cbdMD Review + Our Best Rated CBD Brands

This cbdMD review has been medically reviewed by Gavin Van De Walle, MS, RD and was written by the team at CBDStudy, a CBD research publication.

Founded in 2015, cbdMD was the first company to enter the New York Stock Exchange, as well as being the official founding company of National CBD Day. It is now one of the most successful CBD companies on the market today. The brand is popular among many athletes, including MMA fighters, surfers and pro golfers.

CBDStudy’s Top 5 Brands

1. Penguin CBD – EDITOR’S CHOICE (Best CBD Oil Out of 50+ Lab Tests)

2. NuLeaf Naturals

3. Ananda Hemp

4. Lazarus Naturals

5. cbdMD

cbdMD Overview

cbdMD is a member of many credible organizations, including the U.S. Hemp Roundtable and the Natural Products Association. In addition, cbdMD has been Good Manufacturing Practice certified, demonstrating a commitment to strong regulatory compliance for product purity and quality.

The five-year-old brand has something for everyone. If you want a CBD product, there is a good chance cbdMD will have exactly what you are looking for. Choose between different CBD oils, pet products, delicious gummies, topicals, effective sleep aids, capsules and even relaxing bath bombs.

The Good:

• Winner of several awards, which indicates quality and customer satisfaction
• 60-day money-back guarantee
• The non-GMO hemp comes from organic farms that use organic growing methods
• The products are triple-tested by third-party labs to ensure quality
• They are guaranteed to have no detectable THC, great for people who need to pass drug screenings

The Bad:

• The company’s claims about their products are difficult to verify on their website
• From what we can tell, nobody on the board or management has biology or chemistry experience, so we are unclear where the product development is coming from

Who Is cbdMD?

cbdMD is based in Charlotte, North Carolina. Founded in 2015 by digital marketing specialist Caryn Dunayer [1], it has quickly risen in popularity. The company’s board of directors is full of people with backgrounds in business and marketing.

The brand has won various awards that establish its credibility. In early 2020, cbdMD became the first CBD company to win Product of the Year.[2] The product that won was the brand’s CBD PM and CBD freeze topical product.

The Brightfield Group declared it a “brand to watch,” noting that cbdMD was high in customer satisfaction.[3] The awards have been given in various locations and for various products, demonstrating the company’s ability to thrive in all areas, including customer satisfaction!

Their Approach

cbdMD uses a unique extraction process to produce their products. It is exclusive to cbdMD, and utilizes both ethanol and CO₂ methods. We love that there is so much information about their processes available on their website. Many brands have no information about their growing processes and manufacturing processes, so it is always nice to see it so readily available.

The hemp is sourced from U.S. farms that use organic growing methods. The company is heavily involved in every step of the process, and provides regulatory oversight from seed to sale. The soil is monitored regularly so that adjustments can be made to ensure the best hemp possible. They say they triple-test their products to ensure the highest quality. The final product gets sent to a third-party, ISO-certified lab to confirm potency, quality and purity before it goes on sale.

Third-party lab results are easily available for viewing on every page’s product description. With each new batch tested, the company uploads their third-party COAs to the website.

cbdMD: Product Highlights

The brand has an extensive product line and offers options for everyone.

CBD Oils

The oils are straightforward, containing nothing but the CBD, MCT oil used as a carrier oil and natural flavorings. Some people do not like natural flavorings because there isn’t one definition for that term. One company may mean one thing when they say natural flavorings, and another company might mean another thing.

The oils come in 30 mL bottles and have concentrations ranging from 300 milligrams to 7,500 milligrams. You can choose from a variety of flavors, including berry, unflavored, citrus and mint for all concentrations up to 3,000 milligrams. Higher doses only come in the original or berry flavors. The brand also carries larger bottles of CBD. You can purchase a 60 mL bottle with 1,000 and 1,500 milligram concentrations.

Keep in mind that a 30 mL bottle contains 50 milligrams of CBD per dose, while a 60 mL bottle contains 25 milligrams of CBD per dose. The oils start at $29.99 and go up to $339.99.

CBD Capsules

A lot of people prefer capsules over CBD oil because oils can be bitter. In addition, many people don’t want to fuss with measuring out a dose or deal with the messiness of an oil. cbdMD offers vegan capsules, as well as softgels that are not vegan, and both come in various strengths.

The traditional CBD capsules start at $35.99 and go up to $149.99. These are the ones you will want to pick if you are vegan. The capsules come in strengths ranging from 15 milligrams to 50 milligrams per capsule. Most of their strengths come in either a 30-count or 60-count bottle.

The softgels are simply pure CBD and MCT oil, thickened with gelatin. Obviously, the gelatin disqualifies this product from being vegan. They are fast-acting, and come in 30- or 60-count bottles. Like the capsules, they come in strengths ranging from 15 to 50 milligrams per softgel. The softgels are the same price as the capsules, starting at $35.99 and going up to $149.99.

CBD Gummies

Taking gummies is a fantastic (and sweet!) way to get your daily dose of CBD. cbdMD’s gummies are made with all-natural and organic ingredients, and they are infused, rather than coated with CBD. Some CBD companies spray CBD on top of their gummies and call it a day, but the best gummies usually have the CBD infused into the product itself.

The company’s traditional gummies start at $29.99 and go up to $69.99. The gummies come in 10 milligram, 25 milligram and 50 milligram concentrations per gummy. It doesn’t seem like there are options to choose anything other than a 30-count bottle of gummies. The gummies come in a tropical mix of flavors, featuring strawberry, raspberry and orange in every bottle. They are also vegan and gluten-free.

