Enters Safety Assessment Phase to Await
Approval
DENVER, July 1, 2022
/PRNewswire/ - (TSX: CWEB) (OTCQX: CWBHF) Charlotte's Web Holdings, Inc., ("Charlotte's Web" or the "Company"), the market
leader in full-spectrum cannabidiol ("CBD") hemp extract wellness
products, has passed validation in its Novel Food applications from
the Food Standards Agency ("FSA") in the United Kingdom for its Original Formula
full-spectrum hemp extract product.
This marks a milestone for its Original Formula. Charlotte's Web is the only substantially
vertically integrated US company with a full-spectrum hemp extract
to have passed the Validation phase and advance to the safety
Assessment Phase. This uniquely positions Charlotte's Web in the growing UK CBD
market.
The Company's dedication to and investment in vertical
integration, with oversight over all stages of product quality from
seed and soil to final product, has been recognized by the leading
authorities in the EU and UK jurisdictions, as its gained approval
in this next stage of the Novel Food application process. The
significant research and safety data provided by Charlotte's Web for its products speaks to the
commitment of the Company to truly be The World's Most Trusted Hemp
ExtractTM as it prepares to expand distribution to the
UK, EU, and countries worldwide.
"Charlotte's Web understands
that product quality, safety, and brand values matter to global
health seekers who are demanding premium full-spectrum
products," said Jacques
Tortoroli, CEO of Charlotte's Web, "It's critical to scaffold
these emerging markets with the high bar set by our proprietary
hemp genetics, scientific rigor and innovation practices.
International audiences are only now learning the difference
between full-spectrum and isolate CBD products, which provides a
great opportunity for education, product differentiation and
consumer adoption as they begin to understand the health advantages
inherent in full-spectrum products."
Novel Foods
Novel Foods are ingredients which have not been widely consumed
by people in the UK or European Union (EU) before May 1997. This includes cannabidiol ("CBD") and
other consumable derivatives of the hemp plant, including
whole-plant hemp extract. Novel Foods needs to be authorized by the
FSA before they can be included on the list of novel foods and
marketed for sale in the UK.
The FSA is the Central Competent Authority for food safety that
issues guidance to support consistency in approach in the
United Kingdom. The FSA's rigorous
Novel Food authorization process for CBD offers regulatory
stability and a viable path to full commercialization for CBD
products within the UK. A validated Novel Food FSA authorization is
required to legally sell ingestible CBD products such as oils,
gummies, and capsules beyond March
2021. Charlotte's Web's
applications with comprehensive toxicity and safety studies have
been validated and will proceed for risk assessment. This status
allows Charlotte's Web to continue
selling its products in the U.K.
In addition to its Novel Foods application, Charlotte's Web is collaborating with The
European Industrial Hemp Association (EIHA) which is part of the
Secretariat Advisory Board (SAB), a European consortium of the UK's
and Europe's leading CBD and hemp
trade bodies and groups collaborating to provide hemp industry
views, innovation and research, and includes the Scottish Hemp
Association and the British Hemp Alliance. The SAB is focused on
encouraging the development of clear UK regulation for CBD that
reflects evidence-based policy to safely serve the public and wider
national interests engaged in public wellness.
UK CBD Market
According to the Brightfield Group the CBD market in the UK has
grown rapidly, with the number of CBD consumers virtually doubling
in 2019 to reach over 7% of the adult population in 2020,
representing sales of more than US$250M in 2020, growing to an estimated US
$1.3 billion by 2025.1
The UK has a large populace of 67 million people with a
predisposition toward natural wellness products making the UK CBD
market well-positioned to thrive. With the FSA's support for a
uniquely well-defined regulatory framework, the UK's CBD market is
expected to continue on an upward trajectory.
Charlotte's Web Products in the U.K.
