advanced wireframing and prototyping
- Help with integrating correct payment solutions
- Help with automating various backend process
- Make your pre-existing CBD store responsive
- Performance optimization of your CBD business
- Exhaustive roadmap of your CBD business
- Stunning and aesthetic CBD based themes
- Manage the SEO requirements of your CBD store
- Security testing and vulnerability scanning
- Create or customize plugins and extensions
- Maintenance and support of your CBD site
The eCommerce experts at Virtina are certified, highly-skilled, and knowledgeable about an eCommerce business's various facets. Our developers, designers, analysts, consultants, and managers have extensive know-how about the CBD industry. Thus, the CBD website we create for your brand will abide by all the industry standards, regulations, policies, and protocols. Our team will integrate the best features and functionalities for your CBD website while complying with the rules and regulations.
Virtina Helps You to Overcome the Challenges of Setting Up a CBD Store!
CBD store owners may want to sell CBD Edibles, CBD Tinctures, CBD Capsules, or CBD Topicals. Regardless of the CBD products you wish to sell, you need to first navigate all the challenges that emerge while starting a CBD business online. For instance, Banks and Insurance Companies refuse to associate with CBD businesses. Many banking companies are quick to cut ties with any CBD company if it jeopardizes their operations in any way. Investment and finding capital is a significant hurdle for all CBD brands. Most CBD businesses risk abrupt closures and termination because their funding gets cut off.
Fortunately, the certified eCommerce professionals at Virtina will help you navigate many hurdles. Trust us to launch your CBD business online on time.
Payment Gateways
Regular payment processors like PayPal, Stripe, Square, etc., won’t work in this domain. They are not willing to take the risk with a complicated and sensitive business. However, specific high-risk payment gateways like Zodaka, PayKings, goEmerchant, etc., permit CBD transactions. Certain payment solutions deduct a hefty amount for every transaction, due to which small CBD businesses are unable to cope. Fortunately, Virtina can help you pick the right payment solution. Our selection of payment gateways will charge a fair rate for their services, with no chargebacks, and maintain a highly secure encryption channel. Thus, merchants grow their business, ease the payment processing, protect their transactions and sustain their revenue stream.
eCommerce Platforms
Not all eCommerce platforms will let you trade in Cannabis derivatives. Big brands like Wix, SquareSpace, Shopify, BigCommerce are preventing many store owners from selling any CBD related products. Hence, your store will be Shutdown. Merchants need a proper strategy and analysis; before choosing a suitable platform, hosting company, and other resources. Virtina will help you set up your online CBD store. Our experts will help create a store on a platform that is more lenient with CBD laws. We'll help you choose the best platform. Our experts will pick a platform that streamlines your business activities, offers the lowest processing fees, gives dependable shipping/payment options, SEO functions, tech support, and does not bring the risk of getting your business closed down.
Shipping and Logistics
Most shipping providers are not willing to accept, handle or transport CBD-based consignments. Most 3rd Party Logistics Providers are too distrustful of the CBD business. Furthermore, no brand wants to get caught up in “Misuse of Drugs” at the very onset of their business venture. DHL and FedEx currently have this on their banned substance list, but Eurosender, USPS, and UPS don’t have any objections so far. Every brand that wants to get into the CBD business will need to be Farm Bill compliant, holding a valid license from the Department of Agriculture, follow specific shipping rules and have a Certificate of Analysis to prove the extent of THC (<0.3%) in your product. Virtina can help you select the right shipping partner.
Marketing Campaigns
Due to legal constraints, you cannot sell CBD through traditional means. Google Ads will not allow any CBD content, and so won't Facebook. Most likely, these platforms will take the ads down as soon as the campaign goes live. In such a scenario, you won't see any PPC ads. Thus, your company cannot gain any visitors from these sources. A significant drawback of this industry is how it restricts your SEO work to more or less your website. Facebook prohibits any CBD centric product, which will cut your social media as well. You may have to invest in Inbound Marketing, Content Commerce, multimedia, YouTube videos, Instagram, influencers, backlink content, etc., to promote, advocate and further your reach. Virtina can help you implement the same.
Benefits of Selling CBD Online
Despite all the regulatory issues, you stand to gain many benefits by running your CBD shop online. Running a CBD website will further your brand, maximize its visibility, capture more territories, and acquire more orders. Aside from this, let’s explore a few other advantages listed below.
