Don’t Call It A CBD Brand: Plant People Is Diversifying Its Message Beyond The Trendy Ingredient

In a beauty and wellness ecosystem saturated with CBD, Plant People is looking to differentiate itself by going beyond the ubiquitous three-letter acronym.

While CBD is a part of the forward-thinking hemp-based brand’s products, it’s not the whole of what it does. Reinforcing its broader positioning, Plant People doesn’t talk about CBD in the marketing of its new herbal supplement, Drops+ Relief, which contains full-spectrum CBD and the cannabinoids CBC, CBG, CBL and THCV as well as turmeric to fight headaches, muscle soreness and anxiety. Priced at $79, the supplement is vegan, organic, non-GMO and sustainably sourced.

Plant People co-founder Gabe Kennedy is passionate about his brand diversifying its ingredient message. “Our name is Plant People for a reason,” says the chef turned entrepreneur. “We believe in healing and connecting people through all plants, not just one and definitely not just one compound within one plant. We have built the business on this and intend on continuing to go down that road.”

Kennedy is priming his brand’s pipeline with products showcasing the cannabinoids CBC, CBG, CBL and CBN or cannabinol, a cannabis compound Kennedy says is a powerful sleep aid. Drops+ Relief also features THCV or tetrahydrocannabivarin, a cannabinoid that’s hard to isolate and purported to have anti-inflammatory and appetite-suppressing effects. At high doses, it can make people feel buzzed.

“There’s certainly some conversation around it,” says Kennedy of THCV. “I think that that one still has a long way to go. It has THC in the name, so where that falls in a regulatory framework, we’re not quite sure about.” Kennedy and Plant People co-founder Hudson Gaines-Ross aim to heighten the benefits of the cannabinoids in their products through the use of terpenes and additional plant ingredients, including those incorporated in traditional Chinese medicine and Ayurvedic remedies such as turmeric, ginger and black pepper.

It’s paramount to Kennedy and Gaines-Ross that Plant People isn’t simply known as a CBD brand. “When people are finding the true benefits of plant medicine, it’s not a compound in isolation,” says Kennedy. “It’s all these compounds working together in a harmonious way and, unfortunately, consumers just attach to a recognizable acronym. CBD is one of them. Most of the benefits are not being realized from that compound in isolation, but rather all these compounds working together.”

The bigger story requires extensive consumer education. Although the CBD market in the United States is projected to reach $20 billion by 2024, many consumers are still unfamiliar with CBD, so it’s risky to complicate the matter by discussing an array of cannabinoids into the nascent cannabis consumer goods space. Plant People focuses its educational content on why it puts full-spectrum hemp extract in its products rather than broad-spectrum hemp extract or CBD isolates. Kennedy points out isolates and broad-spectrum heimp extract minimize the exposure to cannabinoids other than CBD in formulas. By celebrating its full-spectrum hemp extract, Plant People is spotlighting the THC, CBD, CBN, CBG, terpenes, phytonutrients and more in cannabis.

“When people are finding the true benefits of plant medicine, it’s not a compound in isolation. It’s all these compounds working together in a harmonious way.”

The multifaceted narrative connects with Kennedy’s journey to Plant People. A ski racer, he discovered the benefits of plants after a skiing accident left him with a fractured back and obliterated disc. He had multiple surgeries and took a myriad of pharmaceuticals to cope with the pain, but he noticed good nutrition, herbalism and alternative medicines were better healing agents. “The whole impetus of Plant People is our personal experiences with plant medicine being extraordinarily beneficial in our paths back to health,” he says. “My saving graces were always plants.”

In the short time Plant People has been in business, it’s expanded to 500 retail doors across North America. Its distribution is predominantly to an eclectic mix of independent outlets like wellness centers, pharmacies, doctor’s offices, natural food stores and boutiques. Plant People has largely stayed away from CBD stores and smoke shops. The brand’s revenue, which has increased tenfold in the year since its launch, is evenly split between its retail and direct channels. Kennedy says, “Building community and building a brand high and tight in the earliest ages is imperative. We want to be accessible to people, so we don’t want to be only speaking to one particular demographic.”

Strategic brand partnerships are an integral component of Plant People’s growth. The New York-based brand created an infused ice cream with Van Leeuwen and got on the menu at popular Brooklyn restaurant Butcher’s Daughter. Another recent collaboration placed Plant People squarely in the beauty space. Last month, it unveiled a body oil developed in collaboration with clean beauty superstar Tata Harper. Tata Harper was looking to do a CBD product and had connected with several brands, but most didn’t meet its stringent ingredient standards and Ecocert adherence. Plant People did.

Kennedy says the collaboration “was born out of a shared love of plants and a very similar ethos, being able to invest in agricultural systems, create high-quality, meaningful products for people that work. It was a really great opportunity for us, especially as we’re exploring the skincare and topical category, to have that partnership to plant the flag around quality and integrity.”

The 4.1-oz. limited-edition Revitalizing Body Oil retails for $125, and has 800 milligrams of full-spectrum CBD, arnica, calendula and elderberry. It’s available on Plant People’s website, but has sold out on Tata Harper’s site. Kennedy says, “We would love to continue that relationship and do another edition for the holidays. So, fingers crossed because people were really excited and responded really well to it.”