Charlotte's Web products can be
legally purchased online today through the Company's exclusive UK
distributor Savage Cabbage Ltd., one of the oldest and most trusted
CBD companies in the UK, serving an active and loyal customer base
of wellness seekers. Savage Cabbage is a Member of EIHA (European
Industrial Hemp Association) and distributes a large portfolio of
Charlotte's Web whole-plant, full
spectrum products that contain all the beneficial compounds that
exist in the hemp plant as well as CBD. Under the new Novel Foods
regulatory framework, Savage Cabbage will leverage its extensive
distribution network in the UK to expand the presence of
Charlotte's Web in retail
distribution channels and on the high street, with a growing number
of notable retailers.
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About Charlotte's Web Holdings, Inc.
Charlotte's Web Holdings, Inc.,
a Certified B Corporation headquartered in Denver, is the market leader in innovative
hemp extract wellness products under a family of brands which
includes Charlotte's Web™, CBD
Medic™, CBD Clinic™, and Harmony Hemp™. Charlotte's Web branded premium quality
products start with proprietary hemp genetics that are 100-percent
American farm -grown using organic and regenerative cultivation
practices. The Company's hemp extracts have naturally
occurring botanical compounds including cannabidiol ("CBD"), CBC,
CBG, terpenes, flavonoids, and other beneficial
compounds. The Company's CW Labs R&D division advances
hemp science at two centers of excellence in Louisville, Colorado, and the Hauptmann
Woodward Research Institute at the University
at Buffalo, part of the State
University of New York (SUNY)
network. Web product categories include full-spectrum hemp CBD oil
tinctures (liquid products), CBD gummies (sleep, stress,
exercise recovery), CBD capsules, CBD topical creams and lotions,
as well as CBD pet products for dogs. Through its vertically
integrated business model, Charlotte's Web maintains stringent control
over product quality and consistency with 20+ product lot testing
for quality assurance. Charlotte's
Web products are distributed to more than 15,000 retail, over 8,000
health care practitioners, and online through the Company's website
at www.CharlottesWeb.com
- Brightfield Group market sizing and projections account only
for ingestible products that have gone through formal Novel Foods
authorization. www.brightfieldgroup.com
Forward-Looking
Information
Certain information in this news release constitutes
forward-looking statements and forward-looking information within
the meaning of applicable securities laws (collectively,
"forward-looking information"). In some cases, but not
necessarily in all cases, forward looking information can be
identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as
"plans", "targets", "expects" or "does not expect", "is expected",
"an opportunity exists", "is positioned", "estimates", "intends",
"assumes", "anticipates" or "does not anticipate" or "believes", or
variations of such words and phrases or state that certain
actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might", "will"
or "will be taken", "occur" or "be achieved". In addition, any
statements that refer to expectations, projections or other
characterizations of future events or circumstances contain
forward-looking information. Specifically, this news release
contains forward-looking information relating to, among others: the
future of Charlotte's Web and the
impacts of management changes.
Statements containing forward-looking information are not
historical facts but instead represent management's current
expectations, estimates and projections regarding the future of
our business, future plans, strategies, projections, anticipated
events and trends, the economy and other future conditions.
Forward-looking information is necessarily based on a number of
opinions, assumptions and estimates that, while considered
reasonable by the Company as of the date of this news release, are
subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties, assumptions and
other factors that may cause the actual results, level of activity,
performance or achievements to be materially different from those
expressed or implied by such forward-looking information. The
material factors and assumptions used to develop the
forward-looking information herein include, but are not limited to,
the following: the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic; the regulatory
climate in which the Company currently operates and may in the
future operate; consumer interest in CBD; successful sales of the
Company's products; and the success of sales and marketing
activities. Important factors that could cause actual results and
financial condition to differ materially from those indicated in
the forward-looking information include, among others, the factors
discussed throughout the "Risk Factors" section of the Company's
most recently filed Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended
December 31, 2021 available on
www.SEDAR.com and www.sec.gov , and other risk factors contained in
other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission available
on www.sec.gov and filings with Canadian securities regulatory
authorities available on www.sedar.com. Except as
required by applicable securities laws, the Company undertakes no
obligation to publicly update any forward-looking information,
whether written or oral, that may be made from time to time,
whether as a result of new information, future developments or
otherwise.
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SOURCE Charlotte's Web
Holdings, Inc.