Compound growth: The CBD craze in Asia is set to reach a new high

From athletes to actresses, from Instagram influencers to lifestyle moguls (and their pets), support for wider acceptance of the use of cannabidiol—more popularly known as CBD—is getting louder. And while the loudest buzz has been from North America, Asia’s generating its own CBD heat.

A natural-occurring compound derived from the Cannabis sativa plant, CBD is touted to be effective in addressing various health issues, primarily anxiety, stress, inflammation, and pain. Unlike the delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), another cannabis extract, it isn’t psychoactive; it doesn’t create the “high” attributed to marijuana use. 

In fact, the World Health Organization’s 2018 report states that CBD is generally well-tolerated, with a good safety profile. With the pure CBD product Epidiolex already approved by the US Food and Drug Administration for epilepsy treatment, “there is also preliminary evidence that CBD may be a useful treatment for a number of other medical conditions,” the report summarizes. “To date, there is no evidence of … any public health-related problems associated with the use of pure CBD.”  

The World Health Organization in a 2018 report: “There is also preliminary evidence that CBD may be a useful treatment for a number of other medical conditions.” Image courtesy of user ArtHouse Studio on Pexels.

A significant progress in the scientific study of cannabis in the past 30 years is the discovery of how its strains interact with the body’s endocannabinoid system (ECS). According to the Mayo Clinic’s 2019 Clinician’s Guide to Cannabidiol and Hemp Oils, the ECS “has been implicated in a variety of [the body’s] disease states and important regulatory functions, from chronic inflammatory conditions and regulation of immune homeostasis in the gut to anxiety and migraines.” In short, it’s responsible for regulating the body’s capacity to maintain internal stability despite changes in its environment.

“When homeostasis gets threatened, the ECS instigates lock-and-key type mechanisms,” explains James Yau, founder of Hong Kong-based Pellucid Industries, which aims to build a growing, processing, and distribution center for medical cannabis and CBD products. “The keys are your natural endocannabinoids, designed to fit two locks: CB1 (Cannabinoid 1) and CB2 (Cannabinoid 2) receptors. CB1s live in the central nervous system, CB2s in immune system cells. When [the body] shows signs of stress, your endocannabinoid keys unlock natural relief created by your ECS.” Yau adds that the ECS is still being studied for how it interacts with all of the body’s systems.

The cannabis connection? While the body produces its own endocannabinoids, “many plant-derived cannabinoids have been discovered that act on the ECS as well,” the Clinician’s Guide states.

One of them is CBD.

Though research is still being done, that hasn’t hindered CBD’s stratospheric rise in popularity. Despite the hemp ban implemented in most Asian countries, the region’s CBD market is projected by Data Bridge Market Research to have a compound annual growth rate of 30.8% between 2020 and 2027. What’s driving it? More companies in Asia making a stake in the US$429.4 million global CBD pie.

To address inflammation and post-workout soreness, the THC-free Yuyo Botanics Turmeric Salve contains 100mg of CBD, formulated with turmeric, cayenne, menthol, and aloe. Image courtesy of Heavens Please.

A big proponent is the introduction of CBD into skincare. Legalized in China in 2015, it opened the floodgates to the entry of CBD-infused products into the world’s second-largest beauty market that has a robust e-commerce industry. “We believe we can leverage many trends in the Chinese beauty market to achieve rapid growth in China,” says Brian Sheng, CEO and founder of Asia Horizon, a hemp company that distributes Western CBD products and is also building a CBD production facility in China, slated to be operational by 2022. Together with European manufacturer Nordic Cosmetics, it recently launched an e-commerce store on Tmall featuring a range of CBD-infused skincare products. “Once restrictions ease further, we’ll introduce other nutraceutical and ingestible products containing cannabinoids to the market.”

Pellucid Industries is also initially targeting the beauty market with its upcoming Miaqua hydro-heal serum, which uses hemp-derived extracts to treat skin inflammation. It too has a lot of other products on its roster, developed over the past two years. 

With regionalized CBD production for Asian distribution still in development, most products sold in Asia currently come from the West—and this is where consumer caveat comes in, especially with the market not yet regulated on a global level.

“The real issue is not having true oversight of what’s really happening in terms of the entire journey of the product, starting from the [hemp] seed,” Pellucid Industries COO Kristen Tong states. Given the lingering stigma around cannabis use in Asia—ironically Western-led too, Sheng points out—it’s easy for opportunistic businesses that unequivocally proclaim CBD as a panacea to prey on a curious market that’s restricted by different levels of government regulations. Tong confirms, “There certainly can be some wayward claims used to generate consumer interest that might be highly disproportionate to any actual regenerative qualities of the products to ramp up sales.”

“It’s quite complicated for first-time consumers to choose what to buy due to the many specific terms related to CBD products,” says Denise Tam, co-founder of the sustainability-minded CBD lifestyle store Heavens Please, which features eco-conscious products ranging from skincare items to edibles and even lubricant. Among their catalogue, tincture oils have been bestsellers. “Oils are the most versatile as they’re absorbed through the mucous membranes into the bloodstream then into the digestive system to work within the body.”

On its part, Heavens Please studies third-party lab tests on the products it carries to ensure they contain the exact cannabinoids as advertised and follow Hong Kong regulations, which deem CBD isolate as legal but not THC and cannabinol. The Clinician’s Guide also provides a checklist for finding high-quality CBD and hemp products, including certifications from organizations such as the National Science Foundation.

The Found café, Hong Kong’s first CBD coffee and lifestyle shop. Image from Found’s Instagram account.

Enthusiasts and specialists believe education and exposure will help temper CBD’s current buzzword status into a reliable ingredient—and much of that responsibility falls on companies that truly believe in it. Aside from investing in research and lab tests to ensure the efficacy and legality of their products, their push to make CBD production closer to Asia can dispel misconceptions about cannabis use in the region. “By having it locally, more people will recognize the legitimate business potential of cannabinoids as a fast-moving consumer good or pharmaceutical category,” Sheng says.

“We aspire to have a true vertical system in place so we can control and monitor seed selection, plant nutrition, cultivation, harvesting, processing, extracting, and packaging,” Tong adds—and that level of control can ensure standardized production of high-quality organic CBD products for mass consumption.

Countries such as Taiwan, Thailand, Japan, Korea, India, Israel, and Malaysia have already adopted some level of legalization, which could further illuminate CBD’s benefits and limitations. It’s been a slow process, but those who’ve experienced the relief CBD brings believe the payoff is worth it.

 A version of this story is published in the March 2021 issue of the South China Morning Post Style magazine.