Cindy England is no stranger to startups or taking risks in business. England was one of the founders of JetBlue airlines in 1998 and Azul Brazilian Airlines in 2007. Challenges like navigating finances in business and fostering investor relations are what she does best, so starting a new business in a somewhat controversial market did not hinder her enthusiasm in the slightest.
England launched Chillsphere Labs, a company that sells CBD products in September, and after many months of overcoming various glitches, she has learned a thing or two about the CBD space and the difficulties of selling the products on a local level.
“Shopify, Paypal and authorize.net do not support sales of CBD and after working on my website for several months and testing the systems, it was an eleventh-hour decision to transfer the entire thing to BigCommerece,” England said. “BigCommerce has been amazing to work with and they actually have a CBD support group. I was allowed to be in a ‘test pilot’ program with Square, and now, I am able to process payments.”
According to England, Utah Law requires anyone selling CBD products to provide their lab results to ensure the percentage of CBD and all other cannabinoids in their products, including THC. In Utah, the legal amount in of THC in CBD products is .3 percent or less. However, not all companies disclose these results, and England says consumers need to be very aware before purchasing CBD products.
Selling CBD
There are also other obstacles with marketing and advertising CBD products. Manufactures cannot make claims of the effectiveness; traditional advertising is not available, including on Facebook and Instagram, and you cannot market to anyone 18 years of age or younger. In Utah, It is also illegal to put CBD in food.
“Factory6 is the manufacture of my products and they were the first to become authorized by the state to legally sell CBD products,” England said. “I have products with .3 percent THC and products with zero THC.
My main motivation for starting this business was to provide a supplement for people who can’t take NSAIDS. And to raise awareness and provide an alternative to opioid use through the benefits of using CBD products. Ultimately, my goal is to support rehab centers, especially ones focused on women, to help the opioid epidemic here in Utah.”
England is an advocate of supporting local and as Chillsphere Labs expands into local markets and retail space, England hopes to make personal connections the life blood of the company.
Utah is planning to launch their medical marijuana program next year, with patients receiving actual cards in March 2020. In the meantime, current patients have had some difficulty getting the medical marijuana due to the stigma and fears of the product.
England says those same stigmas exist in the CBD space and she hopes to go a good job of educating the consumer to reduce, if not completely remove those. According to England, CBD is not addictive and you cannot overdose on it. In fact, if you take a little too much, you just get sleepy and maybe a nauseas.
According to Chillsphere Labs’ website, “CBD works by interacting with a network of cell receptors in your body called the endocannabinoid system. Cannabis contains unique compounds with interact with this system. The hemp plant has valuable nutrients that interact with these receptors and help balance your body with things like memory, mood, immune function, sleep, stress and pain.”