We love that the gummies are easy to navigate. There are choices to be made, but not to the point where it is overwhelming. It is also great that they are vegan, so they can appeal to all kinds of diets.

In addition to the traditional gummies, cbdMD offers their gummy formula with vitamin C included. This product is $69.99 and includes 25 milligrams of CBD in a 30-count bottle. Like all of cbdMD’s products, the gummies are guaranteed to be THC-free.

CBD Topicals

This company has one of the most extensive topical product lines we have seen in the CBD industry. We absolutely love that they have a product that appeals to everyone, and one of them even won an award. We won’t go into the details of every topical product that the company offers, but we will touch on a few of them.

The CBD balms start at $23.99 and go up to $29.99. They are in a stick format, which offers convenience. This body balm features ingredients like shea butter, cocoa butter, sunflower seed oil and castor seed oil. It has 300 milligrams of CBD per stick.

cbdMD has two different lotions, Revive and Recover. Revive is designed primarily for the skin; Recover is intended to relieve sore and achy muscles. Revive has a blend of skin-healthy ingredients like coconut oil, essential oils and aloe vera. It starts at $29.99 and goes up to $99.99, and comes in your choice of 300, 750 or 1,500 milligrams of CBD.

The Recover lotion comes in the same concentration choices and retails for the same price as the Revive lotion. It is available in a tube or a tub, and contains a blend of anti-inflammatory ingredients like arnica montana and vitamin B6.[4]

CBD Pet Products

cbdMD didn’t forget about your pets! CBD for pets has been rising in popularity lately, and many companies are beginning to offer products for your pooch. The brand has amazing diversity in their pet products line, offering topicals, tinctures, treats and even CBD peanut butter.

Their CBD oil is marketed for cats, horses and dogs. It starts at $19.99 and goes up to $239.99. It comes in various flavors depending on the animal you are purchasing for. The brand also carries pet treats in a variety of flavors, and for different purposes. They have both hard and soft treats, which start at $24.99 and go up to $69.99.

Our Lab Findings

In order to give you unbiased and honest results, we always put the company’s claims to the test. That is why each product we review gets sent off to a third-party lab for testing. We sent off a sample of cbdMD’s broad-spectrum formula for testing.

We found that the CBD content is accurate: The results read out at 327 milligrams of CBD. By industry standards, a 10 percent variance between label and lab result is normal. However, we were a little disappointed in the rest of the cannabinoid profile. The only additional cannabinoid that was detected was CBG, and even that was just 6 milligrams. The test detected no CBN or CBC.

Because it is a broad-spectrum formula, there shouldn’t be any THC, so we were glad to see that there was none detected. We definitely feel this cannabinoid profile could be a little more potent and robust, but the CBD content is at least accurate. Plus, you will get some of the benefit of the entourage effect with the CBG that is present.

Shipping and Returns

We love that cbdMD offers free shipping to all 50 U.S. states! This makes the product more accessible and affordable for many. While the company does ship to U.S. territories and claims a turnaround time of two to seven business days, they unfortunately do not ship internationally as of yet.

We want our experience to mimic the average customer experience as closely as possible. Therefore, we order our products through standard shipping to get an accurate experience. We loved our experience with cbdMD’s shipping. We ordered on a Tuesday and the product was in our mailbox just three days later. This is about as fast as it gets, and for free shipping, we are definitely satisfied!

The brand offers a 60-day satisfaction guarantee for all new customers. We love seeing CBD brands offer this option, as it shows how confident they are in their products. Also, cbdMD’s guarantee is twice as long as the standard 30-day money-back guarantee, which gives them extra points for product confidence. No matter the size of your order, cbdMD will refund your money.

We also wanted to mention that we had a great customer-service experience with the company. They got back to us within hours, and the answers they provided were detailed and easy to understand.

Our Verdict on cbdMD

We are really happy with our experience with cbdMD! Their products are high-quality and the brand is transparent. We do think that the cannabinoid profile could be a little more robust, but that is not a dealbreaker in our minds. If a potent and rich cannabinoid profile is a requirement for you, you might consider looking for a brand that has a strong full-spectrum formula. The most important aspect is quality CBD in the right quantity, which this product has.

There are plenty of product choices to choose from, and there is definitely something for everyone. There are a few vegan options, which we love to see! The price point seems pretty average for industry standards. In addition to all of those points, cbdMD has won various awards and has thousands of happy customers, so we recommend this brand if they seem to meet your needs.

References

[1] Joel. (2019). $LEVB – The Future of CBD. TickerJunkie.com. Retrieved from https://tickerjunkie.com/levb-the-future-of-cbd/

[2] cbdMD. (2020). In the First Year CBD Products Were Considered, Two Products Voted “Product of the Year 2020.” cbdMD.com. Retrieved from https://www.cbdmd.com/blog/post/cbdmd-freeze-roller-and-cbd-pm-voted-products-of-the-year

[3] Connor Skelly. (n.d.). Brand to Watch: cbdMD. BrightfieldGroup.com. Retrieved from https://blog.brightfieldgroup.com/cbdmd-brand-watch-cbd-partnerships

[4] Tommaso Iannitti et al. (2016). Effectiveness and Safety of Arnica montana in Post-Surgical Setting, Pain and Inflammation. Am J Ther. Retrieved from: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25171757/

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Published October 3, 2020