Search Engine Optimization
Use the power of SEO and rank your CBD website higher for the relevant searches happening on different search engines. Integrate high volume keywords into relevant, informative, and engaging content to improve the SEO strength of your site. Boost Growth, increase sales, generate awareness, build trust, and drive more traffic to your site. SEO is the most affordable and effective way to gain customers and bypass competition. SEO optimizes your CBD store and enhances your CTR, conversions, and lowers bounce rates.
Email Marketing
Strategic emails dispatched from time to time will elevate the traffic to your CBD store. Email Marketing is one of the most impactful tactics to lure buyers. Consumers visit their inbox daily, which is why email campaigns are so useful. CBD merchants can use email marketing to send out personalized recommendations, promotions, and offers. Store owners can even update users about new products, deals, product reviews, rewards, seasonal offer announcements, etc., to increase the traffic to their site.
Affiliate Marketing
Word of mouth from a reliable source works wonders for a CBD brand. Use credible, trustworthy, and popular influencers to push your brand forward. You get to up the engagement, penetrate new territories, and gain more buyers. Get others to promote the brand for you and turn it into an affiliate program. Run incentives for every order acquired by influencers. Users spread the word and create more buzz around your brand. In the long run, it reduces your spending on marketing.
Customer Service
Being online means, you’ll be able to address customer grievances with ease. Issues and queries are quite common in the CBD business. As such, you must place someone to engage and respond to issues. Round the clock assistance on your CBD site will help to address concerns promptly. The instant resolution also motivates the user to return, which elevates the customer lifetime value. CBD merchants can even employ an AI bot that uses natural language processing algorithms to interact with users.
Content Commerce
Engaging, refreshing, and informative content assists your marketing campaigns and entices customers to revisit your CBD store. Create a content repository of industry trends and latest developments. Fact-check and proofread your content thoroughly. Turn your website into a reliable source for everything about the CBD industry. Reliable content further elevates the credibility of your brand. Publish PDFs, blogs, case studies, PPTs, and so much more.
Automation
Instead of manually processing back-end tasks, shift all the heavy load to software that will simplify your work. Use CRM, ERP, CPQ, and other applications to ease the workload, improve visibility, increase accuracy and reduce errors. Streamline all the manual work. Don't rely on legacy systems. Use cloud-based automation systems to help speed-up fulfillment and give your customers accurate and timely information about their orders.
Case Study
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Sell CBD Online - Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Can you legally sell CBD online?
Yes, companies that obey the 2018 Farm Bill can sell their CBD products anywhere in the USA. The 2018 version of the Farm Bill states that any company that wants to do business in hemp; must keep their products below the acceptable THC levels (<0.3%).
Is it a problem shipping CBD Online?
Not if you follow the 2014 Farm bill and the above updated 2018 Farm Bill. In which case, you’ll be able to source and ship CBD products from the licensed farms to every state in the USA - no restrictions whatsoever.
Can CBD be sold on marketplaces?
No, it is currently banned. If your business is a seller of any of the wide range of CBD products on their portals, expect to get a shutdown notice. Both Amazon and eBay are strict and expect sellers to adhere to their policies.
Can you buy CBD online?
Yes, CBD can be legally purchased online; from any of the well-known brands – if it is derived from industrial hemp and not marijuana.
Can Virtina help to set up a unique CBD store?
Yes, we can. The eCommerce experts, analysts, and consultants in Virtina can help you navigate the complex and confusing online CBD sales landscape to craft a stunning and frictionless CBD store for your loyal customers. We will recommend the best platform, integrations, payment solutions, etc., that are apt for your CBD eCommerce store.
How long will it take to create a CBD store?
The time it takes will depend on the overall size of your CBD business. The number of customers, inventory, and many such factors will determine the number of hours. We cannot give you an exact estimate, but we can assure you that our project milestones and time-efficient processes will finish the CBD project at the earliest.
Disclaimer: The statements made regarding these products have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. The efficacy of these products has not been confirmed by FDA-approved research. These products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease. All information presented here is not meant as a substitute for or alternative to information from health care practitioners. Please consult your health care professional about potential interactions or other possible complications before using any product. The Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act requires this notice.
Start a CBD Store With Us!
If you are facing problems starting a CBD business online, just reach out to us and our experts will help you launch a powerful CBD website.
