As Kroger plans to dip its toes into the CBD market, local shops aren’t worried about losing their customers.
The country’s largest grocery retailer is planning to sell CBD products in nearly 1,000 stores including Wisconsin.
“They’re never going to be able to offer the curated variety and selection that we have here, with the knowledge and education and experience to back it up,” said Laura Morro, Manager of Canni Hemp Co. in Walker’s Point. “Everything that we carry in the store is chosen intentionally and very carefully. It doesn’t come into our shop until our team has taken time with the product.”
Canni Hemp Co. offers a variety of products, including oils, beauty and wellness, beverages and edibles.
“We know it’s good quality, it works and we stand behind it, as opposed to getting in a bunch of mass-manufactured products,” Morro said. “We definitely have a lot more hand-crafted, smaller and artisan companies that we represent here.”
Morro says there could be a benefit, however, to getting national chains involved in the CBD market.
“As of now, it’s a completely unregulated industry,” she said of CBD. “We definitely want to see more standards and regulations. I think these larger corporations are probably going to want the same.”
CBD derived from hemp is legal in all 50 states because of a bill Congress passed late in 2018.